If I haven’t said it on yet, when I travel, I’m always looking at hotels to stay in. Airbnb’s and hostels aren’t really my thing. I’m just more comfortable in hotels. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Hotels are so expensive.”  Trust me, I know. Hotels can be pricey but it’s all about comparing prices and deals when searching for your hotel.

I talk about finding hotels briefly in my cruise planning post. In this post I want to show more of how I search and compare. I’ll look at two options (with an honorable mention): TripAdvisor and Google Hotels.

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is good source to use for figuring out what tours to take and restaurants to go to once you’ve arrived at your destination. It’s also great to use for finding the best price to go if you don’t have a specific date you want to travel.

Google Hotels

With Google Hotels having…well, Google in its arsenal, it can scour for the best deals for hotels all over the internet. It also gives a few more filtering options to find the best hotel for your needs.

Comparing the Two

I’ll compare both TripAdvisor and Google Hotels with the actual hotel website to see if a deal is really a deal. I’m using the dates January 14^th-January 17^th 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico for two people.

Going to TripAdvisor first, I open up to the map to see exactly where the hotels are in relation to any activities I’m trying to do and the airport.

I did the same with Google Hotels. Right off the bat, I’m seeing more hotel options from Google Hotels just looking at the map.

For comparison sake, I chose The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel San Juan. It had a higher rating on TripAdvisor and the best price out of the top 3.

Looking at the deals below, Expedia’s price per night is higher than the actual hotel site so that’s already out. Vio, a site I haven’t heard of, is about $9 less than the actual hotel site. I click on that one but I go to the DoubleTree site as well.

Looking at Google Hotels, it shows more deals. Some of them are the same deals. The best price shows one, Rehlat, that’s $14 cheaper than Vio. I’ve also never heard of Rehlat but I still click on it to see.

Looking in Detail at the Prices

Because Rehalt has the lowest price, I go there first. It list the price for the entire stay and provides what it offers. The fact that it didn’t have a two-bed room that was refundable knocked it off the list for me.

Next, I check Vio from TripAdvisor. However, Vio redirected me to Hotels.com for the deal. Looking at Hotels.com, it was already higher than what was originally shown. Then, looking for at least two beds, it would go up more. I did like that fact that I could now choose a refundable rate (albeit for an additional cost but still).

Comparing this to what the DoubleTree standard price was showing, I decided to go there for a final comparison.

The Hotel Site Comparison

Looking at all of the prices available, I realized that the hotels.com deal, was no deal at all. I could still find the same price on the website and because I have AAA and am a Hilton Honors member, I could still get a discount if I just go through the hotel directly.

The hotel having the better deal isn’t always the case but I’ve realized it happens more often than you think. Sometimes when you book closer to the date of your stay, you’ll find better prices. I checked prices for the same hotel for next week (08/27/23-08/30/23) and the prices are even better.

More than likely, this is because the hotel is trying to fill up the rooms. They’re lowering the price to get more patrons.

Tip: If you’re doing a more spontaneous trip, you can try waiting until a week or two before but I wouldn’t suggest taking this risk if you have a set date of when you want to go (i.e. birthday, anniversary, cruise, spring break). You don’t want to risk flying there and not having a place to stay (or at least a place that’s comfortable for you).

Discounted Hotel Options

For more discounted hotel options you can:

• Join hotel loyalty program (usually free)
• Use other memberships you may have like Costco, Sam’s Club, AAA, AARP, even Starbucks
• Check your credit offers/benefits for deals
• Check your job’s benefits/HR department

Another option is to work with a travel agent.

Hotel Loyalty Program

I’d join the Hilton Honors program and have been able to get discounted prices and earn points towards a free stay.

Membership Discounts

Part of the perks of joining other memberships like the ones mentioned above, they offer discounts for different vacations like hotels, amusement park tickets, and cruises. Or they can earn you points towards those vacations (like Starbucks partnering with Delta to earn Skymiles).

If you’re already apart of these memberships (or if your family is) use these tools! Get your money’s worth!

Credit Card Offers/Benefits

Check your credit card benefits and offers for discounts or cashback especially if you have a travel credit card. Sometimes the right deal can make that trip possible.

Job Benefits

Check your HR department for any corporate discount codes for hotel or discount sites like Tickets-at-Work.

I’ve used them for discounted Disney tickets and other attractions.  A trip I’m planning on going on had discounts hotel prices nearly $200 less than the “discounted” ones I found on Google Hotels and TripAdvisor.

Travel Agent

As you’ve probably guessed, searching for a good price can be tedious and time consuming and maybe a little overwhelming. A travel agent could help with that.

Travel agents can get special prices on things and even help with itineraries. If you don’t want to go through the searching, you can ask a travel agent for help.

I like searching and finding out new places to stay or go to but sometimes I am tempting just find a travel agent.

I hope this gives you some ideas on searching for hotels or at least helps you out for your next trip.