Every year around 12 million people travel to Melbourne, from both domestic and international locations, for business, to visit friends and family, see the sights or for one of a dozen other reasons, and many of them will choose to stay in a hotel. That sounds like a pretty straightforward, everyday kind of activity, but actively looking for a really nice hotel that has an equally attractive room charge attached can be quite time-consuming.
Save yourself time and stress by using this list of handy tips we have put together especially to help you find a great Melbourne hotel that meets all your needs, at a really great price.
Tip #1 – Be clear on the area you want to stay in
Perhaps you need to be near a particular company to do a business deal, want to be close to the main tourist attractions, or would prefer to be located in the centre of a lively evening entertainment scene. What matters is that you are familiar with the areas that will meet your particular needs. Being able to narrow your search areas down avoids wasting time chasing after deals in hotels that are then found to be unsuitable.
Tip #2 – Try booking directly with a hotel
This isn’t always possible as some places prefer to have third party deals set up to take responsibility for that kind of admin task.
Tip #3 – Use a good comparison site
Searching for deals on Melbourne hotels using a well established and well-reviewed comparison site is an easy way to have a dozen booking options delivered pretty much instantly. These can be quite detailed, a convenient way of comparing what kind of deals different hotel booking sites are offering.
Tip #4 – Clear cookies between searches
There are plenty of people who are convinced that cookies stored on websites while you are searching for a Melbourne hotel mean returning to search again on a second or third day affects the results generated – largely returning higher room rates for some unknown reason. Whether you believe this is possible or not, it can’t do any harm to try it.
Tip #5 – Take a chance on a mystery site
There are several websites offering a service where the customer sets the parameters for their hotel stay – star level, budget, essential facilities, etc, and is presented with several good matches. The trick is they are unnamed until booked and paid for, but there can be some deep discounts up for grabs this way.
Tip #6 – Be flexible
This isn’t always possible, but with city hotel rooms being cheaper on weekdays, and tourist areas generally quieter mid-week, if you have the chance to take advantage of this it’s worth it.
Tip #7 – Book well ahead
It may seem more likely that empty rooms booked a few days before you travel will always be the best deal, and in some cases, this is certainly true, but plenty of hotels prefer the security of filling their reservation sheets ahead of time. To encourage this there can be some attractive discounts on offer, which are worth a look at if you have enough of a window.