Finding the Best Deals

In this section, we discuss some of most popular tricks and tips for finding the best hotel deals available.  By using a combination of the following, you can make your medical tourism vacation that much more affordable, successful, and enjoyable. 

Shop Online

In today’s cyber-connected world, there is no shortage of hotel booking sites, user-generated reviews, and customer feedback.  Just as with airline tickets, we prefer to use Kayak since it scours hundreds of different hotel sites and deal finders.  In other words, Kayak looks for the best rates from popular sites like Orbitz and Expedia.  In addition to pricing information, Kayak also provides customer reviews, amenities, photos, maps, and star ratings.   

But even with online shopping, you can still come across a dud every now and then.  After all, it’s much cheaper for a hotel to design a stunning Web site with great pictures than it is to upgrade rooms, remodel the facilities, and buy luxurious furniture.  This is why some guests choose to double book hotels in order to provide themselves with more options. 

Book through Hotels Directly

Although travel search engines can often find the best deals online, some hotels don’t always publish their best fares online.  And even those that do still have room to negotiate under the right circumstances.  According to Consumer Reports, 70% of the 35,000 individuals surveyed in its study indicated that haggling for cheaper prices worked with hotel staff.  Granted, this particular survey was restricted to American hotels, but the process can still be effective for international bookings. 

How does this work exactly? 

The prices that you find online through travel aggregators don’t leave much wiggle room for the hotels themselves.  That’s because many of these aggregators take a percentage of each booking, and thus, undercut what the hotels would make if you booked the rooms directly through them.  By calling hotels directly, you essentially cut out the middle-man. 

When haggling for better prices, asking some of the following questions can work magic:

• Do you have any special packages?

• Are you aware that I found a better price for your hotel on Kayak?

• Is this the very best rate that you can offer me?

• Do you offer any types of discounts (disabilities, senior, corporate, etc)?

Use a Travel Agent

Although travel agents are becoming increasingly “obsolete” in the Internet age, it’s still possible to find reputable and efficient travel agents who beat many travel search engines.  If you’re truly interested in exhausting all options, don’t overlook travel agents as a resource. 

Go During Off-Season

If you book your hotel during the off-season, you can sometimes find amazing deals.  Hotels like to remain full, and some of them will do whatever it takes to increase occupancy rates. 

The upside of taking your medical tourism vacation during the off-season is that most everything will be cheaper (flights, hotels, food, etc.).  The downside is that certain aspects of your actual trip might be lacking.  After all, there is a reason that the off-season is the off-season.  In India, for example, you probably don’t want to go during monsoon season.   

If medical tourism appeals to you because you can combine an affordable vacation with nonessential medical treatment, then booking your hotel during the off-season is not a good idea.  You'll miss out on much of the action and adventure.  If, however, you’re going because you need life-saving treatments that you couldn’t otherwise afford, then the off-season is probably the best time for you to go.  You won't have much use for sightseeing and scuba diving after heart surgery or a hip replacement.

Be Willing to Travel

If you’re looking for the absolute best deals, it sometimes pays to book hotels that are away from city centers.  This obviously means that you’ll have to travel farther in order to reach tourist destinations, medical facilities, and other points of interest.  You'll need to weight the extra taxi costs against the potential hotel savings.   

Book in Advance

Because hotels like to fill up their rooms far in advance, it pays to book earlier rather than later.  Many resorts and hotels will be willing to give you discounted rates (especially during the off-season) if you call ahead.  Be sure to monitor the rates over time, however.  If you find that the rate has dropped significantly 72 to 48 hours before you’re supposed to arrive, you should be able to cancel the original booking and re-reserve your hotel room at the better rate. 

Book Travel Packages

We’re not entirely sure how and why the following works, but it’s sometimes cheaper to book your hotel and airfare together as a packaged deal.  A plane ticket that might cost $500 and a hotel room that might cost $100 could end up costing $450 together.  We actually don’t understand the math either, but we’ve run into this situation time and time again.  If you use popular travel sites like Kayak, be sure to check out how much you can save if you do packaged bookings. 

Stick with Hostels and Independent Hotels

If you’re looking for comfort and convenience, it’s best to stick with names that you know.  If you’re looking for price, however, it’s sometimes better to leave the multinational hotel chains behind and go with independent hotels and/or youth hostels.  Because you often end up talking directly to the manager or proprietor, you can sometimes find more attractive rates using this method. 

Avoid Weekends...Embrace Weekdays

Just as with flights, some of the most expensive hotel days are Saturday and Sunday.  If at all possible, try to restrict your trip during weekdays.  If your medical tourism vacation will last longer than five days, you might consider switching hotels during weekends.  For example, stay in a mid-range hotel, Monday through Friday, and then move into a more modest hotel on Saturday and Sunday. 

If your trip is going to last longer, you should ask the hotel about extended stay discounts.  Remember, hotels want to remain full.  If you promise to stay longer than normal, they can sometimes give you a discounted rate.

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