Book on a Tuesday, try for freebies: how to get the best dea...

Book at the right time

Leisure travellers often book over the weekend, when they have more time to plan. However, by early in the week, business travel schedules are usually confirmed or adjusted, which can free up rooms. As a result, by around Tuesday, availability is often clearer, and booking websites may reduce prices to fill those spaces for near-term bookings.

If you can be flexible, booking at short notice can sometimes pay off. Many hotels and platforms operate cancellation window policies of 24-48 hours, and if people cancel close to the date, the hotel would rather sell the room than leave it empty. It is a risky gamble but sometimes you can get a great deal by booking after 6pm on the day.

However, with chains such as Premier Inn and Travelodge, Linda Reynolds at Personal Travel Agents recommends booking early, as they often release “saver” rates months in advance. For example, at the time of writing, Premier Inn was advertising rooms starting from £45 a night for stays between 1 October this year and 31 January 2026.

Travelodge has a “rooms from £35 or less” offer for stays before 25 June 2026 across many locations. Looking at central Reading, for a stay starting on 11 October, there were rooms from about £27 a night. In central London, for a stay from 11-17 October, rooms were available from about £45 a night.

Sites and apps such as Google Hotels, Kayak or Trivago will send you emails letting you know when prices drop. Some, including Google Hotels, allow you to track prices over time and receive email alerts when prices drop. Additionally, they provide insights into whether current rates are higher or lower than average.

If your booking is cancellable, you can check back a week or two later. Prices often fall – and then you can rebook at the lower rate.

Let the train take the strain

Sometimes booking a package that includes train travel and the hotel on a site such as Expedia, Lastminute.com, Great Little Breaks, Hotel Direct or Trainline can work out cheaper than booking each component separately.

On Hotel Direct, for example, for a two-adult trip, you could book a hotel in Cardiff for two nights at £161.57 and a return train from London Paddington. Train times and prices varied, but departing at 10.15am on 6 October and returning at 10.50am on 8 October, two tickets were £161.56 – giving a total spend of £323.13.

Booking the same components separately would cost more: the same hotel for those dates was priced at £184, while train travel at the same time came to £212.58, giving a total of £396.58.

If you are looking at packages, also look at the cost of buying separately, as sometimes it will work out cheaper.

Be flexible

Staying from a Sunday until a Thursday will usually be cheaper than a break over a weekend. Also check for school holidays and local events because these will push up prices.

Where you are going makes a difference, too. Reynolds says: “Sunday nights in cities are usually cheaper than Friday or Saturday nights because leisure demand dips after the weekend. In rural locations, including coastal areas, midweek (Monday to Thursday) is often cheaper than weekends, when leisure travellers arrive.”

Staying just outside a city centre can save you a lot. In London, zones 2–3 (locations such as Stratford and Greenwich) are far cheaper than inner areas but are still well connected. This works in places such as Edinburgh or Manchester, too.

You could get a bargain by snapping up someone else’s cancelled break. The money coach Maddy Alexander-Grout regularly uses the Plans Change marketplace. It allows people to resell a hotel room booking if they have changed their mind. Buyers benefit from a minimum 25% discount on the original price.

“In my job, I travel around the country a lot, and I regularly use the site, saving about 20% on a hotel booking direct.,” she says.

Check for discounts

Credit cards often have hidden benefits for cardholders. You may find that yours includes offers to use points on hotel stays. Ross Jenkins, a frequent traveller, says he has absolutely mastered booking at Radisson with his American Express card.

“The saving is made by using Radisson VIP, buying points in the sale and using the booster system to get an additional discount,” he says. “I’m saving a huge amount and I’m getting a full room upgrade to a suite about 50% of the time.” He recently stayed at the Radisson RED in Glasgow and paid only £38 a night for a room that would normally be £110.

Be aware that you have to pay annually for Amex membership, so check whether it will benefit you.

Use cashback sites such as TopCashback and Quidco, which give money back if the hotel or chain participates. Just use the site’s booking page to get the cashback into your account.

The Sainbury’s Nectar and Tesco Clubcard loyalty schemes regularly have holiday offers, too. For example, you can link your Nectar account with the hotel chain Marriott Bonvoy. This lets you earn Nectar points when staying at participating Marriott hotels globally, and also convert between Marriott Bonvoy points and Nectar points. Tesco Clubcard lets you swap your vouchers for up to double their value to spend on hotel stays with partners such as Hotels.com and Best Western.

Discount and voucher sites such as VoucherCodes and Hotukdeals.com often run 10-20% off deals, especially for hotel chains.

Meanwhile, the Honey app will automatically check for discount codes on retailer sites that you visit.

You may be entitled to a discount because of your job. For example, the Blue Light card provides discounts for emergency workers, teachers, armed forces and more. Best Western gives a 5% discount to cardholders. UNiDAYS, Totum and Student Beans provide discounts for students, such as 12% off easyHotels.

Be loyal

Hotel loyalty programmes can be good even if you only ever go once. They may have an introductory offer such as a discount or a free drink and give you points, discounts or priority on offers for future stays.

Even casual travellers can get cheaper “members’ rates” or perks via schemes such as Hilton Honors and IHG One Rewards. Note how long the points last and what is included. For example, “free” or discounted nights with points may not have breakfast included.

When you sign up for hotel newsletters, you often receive notice of early discounts and exclusive deals.

Do your research

Using various hotel booking platforms will give you an idea of prices, and you can then look at booking direct, which is likely to be cheaper. The hotel will not be paying commission fees, so could provide a better deal.

If you do plan to use a third-party booking site, research where it is based. If the site is based overseas, it can be very difficult to apply UK law and get money back if there is a problem, regardless of where the hotel is based.

Try for freebies

It is worth trying your luck at getting a free perk or upgrade. Put on a smile and, when you check in, simply ask at reception whether there is anything going. Mention if it is a special event such as a birthday or anniversary. You have nothing to lose by simply asking.

Sharan Sammi, a frequent traveller, always calls a hotel direct to book and tries her luck at that point. “I’ve received free breakfasts, gym passes, Starbucks drinks and bottles of wine for special occasions. It’s particularly good when booking last-minute,” she says.

When you book, ask whether there is a late checkout or other chargeable extras, which may open doors to other options they could offer.

Rachel Bickford is the co-founder of OTTO Holiday Club, a community for school staff and families who can only travel during school holidays, when prices are highest. She advises looking for family-friendly offers such as “kids eat free” deals and using local retailers to keep costs down. However, she warns: “Watch out for hidden extras such as parking charges, which can significantly increase the overall price.”