Everyone loves to travel but a lot of people don’t like the planning that’s involved beforehand. When it comes to accommodations, you can find the best hotels no matter where you’re going, if you follow a few simple suggestions.

Travel Sites

You can book your accommodations on one of the opaque travel sites. These are the sites that sell unsold hotel accommodations and airline tickets at discounted prices. The reason they’re called opaque sites is because you don’t know which supplier you’re dealing with until after the purchase is completed. If the discount is more important than the specific hotel, this might be a good option and you can get some good deals. Keep in mind that when you book your accommodations on an opaque site, you can’t change the dates or get a refund after you’ve booked.

Look for Hotels

Check the search engines for hotels in the city you’re traveling to. Narrow your search term for specific results. For example, family hotels, luxury hotels, boutique hotels, or hotels near attractions. Quite often, a hotel offers special rates when it’s located near a major attraction. You can also check hotel search engines for results in specific cities or a certain hotel. You’ll often find gems, like Best Canadian Motor Inns, where you’ll absolutely enjoy your time.

One of the most effective ways to get the accommodations you want is to go directly to the hotel’s website. You can find out what special promotions the hotel is running and what amenities are available. For example, Walt Disney World in Orlando has a wide selection of accommodations within or very close to the Walt Disney World Resort. If you do a search for hotels near the resort, you can often get discounted prices at many of the attractions in the resort.

Be Flexible On Dates

If you can be more flexible in the dates, you might be able to get better deals than you would if you plan to travel on a specific weekend or at certain peak times. You can often get better prices if you plan to arrive mid-week rather than on a weekend. You might even be able to negotiate a lower price if you’re a walk-in guest.

If you call the hotel directly, you could get a better deal if you qualify for certain discounts. Special rates for government employees or servicemen, senior discounts, gift or entertainment cards, special rates for business travelers, or discounts from automobile clubs are good examples. If you call the hotel directly, you may even qualify for more than one discount.