No matter what hotel or service you book through, I guarantee if you paid full price without looking for discounts, you probably paid too much.  Hotel discounts aren’t that hard to come by if you know where to look and how to ask properly.  I’ve put together a list of tips you can use in order to get the best hotel discount possible.

Always compare – Like any purchase you make in life, I hope you just don’t go to the first store and purchase that item.  Instead, you should check out at least three sources online.  When you find a hotel that seems reasonable to you, be sure to see if that hotel offers a website directly where you can book your room.  This will usually be the cheapest route. 

Hotel comparison websites you can check out –

Plan for the off-season – If the day and time of the month isn’t a big concern for your vacation, try and book your hotel in the off-season.  Depending on where you book your hotel, you can save a ton of money doing this.  Sometimes, you can find that you’ll save yourself as much as 75%.  August in Florida will be a lot cheaper than January in Florida.

Check for promotions – Just because the website doesn’t have any promotions listed on their website, it doesn’t mean they aren’t having any.  Call up the hotel and see if they currently have any good offers going on.  If they do, they will tell you about them.  If it sounds, good, be sure to book asap because these tend to go quick.

Look for other discounts – Most major hotel chains will offer discounts to students, seniors, businesses, AAA members, etc.  What I like to do is usually be safe and ask the hotel what discounts they offer.  If you fall into one of the discount categories, be sure to get that discount on your bill.

Simple negotiations - No matter what time of season it is, it never hurts to negotiate the phone either on the phone or in person.  If you do get a deal you want, be sure to get everything in writing and a receipt.  This way, if there’s a controversy, you’ll have the physical evidence.

Hotel credit cards – If you don’t already have a hotel credit card, you may want to look into getting one.  Not only will you get extra points just for using you card for the stay, hotels love to see when you’re loyal to their company.  Sometimes, you’ll find yourself getting extra perks just for carrying the card around and using it.