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Cheap Reservations Without The Hassle
By: Stanley Emerson -

- Plan your vacations on off seasons, Hotel rates, even airline and car rental rates are lower during this time due to lower demand. You can get as much as a 50% discount if you book a room during off season, so try and call the hotel if they have off season discounts and ask them when the discounts will be effective.

- Some hotels give discounts to certain people like students, military contingents, Senior citizens, honeymooners etc. Ask for these discounts and what their details, you can save a lot with these.

- Ask if your kids can stay for free, if you’re with your family, sometimes hotels can allow up to two kids for a two bed room provided that the kids are within the age limit.

- If you’re not very particular with hotel locations, you can access name-your-price websites for car rentals and hotel reservations. They’ll do the haggling for you and you’re sure not to over-budget.

- Some hotels and even car rental companies, give “free days” if you use their services for more than a week. Ask about these certain perks if you’re planning a long stay.

- Make sure that the room fees are the only ones you’re paying for. Some hotels have surcharges and extra fees that aren’t mentioned in room rates and then suddenly pop-up on check-out. Before you reserve, ask about these, and if upon check-out you suddenly find yourself with fees that you didn’t know about, refuse to pay it.

- You can also exchange frequent Flier miles for hotel lodgings so if you have an expiring miles card, or a miles card that you’d just want to get rid of, ask the hotel if they honor these exchanges.

- Sometimes, hotels provide free airport pick-up you can use this as bargaining tool. Ask for a free pickup when haggling so you’ll get something extra even if you pay the full price.

- If you’re planning to travel during peak season, always call in advance, rates tend to get higher as the season approaches.

- Sometimes, weekend rates are lower than regular fees, or vice versa, ask your agent, or ask the hotel yourself if they have these, then you can schedule your trip during these times and be able to avail of the discount.

- Always ask for a confirmation number when you reserve a room, so that they can’t say that they didn’t receive your reservation.