Using a VPN, you can switch your virtual location to a country with lower hotel prices. I was planning a trip to Barcelona while writing this article, but I also wanted to see if this trick works well for other locations too. So, I tested VPN locations in Kenya, Bangladesh, and the Philippines and got some really good deals for hotels in London, Paris, and more. When I switched to an IP address in Kenya, for instance, I saved $93 on a 1-night stay at a hotel in Barcelona. I tested many VPNs and was able to save 15–40% using the above-mentioned server locations. But ExpressVPN was by far the best VPN I used. It’s super easy to set up, and has IPs for 94 countries, so you have a lot of options to find cheap hotel deals in different locations. It is also backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try ExpressVPN risk-free. If you’re not satisfied, you can get a full refund within 30 days. Save Money On Hotels With ExpressVPN
8 Ways to Save Money on Hotels in 2023
Here’s a rundown of the savings I got using different methods:
1. Use a VPN to Change Your Location
Booking sites know where you’re visiting them from by looking at your IP address and personal data. Your IP reveals your country, so the prices they show you depend on your location. When the site detects your country, it tailors the prices accordingly. However, you can easily change your virtual location with a VPN. I tested this by changing my IP address to one in Kenya. When I searched for a 1-night stay in Paris without a VPN, I was quoted $262. However, when I changed my virtual location to Kenya, the price dropped to $177 for the same night. A VPN works by masking your real IP and changing it with one of your choice, so you appear to the booking websites as if you’re accessing them through that country. For example, if you connect to a server in the US, it looks like you’re browsing the internet from there. Switching your IP address to a country with lower hotel prices, like Kenya, means you’ll be quoted prices adjusted for that country. In the process, VPNs also encrypt your data to ensure that travel websites can’t use your personal data to determine the prices to charge you. Choosing a VPN with a vast server database is important. That way, you have access to IP addresses all over the world and endless possibilities to get the best discounts. Save Money On Hotels With ExpressVPN
2. Book Your Flights and Hotels Together
I tried booking flights and hotels together and was surprised that it was always cheaper than booking them separately. The only downside is that using this method means you’re usually shown hotels near the airport, which might not always be ideal. However, the savings can be substantial if that’s not a big deal for you. I tried to find the cheapest price for a holiday to Tokyo from London. Using Expedia to book flights and hotels together, I was quoted a price of $5,276 for 2 people. However, to book the same hotel and flights for the same dates separately, the price was $6,013. That’s a huge difference of over $700, or around 12%.
3. Check Hotel Chains’ Websites
Even though you can get good deals on popular booking sites like Booking.com or Hotels.com, make sure to check hotel chains’ websites. By going straight to the hotel’s website, like Marriot or Hilton, the prices were often lower than they were on booking sites. On average, prices were around 5% lower on the Marriot’s website than the same hotel on Booking.com. Plus, you can also take advantage of the loyalty programs many hotel chains offer if you’re happy to stay there again.
4. Take Advantage of Flash Sales
Flash sales can give you amazing discounts on hotels. Since they’re only on for a limited time, you need to be in the know. I found the best way to find flash deals is by downloading booking sites’ mobile apps and subscribing to email lists to get notified first. Websites like HotelCoupons.com offer great coupons that give you discounts on hotels across Canada and the US. I found a 20% discount on the Best Western Hotel in Chicago, which saved me $58.
5. Clear Your Browsing History
Hotel booking sites use data gathered through cookies and your IP address or GPS location to determine the price they show you. This is called dynamic pricing. They will also pick up if you’re searching for the same keywords and will increase the prices. Cookies can collect information such as your age, job status, income level, and browsing habits. The travel website’s algorithms use this information to give you a quote. Plus, Google also uses a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID information) from your WLAN access point to get your location and tailors your hotel deals accordingly. Therefore, by clearing your browsing history and cookies, hotel booking sites can’t use this information against you. All you need to do is navigate to your browser’s “History” settings and select “Clear browsing data.” You need to do this regularly while you are researching hotels. When I tested this, it usually didn’t change the price, but I saw about a 5% drop in the price when I was looking at hotels in Berlin. While it’s not a huge discount, it’s a simple step to decrease the price.
6. Look For Last-Minute Deals
If you’re flexible with dates, or already in the city you’re staying in, you can get savings on great hotels if you book last minute. Websites like LastMinute.com are a good place to find exclusive deals on hotels. I searched for a hotel in New York for the coming weekend, and I was offered a 26% discount on a 5-star hotel.
7. Try Your Luck at Auction Sites
Auction sites let you place bids on hotel rooms, so you could pay less than the standard rate. An example is TravelAuctions, which offers bidding on Australia-based accommodations. However, since they’re competitive by nature, you can spend more than what you would pay on a travel comparison site. It’s worth trying out a site like Priceline.com. I checked it for a night at Hotel Memories in Budapest, and the current price was only $129 per night, compared to $165 on Booking.com.
8. Take Advantage of Fringe Benefits
It’s also worth looking at the added benefits offered by many hotels. For example, some hotels offer complimentary breakfast, lunch, parking, and the use of a spa or gym, which would save you a lot of money on your overall trip. I found 2 similarly priced hotels in Dublin, but one included breakfast and parking in the price. These costs add up when you’re on a trip, so you should try to make the most of what you get included in your booking. Save Money On Hotels Now
Best VPNs to Save Money on Hotels in 2023
1. ExpressVPN — Thousands of Servers to Save Money on Hotels Worldwide
ExpressVPN has 3,000 servers in 94 countries. This gives you access to different booking sites worldwide and the option to find the best hotel deals from anywhere. Without a VPN, a 1-night stay at this 4-star hotel was $234. However, when I searched for the same hotel using ExpressVPN with a Kenyan server for the same night, it was only $141. It saved me a whopping 40% of the total price. It is also a beginner-friendly VPN, so you don’t have to spend time getting used to it. Its app lets you save your favorite servers, so if you find one that gives you a good deal, you can easily switch back to it. I also found the app really useful because it showed the servers I recently connected to. I could switch between the servers in a matter of seconds and compare the prices in different countries without losing too much time. ExpressVPN has superfast speeds that allow you to quickly navigate between different websites without waiting for them to load. While researching the best hotel deals, I had multiple tabs open, conducting lots of searches, and I didn’t experience any slowdowns or lag. I tested 6 nearby and faraway servers and recorded an average speed of 55 Mbps, which was a 12% reduction from my base speed. You can normally expect your speeds to be approximately 10–20% slower with a VPN, so ExpressVPN’s result was really impressive. The only negative point to ExpressVPN is that it’s slightly expensive, with prices starting from $6.67/month. However, it regularly offers great deals, and I even saved 49% on my subscription using its current discount. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try out ExpressVPN risk-free. If you’re not satisfied, you can get a refund within those 30 days. After using it for 2 weeks, I tested its guarantee by requesting a refund through the 24/7 live chat. The representative didn’t push me to stay, and after a couple of customer-satisfaction questions, the money was back in my account in 2 days. Save Money On Hotels With ExpressVPN
2. CyberGhost — Beginner-Friendly VPN to Easily Find Hotel Discounts
CyberGhost has an easy-to-use app that allows you to save time during your quest to get the best hotel deals. I found the servers I needed and connected to them in seconds. I just had to search for the country where I wanted to check hotel prices and click on the big on/off button to connect. The process was really fast and easy. Plus, similar to ExpressVPN, when I found a server with a good discount, I added it as a favorite to easily reconnect when I needed it again. It also has a large server network of 9,074 servers in 90 countries, so you can get the best deals these countries offer. I tested 3 of its servers in Bangladesh, Algeria, and Thailand to find discounts. Without a VPN, a 1-night stay at this 4-star hotel in New York was $401 on Trivago. However, while connected to a server in the Philippines, it was only $346. So, CyberGhost saved me almost 15% of the initial price. CyberGhost allows you to connect to 7 devices simultaneously, so you can try different servers on different devices to easily compare hotel prices. I tested this by having my group of friends I was traveling with all connected to the VPN to help find the best deals. You can save lots of time like this since you don’t have to switch between different devices and servers. The only downside to CyberGhost is that its short-term plan is quite expensive and only comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. However, its long-term plans are more affordable, starting at only $2.11/month, and come with a longer refund period. Namely, it offers a very generous 45-day money-back guarantee on its long-term plans, so you can try CyberGhost risk-free. I tested CyberGhost out for 3 weeks and requested my money back by contacting its 24/7 live chat feature. The support agent asked no questions and processed my request. After that, I received a confirmation and got the money back in my account in only 3 days. Save Money On Hotels With CyberGhost
3. Private Internet Access — Tracker Blocker to Avoid Higher Hotel Prices
One of PIA’s great features is MACE — its built-in ad and tracker blocker, so you’re not bombarded with pop-ups and ads while you browse travel websites. When I was researching, websites like Booking and Expedia were full of pop-ups and ads. They slow down the loading time of the pages, which is quite annoying. However, when I turned on PIA’s ad-blocker, my search results came back much faster, reducing my browsing time. Plus, its tracker blocker means that your data won’t be stored and used to quote you higher hotel prices. PIA also has a large server network with 29,650 servers in 84 countries, so you have lots of locations available when looking for the best hotel discount. I tested its servers in Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, and Greece and researched hotels on Booking.com, Expedia.com, and Kayak.com. I found great discounts on Expedia connecting to the different servers I tested. For example, a 1-night stay at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore was $259 without a VPN. But connected to PIA’s Bangladesh server, it was only $201, which is a 23% discount. The only drawback to PIA is that I didn’t find it as user-friendly as ExpressVPN or CyberGhost. There are many customizable options that make it a little overwhelming if you’re a new user. However, the app comes pre-configured, so you don’t have to change anything to use it when searching for hotel discounts. You can get PIA’s long-term plan for just $2.03/month since it’s offering a 82% discount right now. However, it also offers monthly plans if you need a VPN for short-term use. Its plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try PIA risk-free. I tested PIA for 2 weeks and then claimed my money back by contacting its online chat support. I just had to answer a couple of questions to verify my account, but the money was back in my account in just 3 days. Save Money On Hotels With PIA
How do I get cheaper holidays?
One way you can get cheaper holidays is by changing your virtual location with a VPN. VPNs conceal your real IP address and encrypt your data, so travel websites can’t use your location or personal data to charge you a higher price. Plus, by switching your IP address to a country where hotel prices are lower, you can access the prices available there. For example, with ExpressVPN, I was able to save up to 40% by switching my IP address to the Philippines, Kenya, and Bangladesh. You can also often get cheaper holidays when booking your flights and hotel together. I got a $700 discount by booking like this for a holiday from London to Tokyo. Another option is to check hotel chains’ websites (or hotel websites in general) that you find on comparison sites. Prices are usually cheaper if you book rooms through the official website. Though, you can save around 5%, which is less than what you would save with a VPN on a comparison site. There are a couple more methods I found that worked great and gave me good discounts, but I got the best deals with the VPN option.
Where can I find cheap hotel bookings?
You can easily find cheap hotel bookings by taking advantage of flash sales and last-minute deals. I had success finding great discounts on LastMinute.com, where I saved 26% of the total price for a 5-star hotel in New York. However, I found the cheapest hotel bookings using a VPN, which changes your virtual location. I got good deals when connected to servers in Kenya, Algeria, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan. With a VPN, you can find huge discounts on websites like Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, and Kayak.
How much can you save when booking a hotel?
I got savings between 5–40% percent using these 8 methods. Taking advantage of flash sales, last-minute deals, and booking your flights together are proven ways to get great savings on hotel bookings. I got an average saving of around 20% using these methods. However, when I used a VPN to find discounts on hotels, I got savings of up to 40%, which is really impressive. When searching for a 4-star hotel in Barcelona, I was quoted a price of $234/night without a VPN. I tried a few different servers to compare the prices. When connected to ExpressVPN’s Kenyan servers, it dropped to $141 for the same night. Similarly, using CyberGhost, I saved $55 on a New York hotel using its server in the Philippines. I got a great deal with PIA’s server in Bangladesh, which saved me $58 on a hotel in Singapore.
Is using a VPN to save money on hotels legal?
Yes, using a VPN to save money on hotels is legal in most countries. However, for example, in China, you are only permitted to use government-approved VPNs. Fortunately, they don’t tend to go after individuals who use VPNs — instead, they go after the VPN technology. Nevertheless, I recommend that you get familiar with the laws of the country you’re in. Comparison sites, like Booking.com, Trivago, or Expedia, don’t mind where you are or what price you’re getting; they’re just happy you’re booking through them. Finding discounts this way is actually common for online retailers to access the best deals, so it’s a bit of a trade secret. You can access hotel discounts and save money on your upcoming vacation by using a VPN with an extensive server network. Try ExpressVPN Now
Start Saving Money on Hotels
Hotels can eat up a large portion of your budget for your vacation, so getting any discount is great. Since booking sites are not so keen on offering discounts on highly-sought after hotel rooms, you need to get creative when trying to save money. Out of all the options I found, I saved the most by using a VPN. I tested various booking sites while connected to different VPNs and ExpressVPN proved to be the best overall. Its vast server network helps you find discounts in different countries, and its fast speeds allow you to switch between booking sites quickly. It’s backed by a money-back guarantee, so you can try ExpressVPN risk-free. If you’re not satisfied, you can get a full refund within those 30 days.
To summarize, the best VPNs to save money on hotels are…
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