The 17 Best Websites for Booking Hotels at the Cheapest Prices [2022]

Travel is fun, right? But it can get expensive if you don’t know where and how to find the best deals. That’s where we can help.

Getting a great deal on a hotel room can save you Online Hotel Booking hundreds of dollars. Sure, you can always reserve a hotel room on the hotel’s website, but is that the best way to do it? How about all of the popular online travel agencies (OTAs)? Which one offers the best pricing?

We’ve shown you how to find the best prices on flights, the best prices on car rentals, and the best prices on cruises. Now we’ll show you how to do the same with hotel rooms.

We’ve gone through all of the best and most popular websites (plus a few that aren’t so popular) to find out once and for all: where is the best place to book a hotel at the cheapest price?

The Hotel’s Own Website

There are lots of times when it makes sense to just keep things simple and book on the hotel’s own website, whether it’s Marriott, Hilton, IHG, or any other. If you’re a member of a hotel’s loyalty program and are trying to earn or maintain elite status, you will most likely want to book direct.

By booking direct, you can take advantage of discounted member rates and will be sure to earn loyalty points and elite night credits. Many hotel chains offer promotions that allow you to earn lots of bonus points.

If you don’t book direct, the hotel may not recognize your elite status!

For example, if you have Marriott Platinum Elite status and you book your room through Orbitz, you could easily miss out on your lounge access (and free breakfast) perk.

1. Kayak

Kayak is not an OTA, it’s a metasearch engine for travel deals. This site will look at all the other sites and show you where the best deals are.

One of the things to love about Kayak, in addition to the great filtering options at the left of the screen, is the map feature.

On the search results page, you will see a map on the upper left-hand side of the screen. When you click on it, you will get a detailed map of your destination city, including hotel locations as well as popular areas for eating, sightseeing, shopping, and nightlife. Each dot on the map represents a hotel. You can click on any of them to get more details about the hotel, along with price comparisons.

You can also use the price slider to narrow your search to only inexpensive options.

Kayak hotel map feature with price filter

Kayak’s map feature can offer lots of information about your destination city, including where the cheapest hotels are located. Image Credit: Kayak

Also, keep an eye out for Pricebreakers. These are opaque fare deals. That means you won’t know all of the details of your reservation until after you book. When searching for a cheap hotel on Kayak, you can select Pricebreakers in the filtering options for your search.

You’ll then see deals that give you the price and 3 hotel possibilities, but you won’t know exactly which hotel you’ll get until after it’s booked.

Kayak Pricebreakers

You may be able to save money with a Pricebreakers deal as long as you don’t mind not knowing your hotel until after it’s booked. Image Credit: Kayak

Pros and Cons of Kayak

Pros:

Pricebreakers

Kayak maps

Cons:

Kayak doesn’t always show the price on the hotel’s own website and this can often be cheaper

Hot Tip:

For more information about Kayak and how to find great deals on hotels, flights, car rentals, vacation packages, cruises, and more, check out our in-depth guide to Kayak.

2. Expedia

We’ve shown you how to save money on flights by booking through Expedia, but how does this OTA compare when booking a hotel room?

One thing that makes Expedia unique is it offers its own rewards program. It’s free to join and allows you to earn points that you can use to book travel on Expedia. This program isn’t impressive when it comes to flights, but hotel bookings through Expedia offer a much better earn rate.

For each hotel booking, you will earn 1x Expedia Rewards point per $1 spent. If you book on the app, you’ll earn an additional 1x point per dollar, and if you book a VIP Access stay, you’ll earn an additional 2x points per dollar. These bonus points stack so you can earn 4x points when booking a VIP Access stay through the Expedia app.

VIP Access Hotel on Expedia

Expedia Rewards members can earn 4x points on VIP Access hotels booked through the app. Image Credit: Expedia

Also, keep an eye out for Member Rates that can be accessed by creating a free account.

Pros and Cons of Expedia

Pros:

Expedia Rewards

Members-only deals

Cons:

You will not earn loyalty points or elite night credits on the hotel’s own rewards program

While most bookings are refundable, some are not; pay attention to the terms of your booking before completing your purchase

Hot Tip:

While you won’t earn points through the hotel’s loyalty program when you book through Expedia, you can earn credit card points. Look for cards that earn points in the general “travel category,” like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or the Citi Premier® Card, all of which earn 3x points on hotels. See our full list of the best travel credit cards in our in-depth guide.

3. Priceline

Searching for a hotel on Priceline is straightforward and prices are similar to other OTAs.

One of the areas where Priceline can offer a deep discount is through its Express Deals. These opaque bookings keep details of the hotel secret until the booking is complete. These are prepaid, nonrefundable, and nontransferable bookings. If your plans aren’t concrete, it’s best to avoid this type of booking.

Priceline Express Deals and Pricebreakers

Look for Priceline’s Express Deals and Pricebreakers to save some money. Image Credit: Priceline

These Express Deals also have a much more generous best-price guarantee than standard bookings. When booking a traditional hotel room through Priceline, you will receive a 100% refund of the price difference if you find a better price within 24 hours of booking.

However, if you book an Express Deal and find a better price anytime up to midnight before you travel, you will get a 200% refund of the price difference!

The reservations must be identical in all aspects, and the rate must be available to the general public (no member rates) to qualify.

If you like the idea of Express Deals but want a little more certainty, check out Pricebreakers. These opaque bookings will show you 3 hotel options before you book. You still won’t know which one you’ll get until after you book, but you’re guaranteed to get 1 of the 3 options.

The last thing you’ll want to know about Priceline is that it has a loyalty program called Priceline VIP. This free program comes with 4 levels of membership offering perks like best price guarantees, hotel discounts, and Express Deal coupons.

Hot Tip:

If your plans are flexible and you are comfortable booking an unknown hotel, Priceline Express Deals and Pricebreakers can certainly save you some big bucks!

Pros and Cons of Priceline

Pros:

Priceline VIP

Express Deals

Pricebreakers

Cons:

You won’t earn hotel loyalty points or elite night credits when booking through Priceline

Hot Tip:

For more information about finding the best deals on Priceline, check out our complete guide to booking travel with Priceline.

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4. Momondo

Momondo is an easy-to-use travel metasearch engine that sorts through deals on other websites to help you find the best price. Once you find a deal on Momondo, you’ll be transferred to a booking website (an online travel agency or a hotel’s website) to book. You won’t ever actually book anything on Momondo’s website.

Momondo Hotel deals

Momondo shows you hotel prices from lots of websites in 1 place. Image Credit: Momondo

Pros and Cons of Momondo

Pros:

The easy-to-use interface shows you prices from lots of websites at 1 time

Cons:

There’s no loyalty program

Hot Tip:

For more information, check out our detailed guide to using Momondo.

5. Booking.com

Booking.com is an easy-to-use site where you can search for and book hotels, hostels, B&Bs, apartments, and vacation homes.

One thing that stands out about this site is its generous low-price guarantee. If you find a lower advertised price for the same reservation available to the public (not a member or special rate), Booking.com will refund the difference up to 24 hours before your check-in date. The offer needs to be online and available at the time Booking.com checks.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is the Genius discount. When a room type is marked as Genius discount available, you’ll save 10% off the base price by logging in to your account. We’ve tested this and sure enough, the price was adjusted just by logging in.

Booking.com Genius discount

You’ll save 10% by booking a rate that’s marked with the Genius logo. Image Credit: Booking.com

In addition to discounts, the Genius Loyalty Program offers perks like free breakfast and room upgrades. There are 3 levels to the Genius program based on the number of stays you complete in a 2 year period.

Pros and Cons of Booking.com

Pros:

Genius Loyalty Program

Generous price-match guarantee

Option to book non-traditional accommodations like hostels or B&Bs

Cons:

You won’t earn loyalty points or elite night credits from the hotel’s rewards program

Hot Tip: 

For lots more information check out our definitive guide to Booking.com.

6. Hotels.com

One of the best things about Hotels.com is its rewards program. When you stay 10 nights, you get 1 night free. The value of your free night is the average price of the 10 nights you stayed to earn it.

If you stayed 5 nights at a $200 per night hotel and 5 nights at a $300 per night hotel, your free night would be worth $250. You can redeem your free night without restrictions or blackout dates at over 213,000 properties across the globe, however, you’ll still have to pay the taxes and fees.

Hotels.com Rewards

Hotels.com has its own rewards program. For every 10 nights you stay, you can earn 1 for free! Image Credit: Hotels.com

Hotels.com also offers secret prices. These are advertised to save you up to 50%, but in reality, these discounts can be more in the 5% to 10% range.

Unfortunately, as with most OTAs, you will not be able to earn loyalty points or elite nights with the hotel’s program when booking through Hotels.com. If you generally aren’t loyal to 1 brand or don’t have elite status with a brand, this probably doesn’t need to be a factor in your decision of where to book.

Hot Tip:

You will not earn hotel points or elite night credits for nights booked through an OTA.

Pros and Cons of Hotels.com

Pros:

Hotels.com rewards program

Members-only secret pricing

Cons:

You won’t earn loyalty points or elite night credits from the hotel’s rewards program

You have to pay taxes and fees on reward nights

Hot Tip:

For more information, check out our guide to booking travel and saving money with Hotels.com.

7. Orbitz

Orbitz is another easy-to-use OTA with a strong in-house loyalty program. You can earn Orbucks, worth $1 off your hotel bill, on hotels, flights, travel packages, and activities.

The Orbucks earning rate is much better for hotels than flights and Orbucks can only be redeemed for hotels. The only catch is generally, you can only earn Orbucks on prepaid hotel stays.

Earn 3% Orbucks for hotel stays booked on a desktop

Earn 4% Orbucks for hotel stays booked on the Orbitz app

Orbitz Orbucks

Unfortunately, you can only earn Orbucks on prepaid hotel rooms. Image Credit: Orbitz

Orbitz has its own version of elite status that can earn benefits like Wi-Fi and breakfast at select hotels after only 4 stays per year. After only 12 stays per year, you will earn Platinum status, which comes with benefits like free TSA Precheck (an $85 value).

While Orbitz’s prices are right in line with other OTAs, some of the ongoing benefits it offers might make them a great choice for the casual traveler.

However, if you can stay consistent with 1 hotel brand, booking directly with the hotel to receive their elite benefits might be a better deal.

Another way Orbitz can save you money on a hotel is if you book a hotel and flight together. When searching for a 7-night hotel stay in San Francisco plus a flight separately or as a bundle, the bundle saved over $100!

Orbitz Vacation Packages

Booking a hotel and flight together can save you money. Image Credit: Orbitz

Pros and Cons of Orbitz

Pros:

Orbitz Rewards program

Vacation packages

Cons:

You can only earn Orbucks on prepaid hotel stays

You won’t earn hotel loyalty points or elite night credits when booking through Orbitz

Hot Tip:

Learn more in our detailed guide to booking travel with Orbitz.

8. Hotwire

Hotwire has been around a long time and is probably the go-to OTA for many travelers, but is it the best place to book your next hotel stay if you’re looking for the cheapest price?

If you have some flexibility or aren’t particular about the exact hotel you stay in, Hotwire’s Hot Rate hotels could be a way to save you some money. These are opaque bookings, meaning you won’t know the exact hotel until after the booking is complete.

Hotwire Hot Rate Hotels

Look for Hot Rate hotels to save some money on your hotel booking. Image Credit: Hotwire

However, you will be able to see the hotel’s rating, neighborhood, amenities, and Tripadvisor ratings, as well as the exact hotel the person before you got.

Hot Tip:

Hotwire Hot Rate hotels could save you money. These are bookings in which you won’t know the exact hotel until after the booking is complete, so these properties are best for travelers with some flexibility.

Another way to save some money when booking through Hotwire is by booking a vacation package. Booking a hotel and flight together can save hundreds of dollars! To take advantage of this, go to the Vacations tab or Bundles tab in the top search menu.

Pros and Cons of Hotwire

Pros:

Hot Rate Hotels

Vacation packages

Cons:

Hotel chains including Marriott and Hyatt offer discounted member rates, and you won’t be able to see these on Hotwire

Hot Tip:

For more information about booking travel and saving money with this platform, check out our complete guide to Hotwire.

9. American Express Travel

American Express offers more than just credit cards! Amex Travel is the travel portal operated by American Express, and it operates much like an OTA. It’s even available even to those who don’t hold an American Express credit card, although you will get more benefits if you have an Amex card.

One of the downsides to using Amex Travel is you have to create an account and log in to see final pricing. The prices shown do not include taxes and fees, so it can be a little misleading if you aren’t logged in.

Pricing through Amex Travel tends to be in line with other OTAs. However, if you have The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you can earn 5x points on prepaid hotel stays booked through Amex Travel. Booking fees charged for booking flights through Amex Travel are also waived if you have one of these cards.

If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you might be tempted to use them to book travel directly through Amex Travel. As a general rule, this isn’t a good use of points.

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