Any advice on how to save money on booking a night at a hotel on the way down to Disney?

[SL6827]

Any tips, advice and such on how to get a savings on a stay at a hotel on the way down to Disney. Such as Comfort Suites, Hampton Inns, ect. I have been looking at Orbitz and their prices dropped a good bit on several of the hotels this past Saturday verses what they were during the previous week. I am thinking about just waiting the day we leave to book for that reason. Any thoughts on this or other ways in which to find a good deal?

 

[kymom99]

How about Hotwire? I've only used it once but got the hotel I wanted. They usually give you good hints before you commit. Otherwise, join the chain's loyalty club and you can get a decent discount.

One thing I will caution you about, last time we drove to Florida I decided to just stop off when we were ready for a break. I couldn't find much of anything with 2 beds. We ended up at a quality inn in Georgia and it was not very nice. In fact I'm pretty sure there were a lot of people living in the hotel. The smoke detector went off and we called the front desk. No one came to look at it. Fortunately this was in the morning as we were ready to leave. So my suggestion is to have a reservation before you leave home

 

[SouloTravlr]

Any tips, advice and such on how to get a savings on a stay at a hotel on the way down to Disney. Such as Comfort Suites, Hampton Inns, ect. I have been looking at Orbitz and their prices dropped a good bit on several of the hotels this past Saturday verses what they were during the previous week. I am thinking about just waiting the day we leave to book for that reason. Any thoughts on this or other ways in which to find a good deal?

You won't get a deeper discount if you wait. There really isn't any benefit to doing that, other than not knowing where you'll be stopping for the night.

 

[SL6827]

You won't get a deeper discount if you wait. There really isn't any benefit to doing that, other than not knowing where you'll be stopping for the night.

How do you know that?

 

[Summer2018]

We’ve booked with Choice Hotels several times and done well. This trip, we did Holiday Inn because of a better deal. We loved like the free breakfast and the comfortable queen beds.

 

[nordkin]

We have not been able to find hotels going and coming from WDW without reservations on more than one trip. The best offers we ever find without restrictions are on the hotel websites. We try AAA, AARP, and our corporate rates for the best rate. Good luck.

 

[GZanta77]

Why not book a refundable rate on the hotel website just to have something - AAA is often best for refundable rates - check the rules on the rate, but many allow you to cancel without penalty up to 6pm the day before. If something better shows up closer to departure, simply cancel and rebook.

 

[4kids4karen]

Any tips, advice and such on how to get a savings on a stay at a hotel on the way down to Disney. Such as Comfort Suites, Hampton Inns, ect. I have been looking at Orbitz and their prices dropped a good bit on several of the hotels this past Saturday verses what they were during the previous week. I am thinking about just waiting the day we leave to book for that reason. Any thoughts on this or other ways in which to find a good deal?

Is anyone in your group military? We take advantage of staying a various military installations for around $60 a night. There are a lot of guard or reserve installations along I-75 and I-95.

For example, just North of Atlanta, we stay at Dobbins often. We have stayed at a location in TN, etc. You just have to look up which installations are on the route and then check availability. Usually they will tell us if it is a drill weekend or not . Drill weekends they will most likely be completely booked up.

For anyone reading this, here is the DoD Lodging Website.
http://www.dodlodging.net/

Also for anyone reading, most of the guard/reserve locations do not have family lodging or it will be very limited. My youngest are in high school so we don't need family lodging. At Dobbins, we typically get two rooms as they only offer a full size bed in each room, but we get the adjoining bathrooms (yes older military lodging has the jack-n-jill type bathrooms that you share with the room next door). So after two rooms it is $120, but it is still easy for us and there is no tax, resort fees, and there is free parking, and it is on a secure compound. DH and DS sleep in one room, DD and I in the other. LOL. When it was just three of us once, we brought an air mattress and just got one room. Some of the VIP suites at Dobbins have a couch but those of for the high ranking officers that they typically will not give out unless it is really late and they are absolutely sure no one will show up to ask for that room.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My husband uses hotels.com. But we no longer wait until night of to make a reservation because we've had problems with finding a hotel at the last minute.

The last time we had to drive 2 hours out of our way to find one with space for the night. So now we book a couple of days before we leave if we are stopping overnight someplace. Sometimes we find a deal, sometimes we don't.

I just booked for my July trip to MN and had a hard time finding a hotel with availability in the town I'm going to. I wanted a cheaper hotel for that trip since it's short but there wasn't one to be had.

 

[wisteria1019]

I'm a huge fan of Priceline - have gotten great deals over the years. There's also an app called Hotel Tonight that could be helpful.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm too much of a planner to not book our travel hotel well in advance. The way I combat FOMO on a better deal, is once I have booked it, I DO NOT check prices anymore.

We are going to Hilton Head in a few weeks and I had been checking prices for hotels to stay in on the way down for months and they were pretty consistently the same. So a couple weeks ago I went and and booked and haven't checked again so I don't get mad if they go down a little more.

 

[SL6827]

Why not book a refundable rate on the hotel website just to have something - AAA is often best for refundable rates - check the rules on the rate, but many allow you to cancel without penalty up to 6pm the day before. If something better shows up closer to departure, simply cancel and rebook.

I have thought of doing just this.

 

[msb578]

Hotwire and Priceline are your avenues for getting cut-rate prices. Hotels don’t want to be seen dropping their prices at the last minute, but they’re willing to do so anonymously.

 

[SL6827]

Hotwire and Priceline are your avenues for getting cut-rate prices. Hotels don’t want to be seen dropping their prices at the last minute, but they’re willing to do so anonymously.

Interesting point. I have never done the "bid" thing with hotels though. Not sure I could do that.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I'm too much of a planner to not book our travel hotel well in advance. The way I combat FOMO on a better deal, is once I have booked it, I DO NOT check prices anymore.

We are going to Hilton Head in a few weeks and I had been checking prices for hotels to stay in on the way down for months and they were pretty consistently the same. So a couple weeks ago I went and and booked and haven't checked again so I don't get mad if they go down a little more.

Do you book non-refundable rates? If not, there’s no harm in checking prices again as the date gets closer.
I do this with car rentals quite often. I usually end up rebooking 3-4x by the time our trip begins.

Most hotels hold a room as long as you provide a cc and then only charge it when you arrive or if you no-show.

I'm a huge fan of Priceline - have gotten great deals over the years. There's also an app called Hotel Tonight that could be helpful.

I prefer Hotwire only because it allows us to search for 2 adults/2 kids in 1 room. Priceline only guarantees bedding for 2. You can request a room that sleeps 4 but they’re not obligated to provide one.
I’m not a risk taker.
3* and up usually means it will be a decent place.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Do you book non-refundable rates? If not, there’s no harm in checking prices again as the date gets closer.
I do this with car rentals quite often. I usually end up rebooking 3-4x by the time our trip begins.

Most hotels hold a room as long as you provide a cc and then only charge it when you arrive or if you no-show.

I generally book the non-refundable from orbitz or hotels.com because that is pretty much always cheaper than a refundable one.

 

[pens4821]

I've found that usually the prices are cheaper the earlier you book. I always book a place when I know I'm going, even if it's 6 months or more in advance. Last year we booked about 8 months out for Colorado/South Dakota. Both places went up substantially when I looked as it got closer and right before we went (the SD went up almost $100 per night). I always book a refundable rate, so even if plans fall through or a better deal comes along there is no harm in canceling.

We've used Hotwire quite a few times too. I'll use that if I'm looking to go somewhere within the week. Never had a problem. I just look for a place that is at least 70% recommended (usually 80 or more), and has the amenities I want. I love it, but sometimes knowing exactly what you're getting is better. We use it mostly for exactly what you're doing, a night stop usually on the way to elsewhere.

 

[katiebelle21]

Interesting point. I have never done the "bid" thing with hotels though. Not sure I could do that.

I like to use Hotwire. There's a site called better bidding that I use in conjunction with it. It helps you to figure out which hotel is being offered by looking at the listed amenities. It takes some of the guess work out of it before you commit (because it is non-refundable).

 

[Jaime4004]

I open a different hotel credit card each year for the sign up bonus and use the points for free hotels on the drive to FL. Haven't paid for a hotel in years. I book ahead, somewhere about 1/2 way.

 

[Wubar]

I have used various discount sites in the past, including hotwire, Orbitz, hotels.com. Sometimes I can find a good deal on Groupon. Another newer site I have used with some success is hotel tonight. Perhaps even Airbnb might be an option. As always, it comes down to availability on each of those sites. Good luck!