Bargain Hunter Dad Shares Tips For Saving £100s On Last-Minute Summer Holidays
- Finding a last-minute holiday can often be pricey
- Bargain Hunter Dad Tom Church shares tricks to save £100s
- Tips include checking Facebook for hidden codes that can save you £150
- Also reveals how to slash the cost of car rental and save over £200 on hotels
Those of us with busy lifestyles who may not have considered going on holiday this year could be regretting our decisions as the warmer weather hits. However, as it’s already August, it’s easy to presume booking last minute will result in astronomical prices. The good news is that this doesn’t have to be the case.
Bargain Hunter Dad Tom Church, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘You’ll always benefit from discounted prices if you book holidays in advance, but you can still cut your costs hugely if you want a last-minute getaway. These are my tricks to help you save £100s, from checking Facebook for hidden codes to slashing the cost of car rental.’
Choose Secret Hotels - Save Over £200 By Booking A Surprise
If you’re willing to roll the dice on where you stay, consider booking a secret hotel. These deals will give you a discounted price compared with booking direct, as you won’t know the name of the hotel until you’ve paid. This trick is a great way to save a lot of money on your upcoming holiday, as hotels will be selling unsold rooms at a cheaper rate by using this system. For example, I browsed Secret Escapes and found a Bristol hotel near the Harbourside district for £79 a night, instead of £155. If I booked for three nights, I’d be paying £237 instead of £465. That’s a saving of £228!
Split Your Train Fare - Save £50 By Avoiding Direct Journey Prices
You may be put off by train prices sometimes when you plug in your upcoming journey - however, you can cut your costs by splitting your fare. Simply put, instead of paying for one ticket covering the entire journey, you can pay for multiple tickets instead. You may not even have to change trains - just present the right ticket at inspection time! There are a few resources available, but my favorite is Split My Fare. I used the tool to calculate a journey between London and Bristol Temple Meads for that secret hotel. I managed to save 32% - or £47.26 - on my fare!
Check Facebook Groups - Get £150 Off With Hidden Codes
You may browse traditional holiday sites to find your accommodation, but did you know there are all kinds of deals to be found on Facebook? For example, the group Last Minute Holiday Villas & Apartments / School Holidays & Half Terms is a treasure trove of cancellations, discounts and special offers for those seeking a last-minute holiday. I scrolled down and found there was a holiday cottage in Scotland offering £150 off a 7-night stay for those who used the code provided on their website. If I’d found the cottage elsewhere, such as via Google, I wouldn’t have known about the code!
Always Use Comparison Sites - Save Over £100 By Grabbing The Best Price
It can be easier to browse your usual websites for hotels or apartments when you’re researching a holiday, but if you use a comparison site you’d be surprised at the savings you can make. These resources pull prices for your preferred location and timeframe from various websites in order to find you the best price. For example, I looked up stays in Bristol between 17th and 20th August on the price comparison site Kayak. I took a look at the Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre and was surprised at the huge discrepancy in prices. If I’d booked with Rooms XXL I’d have paid £415, but Kayak informed me I could save just over £100 by booking via Snaptravel and getting the exact same hotel, for the same timeframe, for £314!
Dodge Car Rental Sites - Use Car Sharing Marketplaces & Save £200
If you don’t have your own vehicle but you’ve realized driving is the cheapest way to get to your holiday destination, the price of a car rental can easily put a spanner in the works. Going on traditional car rental sites can be expensive - for example, I looked up the options for renting an SUV between 17th and 18th August, picking it up from London, and the best pay now price on Enterprise was £95. I compared this price with the choices on Turo, a car-sharing marketplace where people rent out their vehicles. I found an option to rent a Nissan Qashqai for £30 a day. If I was renting for 3 days via Enterprise, I’d pay £285, but with Turo, it’s £90 - that’s a saving of £195!
Compare Travel Options - Save £150 By Doing Your Research
You may be used to using a specific mode of transport for everything you do - perhaps you love taking your car everywhere, or the train could be your preferred commuting option. When it comes to going on holiday, you may default to travelling this way without thinking, but it may not be the cheapest option. If you want a quick way to find out which transport is best on a budget, use a site like Omio. I looked up a journey between Bristol and Edinburgh for a few days in August and I found out that the most expensive option was the train at £227, while taking buses would cost me £80. It’s a longer journey, but it would save me almost £150!
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