When travelling, we all want to get the best bargain, right? I know I do! Well I'm going to go ahead and do a little experiment using Trivago.com and booking.com.
Search Information 1:
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (I want a location not far from PNC / Heinz / Rivers) But I also don't want to spend an arm and a leg.
Dates: July 10, 2018 - July 12, 2018 (2 nights, mid week), 2 adults
Sort by: Lowest Price First
Booking brings up my best priced hotel as being Hilltop Inn Pittsburgh at $95 for 2 nights. This is listed on the website as 5.6 miles from city center. What they consider city center may different from what others do so check the map out. It is definitely not within walking distance! So going on the map, the cheapest, closer hotel I found would be the Brewery Lofts at $157 for 2 nights.
If you go off of the Trivago website Hilltop Inn is still on the top at $50 a night. If you want to drive, great! Pittsburgh traffic could be horrendous depending on time of day, but do some research and it may be your best bet! Trivago also has several closer to Heinz and PNC park but not for $50 a night, you're looking at over double for one night at least.
So going with the Hilltop Inn Pittsburgh, you're best option would be to book on booking.com as you then earn points towards the future! Like I have said before, payment in full upfront can usually score you the best deal. Make sure to also check out local hotel websites because sometimes you can catch a nice discount through the hotel website, but Trivago usually picks up on those.
Search Information 2:
Location: Las Vegas, NV (walking distance to casinos/locations on the strip!)
Dates: July 10, 2018 - July 12, 2018 (2 nights, mid week), 2 adults
Sort by: Lowest Price First
Using the same information we are searching "near or on the strip". Trivago brings up a map of less than $100 a night rooms. Amazing for being mid July in one of the biggest tourist attractions in America, right? You can get deals from $29 at Circus Circus, to even a more glamorous hotel/casino like Mirage at $76 or even the MGM at $85 a night! Depending on your budget, these are all great prices! Now are any of these pay later or saving you any more money? Not really... so let's check out Booking.
Booking for Circus Circus is $52 for 2 nights, cheaper yet! MGM is $153 for 2 nights and the Mirage is now $232 for 2 nights on booking. So clearly even though MGM and Circus Circus are similar, you are clearly saving almost $100 if you were to book the Mirage on Trivago!
My pick would definitely be Circus Circus. It may be just a tad further up the strip but it's not that bad. Considering having visited Vegas, you will be wanting to do a lot of walking to different casinos and if you don't want to walk Uber-it! Circus Circus has a lot of attractions just within the hotel/casino as well! Free cancellation up to a few days in advance of the booking date but no pay later rooms. Makes sense though because they want to guarantee rooms are paid!
So I really hope I helped out a bit. If you are travelling, here is what you need to do to get the best rate!
The hotel website of options you have! A lot of the time they may have secret savings.
Take into consideration: The location, complimentary breakfast availability, resort fees, booking fees, cancellation policy. Do your research and you will save the most!
Enjoy your travels!
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