Trifter

Paying hotel bills can seriously affect your travel budget. Learn how to do that for less or for nothing.

Let’s start with the free list.

• Use hospitality exchange communities – host travelers at your home and be hosted. Hospitality club, CouchSurfuing, FreeLoaders, HostMeDudes, and more. If you want to pick one- CouchSuring has huge community all over the world, great interface, ways to ensure safety, various groups, meet-ups… being a couchsurfer is a way of personal identification. Hosting or being hosted is much more than a free couch, you meet interesting people and make friendships. So don’t be only a free loader, be a nice host/guest and a friend-to-be.
• Camp. With a good sleeping bag, you can use your tent even in winter. Some countries, e.g., Sweden, allow to camp anywhere for 1 night if you cannot see a house. Other countries don’t care. Yet in others, it is better to ask locals where it is safe to put your tent, and they might even offer their homes.

Image via Wikipedia

• Sleep in airports – www.sleepinginairports.com offers extensive reviews for (nearly) all airports of the world. Check there before you go where is the best place for a nap.
• Travel to places where you have friends. Even if you did not talk for years, they will probably be very happy that you are coming and will warmly welcome you. Don’t forget to bring them something, too!
• Work as a nanny/au-pair. You will get free housing, food, and ~300 EUR per month for personal expenses. Of course, you need to arrange it in advance. You can use one of the many agencies, websites, or post your own notices in the specialized websites. It is also possible to work a little for accommodation. Couchsurfing has a group specially for that.
• Exchange houses with friends, relatives, friends of friends, or people found in specialized websites. Again, if you are a member of Couchsurfing, you can find house exchange offers there in a special group. If members are verified and have references, it is quite reliable.

And if you want to pay a little…

• Travel in big groups – this way you will save significantly on hotel bills. It is often better to rent a small apartment or studio. Take your own mattress and sleeping bag, and you can book an apartment for less people and stay with more. You can also ask for extra bed in hotels, it should be cheaper that way. If you are alone, try to meet people on the way, for example, join other groups in hostels.
• Go to hostels or campings instead of hotels. Even if you can’t stand bunk beds, you can rent a private room. Campings also offer cheap cabins. Another plus of hostels is usually free Internet and possibility to meet people.

Image via Wikipedia

• Rent a camper.
• Use home stays.
• Book on-line – often you can save up to half price. In Ireland, once I booked a hostel while sitting in their lounge and using their Internet. Then, I showed the booking confirmation on my laptop, and got a bed for half of walk-in price.
•  Always research alternatives before you book. Even the same hotel/hostel can have different prices on different websites. If you book with an agency, you will pay more.