How to find cheap accommodations for traveling - After flights, accommodation is indeed one of the biggest expenses when traveling around the world. And this is the fact, that no single traveler wants to pay hundreds of dollars for just a room.
They prefer places that provide cheap accommodations for travelers or free places that can be used for temporary stays.
Cheap accommodation is good, it can save you money, free accommodation can also keep your money intact. But you must know in advance what cheap and free accommodation really mean. This is to ensure that you really get decent accommodation.
Do not choose accommodation as below:
1. The location of the inn is far from where you stand
2. There is no mattress or sofa to sleep on
3. There is no bathroom
4. Away from the market or food place
3. Away from residential areas or far from tourist attractions
Finding cheap or free accommodation may be a little difficult, but with a few simple steps, you can find clean, comfortable and inexpensive accommodation in almost every corner of the world.
So how do you find cheap accommodations? Follow the tips below.
1. Look for lodging with travel accommodation sites
The easiest way to get cheap lodging is to use a travel accommodation site. You will get a lower price if you order through online than if you come directly to the hotel to book a room. This will also save you time to look for rooms because the site has displayed a list of other hotels or inns along with price lists, you only have to choose.
Here are some cheap hotel booking sites that you can use:
1. Booking
2. Kayak
3. Momondo
4. Skyscanner
5. Agoda
2. Use the referral/affiliate code
Referral codes/affiliates are not just to look for commissions from you, but they also provide you with a profit in the form of discounts of several dollars if you book a hotel/flight through the link provided. You can use this to get cheap lodging.
Read: How to find the cheapest flights to travel around the world
3. Avoid rooms that provide breakfast
The hotel room is the same but the price is different. They give you free food.
Rooms that provide you with breakfast, lunch or dinner will add to the cost of additional money for services provided. Everything is not free. So if you want to get a cheap room, you have to get rid of hotel food services. Instead, you just look for food around the hotel to keep your stomach full at a low price.
4. Filters, Discard unnecessary ones
If you are a traveler who does not need a number of hotel facilities, it is better to throw away hotel facilities that are not needed and simply select the few you want. This will allow you to find several cheap hotels in your destination. All travel sites provide this feature function, so you don't have to bother.
5. Join the Loyalty Program Hotel
This method can be used if you are a loyal customer of a hotel. Because generally many hotels provide loyalty programs to their loyal customers who often stay in hotels or hotel groups that are the same as discounts or free rooms. So if you often stay at a hotel and hotel that has a wide network throughout the world, try asking if they provide loyalty programs. If so, please register to get a cheap hotel room or a free room.
6. Collect Points
This method is almost the same as the Loyalty Program, it's just that you don't register through the hotel, but just use the site or travel app. How to get these points is calculated from how often and large you transact using the travel site for your needs. If you have accumulated a lot of points, you can switch to discounted luxury room prices at low prices or you can use it to get cheap flights.
7. Check Deal from flight sites, coupon sites, and credit cards
Hotel and flight search sites always provide promotions to attract travelers to use their site. If you want to get a discount, you have to update by following newsletter or their social media because this is very limited. Or you can search coupon sites to get a promo code.
If you have a credit card that has worked with travel sites, it is usually always a discount for travelers who want to stay.
Cheap alternatives to hotels (Cheap alternative to hotels)
There are other alternatives for travelers to get cheap accommodations besides hotels. Namely sleeping in a hostel, B & B or Homestay. Maybe many people are not interested in sleeping in dormitories or houses.
But believe that this inn is no less great than a hotel.
Hostels and BnB are now designed with exceptional cleanliness and comfort.
Read: 43 lists of travel tools and resources
They are also equipped with Wi-Fi, large mattresses, bathrooms, towels and more. Homestay also gives you comfort and cleanliness, although it may not be as complete as a hotel. But this is perfect for tourists who want to save money but want to get very cheap accommodation as an alternative to staying in a hotel.
There are several sites that are widely used by travelers:
1. HostelWorld
2. Airbnb
3. Homestay
FREE LODGING FOR TRAVELING
1. House Sitting
If you are looking for a free place to stay for a long time, then use the House Sitting method. House Sitting is a system where you can stay in someone's house for a while while the owner leaves. Homeowners usually look for caregivers to take care of their homes such as watering plants, feeding dogs, and others.
This method is very interesting if you want to live for free in a house.
2. Home Exchange
This is a way that is slightly avoided by travelers to get a free place to stay while traveling. Because you will exchange homes and families with other people who live in your destination.
For example, if you are an Englishman who wants to go to Italy before you leave, you just found someone from Italy who wanted to come to England. You send him an email and confirm some house rules. When you agree you exchange the house keys. You go to Italy and stay free at their home, and your new friend goes to England and lives free in your home. In this way, you both get a free place to stay for vacation.
3. Couchsurfing
This is a very large social networking community and is widely used by travelers to get a free place to live. Couchsurfing not only offers you to live on a sofa or bed in someone's home but also offers you friendship and entertainment to get to know the destination well.
4. Camping
Camping makes you not need to spend a lot of money to get a bed. Maybe you only spend a little money to get a tent camp permit. It's just that camping can't be done in the middle of the city, it can only be used in small areas. And most importantly, always take care of your equipment.
5. WWOOF
Do you want to get a free place to stay while traveling? Become a volunteer on the farm. You have to give your energy, time and expertise to homeowners and help them do their jobs as a farmer. In return, you will be given food and shelter. This way you will save your money while providing insight into new
cultures.
6. HELPX
Similar to WWOOF, this is a network of job exchanges in return for food and accommodation. There are many jobs here that you can do such as farming, animal husbandry, homestay, painting, and much more. If you use this, you not only find a place to stay for free but also save a lot of money.
7. Airport
This is a public place that you can use to rest. Maybe just to close your eyes for a moment. You may need to be careful when sleeping, don't leave your important items.
8. Park
If you are a traveler with little equipment in a backpack, you might be able to sleep in the garden. Usually, the park provides long benches and the park is very quiet when entering midnight. You can use it to take a nap to continue the journey tomorrow. All you have to remember is that sometimes the park has officers going around the park that can drive you out and there are also lots of mosquitoes in the garden.