The Best Travel Hack to Find a Cheap Hotel Room

Hotels are easily one of the most expensive parts of any trip. Trying to find a cheap hotel room or get a great deal can often seem like a losing game. Even a seasoned traveler like myself sometimes has trouble finding great deals.

Then one day I watched a Youtube video that changed my travel hack life forever. Just last week, I booked two nights in Boston for $75 a night plus taxes and fees at a Hilton, more than 50% off the advertised nightly rate. The best travel hack to find a cheap hotel room is the Hotwire Hot Rate tool.

Here’s how to find a cheap hotel room using Hotwire:

What is a Hotwire Hot Rate?

Hotwire.com allows users to select “secret” rates based on limited information about the hotel. Users will know the hotel’s general location, star rating and amenities but specific hotel information is not included. Oftentimes the Hot Rate information for a hotel will include a list of hotels that could be your hotel. By limiting the information provided, Hotwire allows users to get a better hotel rate than the advertised price.

Important: Hotwire Hot Rate hotels are generally nonrefundable. Be sure your travel plans, including travel dates, are finalized before booking.

Step-by-Step to hacking the Hotwire Hot Rate

1. Log in to Hotwire.com and add your search parameters

Create an account or log in to Hotwire.com. Logging in will give you the best access to deals. Enter your information for location and travel dates. Once completed click, “Find a hotel.”

2. Filter the Hot Rate Hotels

Once you click “Find a hotel,” you will be directed to the “All hotels” tab on Hotwire. Click on the “Hot Rate” hotels. At this point I usually click the general area I would be interested in staying in.

Look through the list of Hot Wire hotels and consider one or few that you might be interested in. Write down the Hot Rate’s Hotel Class, Guest Rating, and number of reviews through Expedia.

3. Use filters to match the Hot Rate with the standard hotel

Click on the tab labeled “Standard Rate Hotels.” Your selected areas should remain the same.

Now it’s time to add the descriptors you wrote down previously. At the top of the screen, add the Hotel Class and Guest Rating. Both items will need to be less than but close to the numbers. For example, the Hotel Class can only be filtered through a 1-5. If the hotel selected is 4.5 stars, you would select 4-star.

4. Match the Hot Rate to the Standard Hotel

Once you’ve added both the Hotel Class and Guest Rating, you’ll find the Hot Rate hotel. Match the descriptor under the “miles from search” on the hotel information to the left to the attributes found on your Hot Rate hotel. The easiest way to do this is by comparing the Guest Rating, located in the green box, and the number of Expedia reviews.

Note: I have on occasion found that the number of reviews listed on the Hot Rate does not match the number in Expedia. When that happens I usually look at the list of possible hotels in the Hot Rate description to see if I can deduce that is the hotel.

5. Return to the Hot Rate and book the hotel

Once you’ve decided what hotel you are interested in by finding more information on the Standard Rate Hotels, head back to the Hot Rate tab and book the hotel room.

Additional Tips and Tricks

• Hotwire is pushing their mobile app, which you can receive better discounts by booking through instead of using the Hotwire website.
• Hotwire always has additional promo codes that you can add at the time of payment. They are generally for a small percentage or a fixed amount discount and typically include promo codes for hotel and rental cars.
• Though I usually have luck with getting the best price for a hotel with the Hot Rate tool, it’s always a good idea to search the hotel price through other vendors to ensure it’s the best rate.

Explore on. -K