For our young family of four, traveling is at the top of our list when it comes to family activities. Although we cannot fly all over the world in search of famous pyramids and the like, we can take “mini vacations”, traveling no more than 5-6 hours from home and we can do it on a budget!
The biggest expense for our little family is hotel accommodations, but we’ve figured out a few ways to pay less and get more! Here’s 3 quick tips on how you can book hotels and resorts on a budget, while spending quality time with your family and offering experiences that are sure to last a lifetime.
Travel Off Season – this tip can really save you quite a bit of money on hotel and resort stays. For instance, we booked our yearly 10-day vacation one week before spring break and we saved about 40% on our hotel stay! That’s a significant savings, especially if you are going on an extended vacation. Apply this same idea to a family cruise and you can get a cabin for next to nothing!
Put your computer skills to the test – All of our travel starts with my laptop. Often times, we don’t exactly “plan” our trip, but we rather stumble upon an amazing deals through discount travel sites, or flash sale sites that offer discounts up to 80%. Depending on the site, I also search for net voucher codes that extend our savings.
Call Ahead of Time – before you book your reservation, a quick call to the hotel/resort may save you money. Make sure to check your “discount” price against their current prices to ensure that you are receiving a deal, and also ask if they have special pricing or packages that may save you even more. If you top off your phone call with a bit of honey, you can sometimes get the hotel/resort to offer a room upgrade for not much more if they have the room available. The key is to “ask”, because if you don’t ask, then you’ll never know!