We love to be on the road during breaks and part of the excitement is staying in beautiful houses, inns, and hotels. When it comes to finding a good deal, my husband has it down to an art form, and because he loves me and my new blog, he said I could share his best tips and tricks. (This might be a regular thing, because he knows lots of them.) We wrote this on our way to the beach for fall break this year, where a gorgeous house awaited us at 50% off the asking price for Columbus Day weekend.
Consider using Priceline when booking hotels. Their express deals are cheap, and you can go a few dollars under the express deal. On the other hand, you can’t pick the exact hotel you want but you can ask Priceline to choose from the type of ratings the hotel gets. The bigger the city the better, because you have lots of options if you want three stars and up, for example; smaller cities are more challenging. Also, Priceline gives you hints that you’ve stayed in locations before. (Consider trip insurance in case you have to cancel.) Booking on their app sometimes lands you an additional discount (instead of the web site), and it's easy. Bryan usually books a room on the app as we're traveling.
Booking a house with VRBO or AirBNB:
Try to communicate with the owner away from the web site (for direct payment). You can avoid service fees that way and we have found that owners are willing to communicate away from the site, particularly in the off- season when places aren’t booked as frequently.
Wait as long as you can before booking, particularly if you’re in an off-season area. We booked our house two days before we arrived. We knew that if it hadn’t booked by the middle of the week, it was more likely that the owners would be willing to make a deal. A booked house at a lower rate is better than an empty house and no money in their pocket. The drawback here is that you may lose the place you have your eye on (if it books, or if the owner says no) but if you don't mind taking the risk you'll come out ahead.
Even in season, you can find deals if a house hasn’t rented in a while. We got a house for a week on the Eastern Shore at a 50% discount (on the water, with a dock). We communicated frequently with the owner, picked up his mail, and let him know if things were broken so he could call his handy-man. Before we left, the owner had offered us another stay in the off season for FREE. So that brings me to our next tip when working with owners:
Be nice. Bryan points out details about the house that we like compared to other places. He lets the owner know why we picked THEIR place over others. He gets on a first name basis and establishes a relationship. We booked one house multiple times over multiple years because he and the owner communicated so much; he was willing to work with us and we took good care of the house.
Negotiate for the little things. This house came with a pool, and the heater is an extra expense. Sometimes linens are, as well. Ask them if they’ll throw in the linens, for example, or the pool heater at no additional charge. The worst they can say is no.
Tell them what you’re willing to pay and no more. We have found that owners will work with us that way. Most people think because they’re on a budget they can’t afford the house they have their eye on, but again, the owners would rather rent it at a lower rate than not at all.
Pick several places and make several offers. If you don’t get your first choice, someone will inevitably come through with the price you want.
Bryan’s favorite show is Seinfeld, and his favorite quote is from Cosmo Kramer: “Retail is for suckers.” (I have to agree…that’s why I mostly shop at stores like T.J. Maxx.) If you’re okay with hearing “no” every now and then, it will work out in your favor. I think if we were multi-millionaires we’d still do all this, because a sweet deal leaves you with a good feeling (and a little more cash for eating out.)
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