The cost of travel and lodging today has become extremely high. Surprisingly, the tourism industry has not witnessed a great deal of slowdown. People are ready to pay top dollars for their hotel rooms and flight tickets. It is as if they have accepted that travel for business and pleasure is going to burn a hole in their pockets.
However, most travelers do not realize that they can still save some mega bucks with good planning. Today, we are going to share five tips which will help you save on flight and hotel costs. The extra money saved can then be used for sightseeing or treating yourself to a nice dinner at a fine restaurant.
1. Make your plans earlier than usual
When we start planning our business trips or holidays, more often than not, the trips are planned a month in advance. The reason behind this is that it is impossible to narrow down schedules much in advance. However, consider this scenario: Studies have shown that flight and hotel rates booked three or four months in advance are much lower as compared to one month in advance. The average savings are around five percent. In some cases, the savings come close to nine to ten percent.
2. Ignore the holiday season
The common trend is that everybody jostles for slots during the holiday season. The most common months are summer vacations and end-of-the-year slots. However, under the name of discounts, you end up with very small savings. So what is the other option? That is extremely simple. Plan smaller holidays rather than big ones. By doing this, you can go for a holiday over a weekend during the off-season. This will serve two purposes. It will rejuvenate you and your family and the cost will be much lower.
3. Search for combined offers
One of the best ways to save money on flight and hotel costs is to combine both together. Most airlines and hotels have tie-ups in order to boost sales. What does this mean for you? You can now get the hotel rooms of your choice and airline tickets at one place as a package deal. The combined cost leads to much higher savings compared to when you purchase them individually.
4. Go to newer locations
The advent of technology has proven a boon to the tourism industry. Today, they can market new locations that would have earlier flown under the radar. These locations have been around for many years. However, the lack of advertising and proximity to popular locations has led to low numbers of tourists. With the advent of Google maps and travel websites, more and more people are searching for new and unexplored locations. The benefit is lower costs and fewer tourists, thus helping one relax and unwind.
5. Look for apartments rather than hotels
This is a new concept in the tourism industry. A number of residents have an unused extra room or an extra apartment. They are on the lookout for tourists and other out-of-towners who want a place for a few days. The cost of such rooms and apartments is much lower than a hotel room. Some places will even provide food for a marginal cost. At the end of the day, you can spend the extra money on a normal flight rather than travelling in the middle of the night.
Do you have any other tips and suggestion to save money on flight and hotel? Please share them with us.
About the Author:
This article is written by Paul Winchester. Paul is a freelance writer with more than 4 years experience and he is interested in various topics like travel, lifestyle and business. For even more useful information and tips or if you want to check out what are the prices for cheap flight and hotel with Startour (or as the Danis say “billig fly og hotel fra Spies“).
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