The Travel Hacking Continues…

Taryn Southern has already schooled Broke Girl's Guide in the art of flying fabulously without the fees. This week, she's returned with more jet-setting, money-saving tips for BG's who want to see all the world but don't have all the money in the world to spend. This time, Taryn shows us how to find that perfect room at a perfect price (in any currency) with some serious hotel hacking.  

In case you missed them, here are tips 1-3 from yesterday.  And don't forget -- Airbnb is offering BGG readers a 25 Euro discount on bookings with promo code BGG25. 

4.  USE YOUR CREDIT CARD CONCIERGE – Regardless of how many points you have, booking international hotels where English isn’t a first language or the timezone is totally different can be quite a challenge. This is where your credit card concierge comes in SUPER handy. 

Most credit cards nowadays have a free concierge service, so use it! It can save you countless hours of travel planning. This past December, I wanted to stay in a boutique hotel in Tokyo. Most of the boutique owners only speak Japanese and answer the phone during business hours, basically at the peak of my REM cycle.  

One night before bed, frustrated, I called my Visa Signature’s concierge service and asked if they could call around and provide me with a list of the available boutique hotels and their rates. The next morning, I woke up to find a word document in my email with a list of the top three boutiques, their rates, locations, and amenities (free breakfast, free wifi, etc). This saved me an incredible amount of time and money, as they had someone on staff at Visa to speak Japanese and get these great local deals for me.  It’s like having your own personal travel planner!

5. BOOK SEVERAL HOTELS PRIOR TO YOUR TRIP –  If you’re going the hotel route but don’t yet have a full itinerary planned for your destination, go ahead and book your stay at several different hotels. When it gets closer to travel time and you’ve had a chance to confirm your flights and talk to locals about the best area to stay in, cancel the rooms you no longer need or want (MOST hotels have a 24 or 48 hour cancellation policy.) I find that my travel plans usually go something like this: I pick a destination, I start my flight hacking, book several hotels, talk to locals, confirm my flights, and cancel the remaining hotel reservations one or two days prior to my trip.  This allows you the flexibility of changing your accommodations just a day or two in advance, but without incurring the charges of booking last minute in a more desirable area. 

6. KNOW THE BEST INTERNATIONAL BARGAIN TRAVEL SITES – Sometimes your travel plans change and you need a last minute hotel on a dime. Before you leave on your trip, make sure you research the local last minute international bargain site. There are sites specific to Europe, Africa, South America, etc – and these will always have better deals than the giant world travel sites like Travelocity.  

While I was in Asia, I used Agoda.com for a last minute hotel booking in Koh Samui. My travel hacking friend swore by it, and has managed to score awesome hotel deals that weren’t available on Expedia or Orbitz. For my efforts (which weren’t much), I got a deal that was far better than anything else online and what the hotel was offering directly (I stayed at a 5 star hotel for $100/night – and booked the day before.)  

There are other sites too, though. If you are easy to please and not too concerned with exact location of the hotel, booking your flight and hotel through a package deal (like what Orbitz or Travelocity offer), can knock off an extra zero to your travel total as well. 

So there you have it - easy tips to get you from travel slacker to travel hacker! If you’re still craving more, you can follow me on Twitter, subscribe to my blog, and check out my Travel Hacking series. Happy hacking! 

(Photo: The view from the lobby of the Centara Grand Beach Resort, where I stayed in Koh Samui.)