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Finding Accommodations to fit Your Budget
by Gwen Morrison

You don’t have to break the bank to stay at a great hotel on your next vacation. With a small amount of ingenuity, a little time spent on research and a sense of adventure, you can find a hotel for a great price.

The Internet has brought us the tools that allow us, the consumer, to find great hotel deals through various online companies and hotel consolidators. Just a few clicks and you’re on your way to saving money the next time you book your accommodations.

Where to Begin
If you’re looking for a hotel to fit your vacation budget, click on Hotwire or Priceline. If you have a sense for adventure and are flexible, you can find yourself with a four-star hotel room for a fraction of the cost. Both of these companies are consolidators, but with a unique twist. The difference between these hotel consolidators and places like Travelocity and Orbitz is that you make the purchase BEFORE you find out where you are staying. A little unnerving for some, but for with Hotwire’s hotel search, you control the area and the dates and there is a star rating with an up-to-date amenities list for all of the results that come up in your search. It’s really not as scary as you might think.

With Priceline’s “name-your-price” plan, you choose the city, enter your travel dates, choose an area within that city, select the quality of the hotel you want (star rating), enter the price you would like to pay for the room and that’s it. Your bid is sent in and in a 60 seconds or less you find out if your price has been accepted. If it is, you’re then given the hotel information – and it should match your criteria. You enter in your credit card information when you send in your bid so that when it is accepted at the price you agree to, it’s automatically charged to your card. You can get excellent discounts on hotels through both of these online companies. Once you purchase from them, it’s a done deal. There are no changes or refunds allowed.

If you are intimidated by the bidding and have a specific hotel in mind for your trip, you might want to try Lowestfare.com. A partner to Priceline, Lowestfare.com is a leading provider of discount travel products for the leisure travel market.

Another great way to save money on accommodations is to rent a house or a condo, instead of a hotel room. On the beaches and in the mountains, all over the world, people are looking for visitors to rent their homes. Lodging can range from a rustic cabin in the woods to a beach house with an incredible view of the ocean – depending on your needs, you can find just the right house for you and your family. Great for kids, a rental offers them the space they will need to “spread out” and the privacy mom and dad will be looking for after the sun sets and the kids are tucked into bed. For rental properties in the area you are planning to visit, just visit any search page and enter VACATION RENTAL plus your destination city and start searching. You can find some great places, most with pictures, amenities and customer reviews. Be careful. Do your research, and you’ll be surprised at the discounts you will find on some great accommodations.

More Tips
If you are driving to your destination, or renting a car when you arrive, you might want to consider staying in a room that is away from the city. We visited Disney a few years ago and were able to find a great condo just 20 minutes away from the Walt Disney Theme Parks and stayed for a week for under $500. This was for a family of six and the complex had two pools, hot tubs and kids activities. It was well worth the commute! We even packed a picnic lunch for the day and saved more money. That’s the thing about renting a house or condo that also saves you money – all of them have a kitchen, just in case you want to save some money on dining out.

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