When planning a vacation, lodging is often times so expensive that it slows down the entire process. But believe it or not, there are ways to save a lot of money on hotel and motel rooms. This holds true no matter if you are dealing with a five star luxury resort or a small motel that offers nothing more than a place to rest your head for the night.

Have you ever given any thought to booking your hotel room directly through the front desk? In today’s day and age of technology, more and more travelers are booking online and in turn missing out on some of the best deals.

If you call the hotel front desk you may be surprised at the deal you can negotiate. Here are several tips to follow:

1. Call the same day or the day before if you are interested in the best deal. Why does this work out in your favor? Simply put, hotels don’t want to get stuck with empty rooms. After all, an empty room does not make them any money. If a hotel can earn your business by offering a discount they will more than likely jump at the opportunity. After all, some money is better than none.

2. Be aware that hotels need to fill rooms. As noted above, the longer you wait to call the better chance you have of using this to your advantage. For instance, if you need to check-in Monday evening call the hotel that morning. If they have any rooms, and expect this to be the case for a couple of days, you should be able to negotiate a superb price. And remember, you are not “married” to one hotel. If you get turned down by the first hotel there is nothing wrong with trying another.

3. Be nice! Even though you are in the driver’s seat from a negotiating point of view, you need to be respectful to the person on the other end of the phone. If they cannot help, you may want to kindly ask for a manager. You will get further being nice than by demanding a lower price in a rude tone.

4. At the very least, you should be able to get a better room at a lower rate. For example, if the hotel won’t lower the price on a standard room, ask them if they can upgrade you to a suite for the same cost. No, you won’t save money, but you will at least get something in return for your negotiations. 

Don’t be afraid to use the above tips when booking a room directly through the hotel front desk. Who knows how much money you will save!