Travel tips

6 Hotel Perks That Save You Money

Traveling is expensive, so when we hit the road we’re always on the lookout for ways to save money. One thing we do is stay at hotels that offer money saving perks. As part of our process to find the best hotel deal possible, we have a checklist of perks we’re looking for. Here are some of the perks on the top of our list:

Pool and Hot Tub

I’ve found that many hotels that cater to business people do not have pools. I’ve also been shocked to find how many hotels in larger cities don’t have hot tubs. I personally don’t care much about the pool, but I love to soak in a hot tub after a long day of traveling.

Free Workout Facilities

I’m an avid exerciser, and require decent workout facilities. Many hotels throw a few treadmills and some dumbbells in a room and call it a workout room. While I don’t expect hotels to have a full weight room, having some sort of universal machine that would accommodate a decent strength training workout is preferable. If I can find a hotel that has such facilities, I can avoid paying a day’s membership at a nearby gym, or just skipping my workout.

Free Wifi

Some hotels charge $20 – $30 for an night of internet access, so we always ask about getting free Wifi access. We have a large data plan, but free Wifi at hotels keeps us within our plan.  This is important when we’ve got family members streaming movies and I need to connect remotely to work.

Free Breakfast

When we get up in the morning, we’re ready to get on the road and put some miles behind us. Having to find a place to sit down and eat is time consuming, and just grabbing something from a gas station is not healthy or cost effective. Being able to grab something to eat at the hotel in the morning before continuing our travels is not only money saving, but convenient.

Free Drinks

Our favorite hotels offer a Manager’s Reception for a few hours in the evening featuring free light snacks and drinks. We generally don’t stay up late while traveling, and thus don’t venture far from the hotel, so a few hours of free drinks to unwind and relax is exactly the kind of entertainment we’re looking for.

Free Evening Food

This perk is actually new to the list. During a recent trip we stayed at a hotel that not only had a manager’s reception featuring free drinks, but also a light meal. Combine that with free breakfast the next morning, and we get two free meals and evening entertainment included in our hotel stay.

Staying in a hotel can be a significant expense. By seeking out hotels that offer free money saving perks, you can help reduce the impact a hotel stay has on your travel budget.

Feel free to check out some of my favorite posts:

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Brought to you courtesy of Brock

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