Few things feel better than staying in a four star hotel at a two star price.

AP Travel Editor Beth J. Harpaz has a good piece online on how to book hotels on a budget. Some of her tips are obvious - but easy to forget when you start planning a few days away from home. For example:

• It's generally cheaper to stay in major cities on weekends because the business travellers have all gone home.
• It a lot cheaper to visit popular spots (she uses Miami Beach) during down times than during peak holidays. You can stay the whole first week of December for the price of a single night between Christmas and New Years Eve.
• During hard economic times it pays to look for good deals - because the resorts are hurting too.

Those are just a few of her ideas. You can read the whole article here


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Tim Kiusalaas. Posted by: Greg Cruey    Source

---