Hotel finder websites can get you great deals: but you have to know how to make them work for you. The first thing to check when looking for bargain hotels – especially last minute hotel rooms – is that you’re not booking into a dump. Be wary. If you find an absolute bargain, chances are that there’s a reason why this particular hotel is offering cheap deals when all the others in the area are not. There could well be a genuine reason –  perhaps they’ve just reopened after a refurbishment (these are the best kind of hotel finder bargains!) – or it could just be that the place is terrible. Don’t count on your hotel finder website to tell you.

When searching in hotel finder websites for the best prices, remember the number one rule:

Hotel Finder Tip: Bargain Hotels Need To Be Researched

There are many ways to find out whether a hotel is cheap for a reason. You can call and ask them and they might well give you a valid reason. Or you could check out recent guidebooks. Note that I say “recent” as a good bargain hotel in 1992 may have gone through several owners and not be a good bargain hotel today. Remember, back then online hotel finder sites were non-existant and these guidebooks were the only hotel finder sources available.

The easiest way to research is to look at online reviews. The big hotel and travel sites have extensive review sections. Learn to read between the lines and if there are no bad reviews that may be because the particular hotel finder website you are on don’t allow them. On the other side of the coin, some people are professional moaners and make a point of complaining about every small problem. Disregard one-off problems like noise from building sites unless building work is still going on. Email the hotel and ask.

When you’re looking for bargain hotels on hotel finder websites or elsewhere, it’s as well not to expect to pay two-star prices for five star quality – unless, of course, you can get a room at one of those five-star bargain hotels! (which is certainly possible). Read as many reviews on as many sites as you can find and pretty soon you’ll see a pattern emerge.

Hotel Finder Tip: When booking  bargain hotels, the big hotel websites are to be AVOIDED

Yes, this goes against everything you believe you know, isn’t it? We can’t name them, but the big websites that advertise everywhere and promise the cheapest deals ever (especially for last minute stuff) will almost certainly NOT be the cheapest. The millions they spend advertising themselves makes sure of that. On the face of it they offer tremendous ranges of bargain hotel rooms, but when you come to check out, the extras are added on. Local taxes, booking fees, credit card surcharges, and so on.

Although it might go against all our instincts, you are often much better off looking at the offers contained in ads on websites as in their actual content. Ask yourself why that website exists. Many of them are created only to make money for their owners. Information like this might be in very short supply. Bargain Hotel Finder is one of the few hotel finder websites that actually helps you get the best deal.