Money saving travel tips for good times and bad times.Hotels, like everything else in this economy, are maximizing their competitive edge. This is to your benefit. Do some leg work, many of them are giving free nights, discounts on packages, upgrades for rooms, decrease pricing or even throwing in free meals.This is one exampleCompanion Flies Free to ALL Sandals Resorts Destinations! Habit forming: If you like a particular hotel chain, stay with it; Several of them are now offering loyalty rewards with no blackout dates - so you could score some extra free nights during the most popular holidays. The high-end luxury market is not exempt from this trend, many resorts are including activities, drinks and meals in their rates for the benefit of their patrons. Bon voyage: Even all-inclusive one-stop shops like cruises are giving perks such as stateroom upgrades. Go native: One trend that has taken off big is house swapping or vacation renting of second homes. A whole new sets of websites are now dedicated to connecting people that way. Not only can you save on hotel costs but being in a home, you can choose to cook some meals and save on eating out as well, especially if you are traveling with children. When opportunity knocks: If you happen to live in a very popular tourist destination like NYC you can make a mint, even if you are not traveling yourself. A friend of mine has a two bedroom apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan, when his roommate left, he signed up with a site called Air B&B and rents out the extra bedroom to tourists for a week at a time, three weeks out of the month. Business is so good that he is able to live rent-free from this venture. Mine for yours: Other exchanges can be beneficial too. If you are flexible in where you want to visit, find out where your local currency is strong and make it your destination -you'll get more for your money. A variation of this is to book and pay ahead of time when your currency is strong so as to lock in the advantage and reduce the risk of rate fluctuation. Man's best friend: Another money saving travel tip is about the pets you leave behind. Instead of paying outrageous fees to a kennel, why not arrange pet-sitting swapping services with a friend or neighbor?. Domestic realm: If you travel within the States, have proper ID showing your status as a student, senior citizen or in the military. Any of those could save you a few dollars on car rentals, museums, movies, or theme parks. Days of the week: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are not the most popular travel days, so many airlines offer discounts if your trip starts or/and ends on those days. The four seasons: Traveling off season can also get you nice discounts anywhere, from airlines, hotels or even local restaurants grateful for the business.(great money saving travel tip) The early bird: If you can purchase your tickets at least 21 days before departure you are likely to get a better fare than if you wait for a closer date. Small is good: Is there a small regional airport near your destination? it might be cheaper to fly there than the big city airport. Thinking out of the box: If you are coming home from a domestic trip, consider sending your carry-on by Fed-Ex or UPS- the package rate of those services might be cheaper then the carry-on or luggage fees currently charged by some of the airlines. Money saving travel tips will not make you rich. Remember though, that the benefits will accumulate overtime. If you save just $400/year on vacation expenses, at the simple rate of 4%(over the long run) a year they will accumulate to almost 5,400 in 10 years.That could be enough for a couple of free vacations or a nice addition to your nest egg.
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