As much as I love hostels, there is something nice about the luxuriousness of a hotel: the clean room, comfy bed, desk, iron, strong shower, and bottled soap for the taking (errr…I mean borrowing). They are a quiet, relaxing respite from the world.

But luxury comes at a price.

Hotels aren’t cheap and I hate spending money on a room I am only going to be in for a few hours. Often, even at my age, I would much rather stay in a hostel (private room though!), which costs less, has more social interaction, and doesn’t make you feel as removed from the destination you’re staying at. I always feel hotels are isolating, like a concrete bubble keeping you out of the place you’re visiting.

That said, the older I get, the more I use hotel points, and the more I travel for work, the more I find myself staying in hotels, especially if it’s a short trip.

I’ve spent years looking at websites trying to find the best ways to get the best rates on hotel rooms because the budget traveler in me hates spending a lot of money. Post-COVID, hotel prices have increased a lot and it seems there are fewer and fewer bargains these days.

But there are a lot of ways to actually get a good deal and stack deals on deals to lower the cost of your room.

Let me show you how.

How to Book Cheap Hotels

Here is how to find the cheapest hotel in one simple step:

First, go to Google and type in where you want to go. For example, “New York City hotels.”

That’s it. Google will pull results from all the major booking websites and tell you what site is the cheapest. You just go there and book your hotel. That’s why it’s the best booking site because, rather than searching every website individually, you can just go to Google, find which website has the cheapest rate, and book there. It saves a lot of time!

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Click on the “View hotels” button at the bottom of the first result section to go to Google’s hotel searching hub.

Next, put in your dates and filters to narrow your search until you find a hotel you like in your price range. You’ll be able to sort by lowest price and look at the map to book by location. You can even see typical pricing trends for your dates by clicking on “what you’ll pay.”

Click on the “view prices” button for a hotel and you’ll be presented with all your booking options. Find the lowest price and head to that website. Just keep in mind that the top results are usually ads, so scroll down to make sure you aren’t missing out on any deals.

Once you’ve found the lowest price, book at that website!

But, before you actually book the room, there are a couple of other tips you need to know about to ensure you get the best price possible:

1. Contact the hotel directly

Find the hotel, call them up, and ask them to match the offer (they usually will since it saves them on commission). If they are a big global brand, the big benefit to direct bookings is that you only earn loyalty points and status when you book direct, so if you love earning points and miles, don’t book their rooms elsewhere!

2. Use points

The best way to save money on a hotel room is to not have to pay for it. Collect hotel points through branded credit cards or transferring them from a Chase, Capital One, etc., and book a free room. I save thousands upon thousands of dollars a year doing this. Here are my favorite hotel cards to get you started.

3. Use discount rates like AAA or AARP

If you are part of the AARP or AAA you can get special rates that are cheaper. Fun fact: Anyone can join the AARP. I’m a member. They have amazing travel benefits (including deals on hotels and British Airways flights). It’s well worth the membership.

4. Use Mr.Rebates or Rakuten

If the lowest rate is through a major booking site like Booking.com, Expedia, or Hotels.com, go through Mr. Rebates or Rakuten. By using their links, you’ll get 1–10% back. It’s a little extra savings that can add up over time. I never do any online shopping without going to these sites (they have deals for everything).

5. Book a mystery deal

Both Priceline and Hotwire offer cheaper rates on hotel bookings where you don’t get the full reservation details up front. On Hotwire’s Hot Rates and Priceline’s Express Deals, you’ll see the general neighborhood as well as star rating of the property and amenities offered, just not the exact hotel itself. With Priceline’s Pricebreakers deals, you’ll be guaranteed one of three hotels that they group together (you just won’t know which one until you book). You can save 30–60% off with these deals if you can tolerate a bit of the unknown!

6. Sign up for Booking.com’s loyalty program

Booking.com offers members 10–20% off bookings. They definitely helped a lot. Before you sign up for their loyalty programs before you book with them!

7. Get discounted gift cards

You can book major hotel chains with hotel gift cards. Check out a website like Giftcardgranny.com for discounted gift cards and use it to book your hotel. (Gift card purchases also count toward point earnings and status.)

8. Buy someone else’s reservation with Roomer

Often people can’t go on a trip and can’t cancel the reservation, so rather than lose the money, hotels put these rooms on Roomer, where they sell it at a discount to earn some money back. I’ve never used this website, but I’ve heard good things about it.

Hotel pricing is a lot more set than airline pricing and tends to fluctuate less. I wouldn’t spend hours searching hotel websites or days tracking prices like people do with airline prices. I’d spend, at the most, 30 minutes on booking a hotel.

Just follow the steps above to get a cheap hotel by using my favorite (and what have been shown to be the best) hotel booking websites listed here so you get a good deal and enjoy your trip quicker.

And if you find yourself staying in a lot of hotels, it might be worth looking into getting a hotel credit card so that you can start earning points towards free stays (free is always better than cheap)!

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The post How to Find Cheap Hotels (And Which Sites to Use!) appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I love hostels. Even after over nineteen years traveling the world, I still stay in hostels because they’re the best way to meet people and the cheapest accommodation option in much of the world.

But what makes a good hostel?

And how do you avoid a bad hostel?

After staying in over a thousand hostels since I first started traveling the world, I’ve become adept at figuring out very quickly if the hostel owners know what they are doing or if they just randomly woke up one day and said, “Let’s open a hostel. It sounds like fun.”

While hostels are all about the people, management can do a few things to make their hostel the perfect framework for making your experience better. Certain features make a hostel memorable (common rooms, group activities, kitchens) while others can make them forgettable — or worse (push-button showers, general filth, unknowledgeable staff).

All of my favorite hostels share common traits that make them some of the best in the world.

Here’s a breakdown of what I would look for in a hostel to help you pick the best one for your next trip:

1. Is There a Common Room?

I love meeting new people when I travel. Since I usually travel solo, I need to go out of my way to meet people if I want to be social. Common rooms in hostels make that easy. They help me find people to chat with, get tips from, do activities with, or even travel with.

Plus, they’re good for just having fun. They usually have pool tables or video game consoles, TVs/movies (perfect for rainy days), foosball, ping pong, and comfy couches (comfy couches are a must!). If you want to be social, make sure you stay somewhere that has a decent common room (or several). It’s the best place to easily connect with other travelers.

In warmer destinations, a common area outside is also a big plus. Rooftop bars, patios, BBQ areas, a pool — any social outdoor space is a must.

2. Is It Centrally Located?

Location, location, location. Whenever I’m looking for a new hostel I make sure that it’s near the things I want to see. I don’t want to spend all my time commuting when I get somewhere new. For that reason, I always make sure my hostels are in a central location and that they’re close to public transportation. That way, I can get around easily and don’t need to worry about having to waste money on taxis.

This is especially important in large cities where things are spread out and when you’re on a shorter trip and time is of the essence. Yes, they might cost more money, but you’ll save money on transportation. Plus, the more centrally-located hostels are usually the more popular ones, making them better places to meet people.

Don’t waste your vacation in transit; book somewhere central!

3. Is It Clean?

Sure, budget travelers like things cheap — but that doesn’t mean we like things dirty. While hostels have come a long way in recent years, there are still many that are poorly maintained and in need of a thorough scrubbing. Since it’s easy to get sick on the road, avoid dirty hostels. Gross bathrooms and showers (as well as the increased risk of bed bugs) aren’t worth the risk — even if the hostel is cheap. Invest in yourself. You deserve a clean room!

Since the photos hostels post on their website and social media can be misleading, make sure to specifically read reviews on sites like Hostelworld for hints on cleanliness. If just one person complains, maybe it’s not a big deal. But if numerous reviews mention the lack of cleanliness, take that as a cue.

4. Did You Read Reviews?

Always read reviews before you book. Is the hostel quiet or noisy? Is it a party hostel or more laid back? Are the mattresses comfy? Are the bunk beds squeaky? You can usually answer all of these questions (and many more) by reading reviews.

Websites like Hostelworld and Booking.com have tons of reviews to help you find the hostel that best suits your needs and budget.

While you’ll want to take them with a grain of salt (people love to complain), they are definitely helpful when it comes to picking the best hostel. Make sure you leave reviews too — good reviews help hostels grow and bad reviews can warn your fellow travelers so they don’t make the same mistake.

Additionally, make sure you only stay at hotels with lots of reviews. A hostel might have a high rating on Hostelworld but if it only has 10 or 20 reviews then I’ll likely stay away from it (it’s easy to fake ratings like that). However, if a hostel has hundreds (or thousands) of reviews and still has a rating of 8 or 9 out of 10 then that’s a good sign it’s a solid place to stay.

Generally, I try to only book hostels with a rating of 8 or higher on Hostelworld.

5. Do they Organize Group Activities?

If you plan on staying at a social hostel and want to meet people, choose a hostel that offers group activities. These could be walking tours (my personal favorite activity), pub crawls, trivia nights, cooking classes, or BBQs. These events are a great way to meet other travelers and learn about your destination.

My favorite hostels are always social hostels that organize events. It just makes your stay much more fun and lively!

6. Is There Late Checkout?

Never stay at a hostel with a checkout time before 10am. The best hostels have 11am checkout times, and the really good ones let you check out at noon. Sleep is valuable on the road because you’ll rarely get enough of it. Hostels with late checkout times understand this and are often more relaxed environments. There’s just something wrong about a hostel asking you to be packed and out so early in the morning.

7. Is There a Bar?

Bars are not deal breakers and there are a lot of wonderful hostels without them, but they make for a great place to socialize with other hostel guests. Usually if a hostel has a bar, they put a strong emphasis on making sure the people staying there are having fun, interacting, and being festive.

If you’re looking to be social and meet people, you’ll want to stay somewhere with a bar.

8. Do They Have Lockers?

It’s surprising, but I’ve actually been in hostels that don’t provide lockers or will charge you for them. In this day and age, lockers should be standard. You should never pay for security. This is a deal-breaker for me (especially since I travel with electronics). Always bring a lock with you as well, so you can use the lockers when they are provided.

9. Is There a Kitchen?

Try to look for hostels with kitchens since you can then prepare your own food, lower your food budget, and share a meal with your new friends. Nothing binds people closer together than a shared meal (and a few glasses of wine).

10. Do They Offer Breakfast?

Look for a place with a decent breakfast (i.e., more than bread and cheese) or at least one that begins and ends when people are actually awake (breakfasts that start around 8:30am usually go late). Breakfast is also a great way to load up on snacks for the day, cutting down your food budget.

11. Do They Have Pod-style Beds?

Gone are the days of sleeping on creaky, metal bunks. Whenever possible, look for a hostel with pod-style beds. These beds provide much better privacy and dampen the noise around you so you can sleep better. They usually have curtains too, which are always a big plus in my book.

12. Are There Individual Lights & Outlets?

Before you book, find out if the dorm bunks have their own outlet and light. Not only will this ensure you can charge your devices without having to fight for space, but it means your fellow travelers can turn on their own small lamp instead of the room’s main light. (I hate it when people turn the lights on in the middle of the night. Use your bed’s lamp or a flashlight!)

I don’t need a hostel to have all these things, but a truly wonderful hostel that understands what travelers are looking for has the majority of the things listed above.

Additionally, as more and more people shift to remote work, hostels have started to accommodate long-term travelers who work on their laptops. If you’re a remote worker, these hostels are great places to stay as they have fast Wi-Fi and make it easy to connect and network with other digital nomads. However, if you’re not working online while traveling, avoid these hostels since most people will just be on their laptops working and that’s kind of boring if you’re not doing it too. Instead, stay at a hostel that caters to backpackers. It will be much more enjoyable and you’ll have an easier time meeting people.

In the end, what really makes a good hostel are the people and even the worst hostels will be great if you meet good people. But removing the people from the equation, I look for hostels that have some of the above qualities in them. Hostels that know what you want as a traveler are there to enhance your travel experience, not simply take money from you in exchange for a bed. I would rather stay at a place that is looking to make sure I have a good time.

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The post 12 Ways to Avoid Staying in a Bad Hostel appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Accommodation will always be one of your biggest travel expenses…but what if it wasn’t? What if you could reduce the cost of your accommodation to zero while still enjoying the comforts of home?

That’s what house swaps promise.

House swaps have been around for decades. It was the entire premise of the movie The Holiday (starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet). They became all the rage but then were soon eclipsed by sites like Airbnb.

But as travel prices skyrocketed post-COVID, more and more people have turned back to house swaps as a means of saving money while they travel while still getting a local experience (but without the hassle of an Airbnb).

House swaps are exactly what they sound like. You sign up, list your home, and then swap with someone else in another city. They stay in your place and you stay in their place.

The biggest and most popular platform for swaps is HomeExchange.

And, in this post, I’ll go over everything you need to know to get started with a house swap and help you decide if HomeExchange is right for you.

What is HomeExchange?

Founded in 1992, HomeExchange is a network that facilitates swapping homes with another person or family. The company actually started as a mail-ordered printed directory before moving online. Today, there are over 200,000 members in over 155 countries. It’s the biggest and most popular house swap platform.

Currently, it costs $220 USD per year for unlimited swaps.

It’s easy to use too. You just have to make a free account, fill in your profile (including plenty of photos and detailed descriptions of your home), verify your identity, and pay the fee.

Once you do that, you’re ready to start looking for exchange opportunities.

You can find home exchange opportunities by simply browsing the website (there’s a handy map function so you can see where opportunities are) or narrowing your search by using the website’s filters. You can filter by the number of bedrooms, if it’s pet friendly, accessibility, and amenities (like swimming pools).

When you find a home you’re interested in, all you need to do is reach out via HomeExchange’s secure messaging system, express your interest, and get the conversation rolling.

Here’s what one of my readers has to say about using it:

We have been members of this service since 2005 and have enjoyed over 60 exchanges all over the world. It is an absolutely wonderful way to explore the world and we have been to so many great places. You enjoy the comfort of a home and explore more fully the areas you are staying in at just the cost of your yearly membership. We thoroughly recommend it. – Lyn and Jed

Now, one things to keep in mind is that there are two types of exchanges: what HomeExchange calls “The Classic Exchange” and an “Exchange with GuestPoints”.

Classic Exchange
The Classic Exchange is probably what you think of when you think of a home exchange: you stay in someone’s home, and in exchange, they stay in yours. This can be at the same time or at different times, but the main point is that it’s reciprocal.

But what if you want to stay in someone’s home and they’re not interested in coming to yours? That’s where GuestPoints (GP) come in.

What are GuestPoints?
GuestPoints (GP) are HomeExchange’s point system. You’ll get 500 when you sign up and you earn more by hosting members at your home.

If you want to stay somewhere that doesn’t want to do a classic exchange, you can give them GP to stay in their home. They can then use those points to stay in someone else’s home.

The number of points required varies per stay, but it’s generally between 100-320 GP per night. That means with your bonus welcome points you’ll be able to give the platform a try right away!

Is HomeExchange Safe?

Staying in a stranger’s house can feel odd. I get it. But using HomeExchange is very safe. Much like sites like Airbnb, users have to verify their identity and submit proof of address and create a profile, so you can see photos of where you are staying before you go.

Additionally, you have to pay a $500 USD deposit when you book a home. That means that if you accidentally break something in the home you are renting, the homeowner can use that deposit to recover the cost. HomeExchange also includes damage coverage up to $1,000,000 USD, which means you really don’t need to worry about damage to your house.

Additionally, HomeExchange has a Compliance Guarantee that states that if the accommodation does not meet the initial home description, they will offer an alternative solution.

On top of that, if your swap cancels last minute, HomeExchange will provide compensation of up to $840 USD/week if you cannot find a replacement.

But perhaps most importantly, every guest on HomeExchange is also a host. That imbues the system with mutual respect and trust. Members treat homes how they want their own home to be treated, which ensures that the community stays respectful and considerate.

So, in short, it’s a safe platform that you can use with confidence. They also have 24/7 support in case you have questions or run into a problem or emergency.

What I Liked About HomeExchange

For me, the main draw for using HomeExchange is that it lets you live like a local. It’s like a mix between Airbnb and Couchsurfing. Homeowners can share their favorite things to see and do, give you personalized suggestions on where to eat, and so much more. You’re able to get all kinds of insider tips and advice that you wouldn’t otherwise, and I think that is vital for getting off the beaten path and deepening your travels.

Another great perk is their private Facebook group. It’s another awesome way to connect with fellow travelers and get travel tips and advice that you won’t find elsewhere. I’m a big fan of travel Facebook groups as you can really get a ton of great tips and info from them.

Also, if you don’t find a swap in your first year, HomeExchange waives the fee for the second year. That’s a nice bonus and something that I think new members who don’t travel a ton will really appreciate.

Plus, I also love that homes are available in 155 different countries and there are over 200,000 members so you do get a lot of options. There’s 24/7 customer support and they will help you out financially if your swap cancels so you aren’t left in the lurch and stuck in a new city!

Frequently Asked Questions About Home Exchange

Can I do a home exchange if I rent (not own) my place?
Yes! You just need to verify the guest policy in your rental agreement/lease. When in doubt, let your landlord know so there aren’t any surprises.

Can I do a home exchange if I have pets?
Yes! Just be sure to list your pets and their needs in your profile. If you have pets that will be staying at home, be sure to detail their needs and communicate clearly with the member who may be staying there. If you live with pets but they are traveling with you, you’ll still want to list their presence in case of allergies. If you want to travel somewhere and stay in another member’s home with your pet, again you need to be clear about this when arranging a potential exchange.

Can I host people in my spare room as an exchange?
Yes. Just be sure to indicate that this is the situation in your listing by selecting “private room” rather than “whole unit.” Also, communicate clearly when arranging the exchange so everyone knows what they’re signing up for!

Is there a minimum number of nights required for an exchange?
There is no site-wide minimum number of nights, though you will find that many hosts do set their own minimums (generally 3-7 days). If you’re traveling for an exchange though, you’ll likely find you’ll want to stay at least that long!

HomeExchange is a great platform for people who want the perks and comforts of a private home in a local neighborhood but on a budget. Additionally, this is a great way to connect with a family. I think sharing a home creates a sense of intimacy and you might make some friends out of it. It’s like adult Couchsurfing and I made a lot of friends when I used that.

It’s a cool platform that can help you have more unique, affordable travels while also connecting you to interesting locals who can share their tips and insider advice.

Click here to learn more and sign up today!

The post The Best Website for House Swaps? My HomeExchange Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I love planning trips. Researching things to do, reading up on history and culture, planning my itinerary. It’s fun.

There are, however, parts of trip planning that can be tedious.

Trying to find a cheap flight can be stressful. Booking accommodation can be too. I mean, how do you know if a hotel is actually good? How do you know what reviews are legit?

While I’ve gotten pretty good at picking out hotels when I go somewhere new, I’m also not afraid to leave a hotel if it’s not what I expected. But that’s a big hassle, wasting time and money in the process.

Fortunately, there’s a website I recently came across that can help make the hotel booking process a bit easier. And it can save you money too. It’s called Plannin.

What is Plannin?

Founded by two former executives of Priceline.com, Plannin is a free membership site that helps you save up to 40% on hotel bookings. As a member, you’ll get exclusive discounts on hotels worldwide. They have over 2 million properties on their site, and more are being added all the time.

In addition to searching for hotels as you would other online booking websites you’re familiar with, Plannin lets creators make accounts that you can follow. That way, you can see honest reviews from bloggers and influencers that you already follow on social media. You can also follow them on Plannin for future travel suggestions and reviews.

They currently have over 1,000 creators on the platform. And since they share actual photos and video content of each hotel (because they stayed there themselves), you can book with confidence knowing the photos and videos of the property are accurate and up-to-date.
 

How It Works

Plannin is super easy to use. You simply visit the website and sign up (it’s free).

Once your account is created, you’ll be able to start searching for hotels in the same way you would on traditional travel booking sites. However, when you search, creator-recommended hotels pop up first, with highly-rated hotels from Plannin’s trusted hotel supply partners (Booking.com, Priceline, and Agoda) populating the list next.

You can also display the results on a map if there’s a particular area of your desired destination that you want to stay in.

At a glance, you’ll be able to see each hotel’s nightly price, star rating, amenities, a few photos, and key features like whether there’s free cancellation, free breakfast, or a pay later option.

You can filter by hotel brand, review score, amenities, and star rating, just like on any hotel search engine. You can also filter by creator.

When you click through to the hotel’s page on Plannin, you’ll be able to see all the details and read the creator’s full recommendation, along with additional reviews of other customers who have stayed there. Here’s my profile, for example.

Once you find the hotel you want to book, simply click “Book” and pay (all through Plannin). That’s it! As I said, it’s super easy.

Currently, Plannin only offers hotel bookings, however, they will be adding experiences and restaurants in the near future.
 

Who is Plannin For?

Considering that Plannin offers members discounts on bookings, I think every traveler should sign up and add Plannin into their travel planning routine. After all, it’s free to join, and the up to 40% discount can really add up. You’ll see the discount highlighted in green on the hotel blurb in search, as long as you’re signed in to your free account.

I think Plannin is also great for travelers who follow social media influencers, bloggers, and creators, as you can follow those creators on Plannin to see what places they recommend and get updated when they recommend new places. It’s a great way to get curated recommendations from people whose input you already trust.

You can sign up for Plannin here to see creator recommendations and get up to 40% off 2M+ hotels worldwide.

And if you’re a content creator, Plannin is definitely worth joining as you can share reviews directly with your readers and earn a commission if they book. Creators get a 5% lifetime commission when someone uses their link.

That means when your audience signs up with a Plannin account through your custom link, you will earn commissions on any booking they make, at any time. There is no expiration on the cookie, making it a great option for travel creators looking to grow their passive income while sharing content with their audience. (As a creator myself, I wish more companies had a lifetime commission!)

If you’re a creator, you can sign up here to start earning on your travel content.

Pros of Plannin

• Easy to use
• Free to join
• Lets you see authentic reviews from creators you trust, not just random travelers
• Up to 40% off discounts can save you a ton
• Expanding to experiences and restaurants soon (in partnership with GetYourGuide and OpenTable)

Cons of Plannin

• Requires an additional login to remember
• Doesn’t have a ton of creators sharing recommendations (yet)

As travel prices continue to increase, it’s never been more vital to compare prices and reviews when booking. And since accommodation is likely one of your biggest expenses, it makes sense to check different websites before you book. With free membership, a solid discount, and a way to get recommendations from creators you may already follow, I think Plannin should be added to every traveler’s booking process.

Click here to sign up for Plannin today!

The post A Better Way To Book Hotels? A Review of Plannin appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Backpacking Europe is a rite of passage. With a well-worn travel trail, a huge variety of amazing destinations, and tons of hostels, Europe is a fun, safe, and easy place to travel. It’s where I first started backpacking over 15 years ago, and I still make sure to visit the continent every year.

Since budget travel is a huge part of Europe’s culture (and since many countries in Europe are expensive), hostels are pretty much everywhere. They’re the go-to accommodation choice for younger travelers (though many older travelers use them too).

But even affordable hostels add up if you’re traveling for weeks or months at a time.

Fortunately, there’s a new way to save on hostels around Europe: HostelPass.

HostelPass is a membership program that provides discounts on select hostels and activities in Europe.

But is it worth it? Will you actually save money using it?

In this post, I’ll explain everything you need to know about HostelPass to help you decide if it’s right for your next trip to Europe.

What is HostelPass?

HostelPass is a digital discount card for travelers that offers up to 20% off hostels (as well as tours/experiences) throughout Europe. It’s a wonderful way to save money if you’re going to be staying in hostels while backpacking around Europe.

You can browse hostelpass.co to see a full list of hostels and experiences. Each hostel page highlights what kinds of features and amenities you can expect, benefits you’ll receive as a HostelPass member, and a super helpful “Atmosphere” meter, where they rate the hostel on a scale from “Relaxed” to “Party.”

There are hostels and experiences in most of the major cities around Europe and the list of places and included experiences grows every month. HostelPass membership costs 29.99 EUR for an annual pass. You can use code NOMADICMATT to get 25% off too!
 

How Does HostelPass Work?

To sign up for a HostelPass membership, simply visit hostelpass.co and purchase the annual membership. Your pass is valid for a year from the date of purchase, so be sure to time it with when you’ll actually start booking hostels (not months and months beforehand). You’ll want it to cover booking your hostels as well as when you’re actually on your trip.

Once you do that, you can then start booking accommodation and activities via the HostelPass website.

When you see an activity or hostel that you want to book, just select it and you’ll be presented with the booking link. Follow that link and place your booking. That’s it!
 

What is Included in HostelPass?

There are currently over 100 discounts available on HostelPass. Most of these are hostels, with discounts usually ranging from 10-20% off. Some of these hostels also include other perks, like free breakfast or a free welcome drink.

There are also discounts on experiences, activities, and museums too, such as 15% off a Harry Potter walking tour in Edinburgh, 10% off canal cruises in Amsterdam, and 12% off a food tour in Paris.

There are currently discounts available in 18 countries across over 40 cities in Europe, with more being added all the time. Currently, there are discounts available in:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Scotland
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• UK

Pros of HostelPass

• Super affordable
• Hostel prices usually lower than booking via Hostelworld
• Discounts available in most major European cities
• Discounts on both hostels and activities/tours
• More destinations and discounts added regularly

Cons of HostelPass

Is HostelPass ACTUALLY Worth It?

If you’re heading to Europe and have the flexibility to plan your trip around the hostels and activities available on HostelPass, then you can easily make your money back (and then some).

You will roughly need to stay at 5-7 discounted hostels to get your money back (depending on the price per night). Once you throw some discounted tours and activities in there though, it becomes much more attainable and the savings much greater.

If you don’t have your full travel itinerary planned but will be in Europe for a few months, the pass is likely worth getting as you can probably make your money back (while also enjoying some nice perks like free breakfast or free drinks).

If you’re only heading to Europe for a week or two, then chances are you won’t recoup the cost of a pass. But you’ll want to do the math to be sure.
 

HostelPass Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share the pass with a friend?
Multiple travelers can’t share a single HostelPass, however, at checkout you can add users to your purchase. For example, if you’re traveling with three friends you can put all four of you on a single pass. You’ll need to pay for four passes, but all four passes will be on a single account (instead of having four different accounts) so everyone will get the perks and discounts as you travel.

You can also gift a pass in case you know a traveler who would appreciate it or if a friend needs an extra incentive to join you on a trip. Their pass will become valid from the day they first use it, not the day you purchased it.

Do I need to book on HostelPass’ site?
Once you have your pass and are ready to book, you can get the booking links for each discount on HostelPass’ site. They’ll send you a specific link to use that will allow you to enjoy your discount.

If you don’t book via HostelPass, you won’t get the discount.

Is there an age limit to use HostelPass?
Travelers need to be at least 18 years of age to get a HostelPass membership.

How much does HostelPass cost?
An annual HostelPass membership is 29.99 EUR per person.

I’ve always thought a digital discount card for hostels was a great idea. While you may need to plan out your travels so they best align with HostelPass’ discounted destinations, I think the effort can easily make the savings worthwhile if you’re traveling around Europe for a few weeks or months.

Best of all, you can use code NOMADICMATT to get 25% off your HostelPass membership!

The post HostelPass Review: Is This Discount Pass Worth It? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

For most of my travels, I’ve been a hostel guy through and through. And, while I still stay in hostels when I travel, since I run a business from the road now, I often need a bit more privacy and quiet than what a hostel can provide.

But hotels can get pricey and I’m still a cheap backpacker at heart. I hate spending money on a room I am only going to be in for a few hours a day. To save money on hotels, I started collect points and miles. By using points and hotel-branded credit cards to get free stays, I’ve saved thousands and thousands of dollars in accommodations over the years.

However, it can be a bit of a pain to find hotel award availability. Each hotel has its own calendar of award nights (nights that you can book using points), and it can be time-consuming to flip through these virtual calendars to find the best deal.

That’s where Awayz comes in.

This tool searches across hotel programs to help you find the best place to use to your hard-earned points on your next hotel stay.

Until now, there’s been nothing this comprehensive for finding hotel award nights, so I’m super excited that it finally exists. Out of the other (few) hotel award tools out there, it’s the most user-friendly, searches across the most hotel programs, and has the best features and filters.

In this review, I’ll show you what the site is all about and how to use it to find free hotel stays for your next trip!

What is Awayz?

Awayz is a tool specifically for booking hotels using points. If you’re familiar with the points-and-miles booking tool Point.me, it’s like that, but for hotels instead of flights (if you’re not familiar with point.me, check out my review to learn more).

Like other booking tools, you simply put in your location and dates, and out pop a ton of options for hotels that you can book with points. It also shows you a side-by-side comparison of the number of points needed, alongside the cash price, and gives its recommendation regarding which is the better deal. This is a hugely helpful feature if you don’t want to spend time and energy crunching the numbers yourself.

Currently, Awayz supports Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, Accor, Wyndham, and Choice. Being able to search across multiple hotel chains is another great feature, especially if you’re trying to use a transferable currency, like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, which can be transferred and used at various hotel chains.

Here are some of the main features that Awayz offers:

• Availability alerts
• A 12-month award availability calendar
• A map feature
• A cash vs. points comparison
• The ability to input your existing points programs to tailor the results
• Free-night award availability is highlighted
• Coming soon: flight search tool (All Premium members who sign up before the flight tool launch will get flight access for free, indefinitely)

How Awayz Works

To use Awayz, all you have to do is put in your desired details (location, dates, etc.). It then brings up all the available hotels you could book with points. You can then filter your results until you find a hotel that works best for you.

Awayz operates on a subscription model. There is a free trial, though, so you can try it out before signing up. With the free trial, you’ll get five searches and five hotel availability alerts, as well as access to all of Awayz’s features, with the exception of hotel deal alerts.

The Trip Pass ($4.99) is really the better option if you want to try Awayz to its full potential, as it gives you the ability to do 50 searches in 72 hours (the five searches on the free trial will be gone before you know it), as well as 10 availability alerts.

If you travel and search for hotels regularly, you’ll want the premium subscription ($8.33/month when paid annually, or $11.99 when paid monthly). This tier gives you 250 monthly searches, 10 availability alerts, and hotel deal alerts (the only tier that gives this).

You can see the full breakdown of the difference between plans here:

If you sign up for an annual plan using the code nomadicmatt, you’ll get $10 off the annual Premium plan.

Setting Up Your Awayz Wallet

Before you start searching, you’ll want to set up the wallet and awards section. Here, you can add your hotel loyalty programs, credit cards, and the number of points you have in each.
This is important for a few reasons.

First, you can then filter by your available points when searching. There’s no sense in bringing up hotels that you can’t book!

Second, Awayz will take into consideration perks like free nights (a perk on most of the best hotel credit cards), bank transfer bonus promotions (e.g, get 30% more points when transferring Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors), or currencies where you can use points as cash (such as Chase Ultimate Rewards).

Awayz currently supports the following:

• Hotel programs: Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, Accor Live Limitless, Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges
• Transferrable currencies: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou points

You don’t have to add any identifying information when adding your programs. This is a positive for those concerned about security, but a negative for those who want the ease of automatic syncing of their point balances.

Instead, you’ll have to add in your current balances yourself, as you can see in this example:

You can search hotels without adding this info but adding this information in makes it a lot easier to see what your options are without guessing.

How to Search and Book Hotels with Awayz

For our sample search, let’s say we want to get some sun by going to Miami for a long weekend in January. By firing off a quick search with just your dates and location, you’ll get the following:

But since this basic search brings up more hotels than you’ll want to wade through, your next step is to filter the results.

The available search filters are:

• Hotel brands
• Transferable currencies and hotel loyalty programs
• Free-night certificate availability
• Your existing points (the numbers you input at the wallet and awards section)
• Mile radius

You can also sort by distance from the center of the destination as well as by point or cash values.

Here’s what it looks like (grayed-out programs are ones you haven’t entered point values for):

When it brings up the search results, Awayz uses its own algorithm to also highlight whether it thinks using points or cash is a better value, which is super useful information as you weigh your options.

Once you’ve filtered and looked through the results to find a hotel that you’re interested in, select it to get even more details. You’ll see the best value, cash price, the price if you use points as cash, and buttons to see the entire award availability calendar or to set an availability alert if your preferred dates aren’t currently available.

In this case, the best deal is using Hyatt Rewards points, which you can transfer from Bilt or Chase (as indicated in the bottom right-hand “Transfer Partner” box).

If you’re flexible with your dates and want to see the entire award availability calendar for this hotel, simply hit that black button and up it pops. It’ll highlight the dates you’re currently searching, but you can also scroll through the entire 12-month calendar to see if there are better deals out there. The lowest rates (in both cash and points) are highlighted in green, while the highest rates are highlighted in red:

In this case, you can see that if you could shift your long weekend trip back by just two weeks, you could save 9,000 points.

After all that digging, let’s say you’ve decided that this is the hotel you want to book. Hit “book now,” and you’ll be brought to the hotel’s website. You’re on your own from there, but even if you need to transfer points, it’s generally a very straightforward process.

Pros of Awayz

1. The ability to search across many programs at once
The most obvious pro of using Awayz is the ability to pull up all hotels you could book with points for your desired dates and location. Without this tool, you’d have to search across all the programs in which you have points (or could have points if you transferred them there). That involves logging into each website, finding the award charts, factoring in any fees, and comparing across all programs. It’s not that hard, but it does take time.

2. Points-to-cash comparison
This feature is another major benefit to using Awayz. Again, comparing cash and point values is a time-consuming process, especially when you’re new to using points for hotel stays. Awayz takes the guesswork out of this process by using its own algorithm (which is continually updated with the latest data) to determine the best value.

3. Easy-to-use interface with helpful filters
The website is very straightforward and easy to use, and the filters make quick work of helping you find hotels that work for your needs. The ability to input awards programs and existing points helps you narrow your search down even more.

4. Supports all major hotel brands
Awayz supports all the major chains: Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Accor, and Wyndham and Choice.

5. Hotel and flight searches in one tool
Awayz will soon be launching the ability to search for flights! You’ll be able to see fares in both points and cash, making it easy to compare and see the best option. Having both hotel and flight search ability in the same tool is great as it streamlines your trip planning process. I’d suggest signing up sooner rather than later because all current Premium users and new users who sign up for Premium before they launch flights will get flights for free – indefinitely. (You won’t get this if you sign up after they launch flights, as the price will be going up then.)

Cons of Awayz

1. It’s a paid tool
Awayz does have a limited free trial, but if you want to get the most out of this tool, you’ll have to pay: either $4.99 for a 72-hour Trip Pass, or $8.33/11.99 (annual billing vs. monthly billing) for Premium. (Though if you’re a holder of the Bilt Mastercard®, you’ll get access to 50 searches per month for free, as Bilt integrates with Awayz in their app’s travel search engine.)

However, if you’re new to points and miles and haven’t quite memorized the ins and outs of each program, it’s a bargain when you consider the potential savings in not only money but the time you’d spend trying to figure out and search across programs.

And, as a Nomadic Matt reader, you can get $10 off an annual subscription with the code nomadicmatt.

2. It doesn’t automatically sync with your loyalty programs and currencies
This might be a pro to those who don’t want to give external access to their accounts, but it also adds an extra step in the process. It’s also easy to forget to update when you do use your points.

Who is Awayz for?

Awayz is especially great for travelers that are newer to redeeming points for award nights. Using Awayz saves you time (and money) in the hotel award search and booking process, which is especially useful when you’re first starting out learning how to get free stays. The cash-to-points comparison feature is especially key for this.

But even experienced travelers can get a lot of value out of the tool. If you have a lot of points in different currencies, you know how time-consuming it is to search across programs. Plus, the ability to set alerts can help you find elusive stays without having to constantly keep tabs on the hotel.

Awayz is a welcome addition to the growing scene of award booking tools. While there are a variety of comprehensive tools for finding award flights, so far, nothing comparable has existed for finding hotel stays you can book with points. With a growing suite of filters and features, as well as side-by-side comparison of points vs. cash pricing, Awayz helps you save both time and money — important resources no matter what type of traveler you are!

While it is a paid tool, there’s a free trial available, and even paid versions become worth it when they help you find a great free stay.

And remember to use code nomadicmatt to get $10 off!

The post Awayz Review: The Best Hotel Reward Tool? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

House sitting is one of the best ways to lower your travel costs as a long-term traveler. To help you learn more about house sitting, our lead content editor and researcher, Sam, shares her tips and insights from years of traveling the world as a house sitter.

For years, I lived the life of many budget travelers’ dreams: traveling full-time and living rent-free in idyllic locations, like the US Virgin Islands; cosmopolitan cities, like NYC and London; tourist hot spots, like Granada, Spain; and many off-the-beaten-path places, like the forests of North Carolina.

I stayed everywhere from luxury condos with literal hot tubs on the roof to solar-powered homes with outdoor showers.

I got to hang out with the sweetest pets, from a cuddly kitten named Marshmallow to a hilarious parrot called Sunshine.

I also made friends with locals around the world, getting tips on the best lesser-known places to eat, and truly living like a resident in each destination.

When I paint this picture to fellow avid travelers, the immediate response is, “What a dream life! How do I live like that?!”

The answer is to house sit.

House sitting is when you take care of someone’s pets and home while they’re traveling in exchange for accommodation. No money is exchanged between parties, as it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement: you get a place to stay at no cost, and the owner gets home and pet care at no cost. (I avoid using the term “free accommodation,” as it implies that there’s no work involved, which is not the case.)

House sitting is gaining in popularity, but it’s still a little-known landscape for so many travelers. While I’m usually met with excitement when I discuss this topic with people who are not familiar with it, that also often comes hand in hand with skepticism — and understandably so. There are a lot of variables to consider, and if you’ve never met anyone who’s done it before, it can be easy to think that it sounds too good to be true.

I’m here to tell you that house sitting in order to travel at a reduced cost is absolutely attainable. You’ll not only remove most accommodation expenses (you might still have to pay for a night here and there, depending on how long you’re on the road), but also connect with locals wherever you go (the people for whom you are house sitting), feel a sense of home on the road, and often get other perks as well, like a vehicle to use.

The only prerequisite is that you must love animals, as 99% of gigs involve pet care. But if you can do that, then you are good to go!

In this post, I’m going to show you how to start house sitting, so you can learn about the process and see what’s required before jumping in and giving it a try yourself.

1. Determine your goals and preferences

At this point, you might be anxious to dive right in, find a gig, and hit the ground running. But I promise that you’ll set yourself up for a better experience if you take some time to determine what you want to get out of house sitting.

Your goals will greatly impact the choices you make along your house sitting journey, and whether you walk away with a positive experience. (Because yes, like with anything travel-related, there’s always the potential for things to go wrong — I’ll share how to minimize the likelihood of this happening later.)

It’s pretty much a given that if you’re interested in house sitting, your goal is to reduce your travel costs so that you can travel more and/or longer.

But do you want to house sit only locally, or around the world? Are you scoping out places where you might eventually purchase a home, take a sabbatical, aspire to travel full-time, or simply looking to reduce your costs on a weekend getaway?

These are all common reasons. Think about which ones apply to you.

For me, I wanted to extend my travels for as long as possible while freelance writing, growing my travel blog and podcast, and seeing what it was like to live in different places around the world. I couldn’t have done any of these things without house sitting, which lowered my costs so significantly (after all, accommodation is usually one’s biggest travel expenditure) that I could keep traveling despite not earning much money yet.

In addition to your goals, think about your preferences. Do you feel more comfortable with dogs or cats? Do you prefer the city or the countryside? Do you have an ideal length of time that you want to spend in each place?

In order to work effectively on the road while still getting to explore each place, I prioritized longer house sits (around 1–3 months). I also prefer urban environments where I can explore on two feet or two wheels rather than needing a vehicle, so I mainly searched for gigs in cities.

These are just a few variables that will help you narrow down which opportunities you consider. You’ll also likely develop these preferences over time as you figure out what works best for you.
 

2. Sign up for a website

If you’re serious about house sitting, your first order of business is to sign up for a website. These platforms connect pet owners and house sitters to arrange mutually beneficial stays. They’re the easiest and most direct way to start.

Pet owners put up listings with their location, the dates they need a house sitter, their pets and type of care needed, any home care needed, and (ideally) photos of their home and pets. Potential house sitters create profiles listing their experience, references, why they want to house sit, photos, and any other details they want to include.

House sitters respond to opportunities that they’re interested in (pet owners can also reach out to house sitters privately), sparking a conversation that may eventually lead to both parties coming to an agreement.

Most websites operate on a membership basis, meaning that members must pay a fee to be a part of the community and to be able to arrange gigs.

Many would-be house sitters balk at the idea of paying a yearly membership fee for these websites. Isn’t house sitting supposed to be free?

But when you think about the amount of money that you could save, it’s a no-brainer. Even the most expensive website, TrustedHousesitters, still only costs the equivalent of a couple of nights of accommodation. You only have to do one stay per year to recoup your costs, and chances are that you’ll be doing a lot more than that, even as an occasional house sitter.

There are a variety of websites to choose from, but the main ones are these:

1. TrustedHousesitters.com (starts at $129 USD/year) – This is the biggest such website worldwide, with thousands of active listings all around the globe. It started and is based in the UK, so you’ll find the highest number of gigs there, though Europe, the US, and Australia are also well represented. If you are open to house-sitting anywhere in the world, this is the site to choose. You can read my review here if you want to learn more.

2. Nomador.com (starts at $99 USD/year) – Nomador centers on opportunities in Europe (mostly France), though you can also sometimes find some in the US and Australia too. There’s a free “Discovery” option, so you can look at what’s available, as well as a “Stopovers” feature, which is like Couchsurfing, so you can find a place to stay with members of the Nomador community between your gigs.

3. MindMyHouse.com ($20 USD/year) – This site has a low fee to join, a fair number of listings (primarily in North America and Europe), and a well-laid-out website.

In addition to the above websites that cover multiple countries, there are also country-specific ones, such as House Sitters America, House Sitters UK, House Sitters Canada, etc. If you’re only interested in house sitting in a particular locale, these websites usually have way less competition than the bigger players, making it easier to get your first gig. They also have lower annual membership costs, making it a more palatable choice for getting your feet wet.
 

3. Create your profile

Once you’ve signed up for a website, it’s time to create your profile. Above is an example from my TrustedHousesitters account.

Your house-sitting profile is like your résumé. This is where pet owners look to learn more about you, and it’s essential to detail any and all pet-care experience you have. Have you done any house- or pet-sitting for friends and family? Many people have looked in on a neighbor’s cat while they were away or taken a family member’s dog on walks.

Include anything you can to show the breadth of your pet-care experience (though of course be honest). Any relevant home-care experience or other skills (such as if you speak another language) are worth mentioning here as well.

You’ll also want to include a bit about yourself, with information about why you want to house sit, what you like to spend time doing, and anything else, so as to paint a portrait of yourself.

Finally, choose some photos of you (ideally with pets) to round out your profile, so that the owners can see who you are!
 

4. Ask for references

Now that you’ve filled out your profile, it’s time to seek references to beef up your profile.

Once you start house sitting through these websites, you’ll get “native” references showing that the gig was arranged through the website, increasing your trust factor for people you might house sit for in the future.

But most websites also allow you to get “external” references to show that you’re a trustworthy person before your first “official” gig. Ideally, you’ll have done some kind of pet-sitting before and can ask these folks to provide a reference. But references can also come from work colleagues, a landlord, or anyone else that can speak to your responsible character.

These references are key in the beginning, as being vouched for can be a powerful trust indicator. Don’t skip this step!
 

5. Browse and apply for house sitting gigs

So you’re all set up with your profile and references filled out. Now comes the exciting part: browsing for and applying for gigs!

Spend some time looking through the listings on the website(s) you’ve joined. If you find one that sounds good to you — and you’re available for the time frame — don’t hesitate to apply! Gigs, especially in desirable areas, can go very quickly, so don’t dawdle if you’ve found one that you’re interested in.

Remember: An application is not an agreement to house sit; it’s simply a statement of interest.

In your message to the pet owner, include a bit about why you’re interested, highlight your relevant experience, and indicate that you’d love to set up a time to chat further about the opportunity. You don’t need to write an essay here, just enough to pique their interest and have them look at your profile for more information.
 

6. Arrange a video chat

While you might be so excited to start that you may want to agree to an opportunity as soon as it’s offered to you, don’t skip this important step. In a quick video call, both parties can ask questions to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the arrangement is a good fit.

As a house sitter, you’ll want to ask questions about pet and home care to ensure that you can (and want) to do it, as well as the immediate area around the house or apartment, home amenities (always ask about Wi-Fi!), and anything else that you’re itching to know.

Every single time that I hear of a house sitting gig gone wrong (while it’s rare, it does happen), it’s due to mismatched expectations that usually could have been avoided with a direct and honest initial conversation.

I absolutely never agree to house sit without a video call. This is a personal choice, and some people do forgo this step, but it has never steered me wrong in the past, and personally, I’d rather be safe than sorry. A video call takes 20-30 minutes and does wonders for putting both parties at ease — and getting excited about the gig!

After years in a pandemic, we’re all familiar (maybe too familiar) with Zoom these days, so there is (in my opinion) no reason why both parties shouldn’t be able to sit down face-to-face for a brief conversation.

Some things that you might want to ask in the video chat step above and/or leading up to the gig include the following:

• What’s the pet-care routine (e.g., when meals are, if walks are needed, etc.)?
• Are there any quirks about the pets that you should know about (e.g., for dogs, how do they do on walks around other dogs, etc.)?
• Do they have a regular vet (and what is the procedure, including payment, if a pet needs to go)?
• What’s the neighborhood like?
• What are the pet owners’ departure and arrival times? Do they want you to come the night before they leave or on the day of departure?

This is just a starting list of some basics, but if you have specific needs or questions, be sure to ask them. You don’t want to be left wondering and finding out something important after you get there.
 

7. Agree to the gig

Assuming all has gone well in the above steps, it’s time to agree to house sit!

Make sure that you do so through the website that you’ve connected on, for a couple of reasons. Many websites have protection that kicks in should something go wrong, but only if you’ve confirmed the gig through the website.

Protection for house sitters and homeowners varies by website (check the fine print of the one you sign up for) but can include damage protection (you accidentally drop an expensive glass) and sit protection insurance (which can help cover nightly pet care or accommodation costs if the gig gets canceled at the last minute).

You’ll also want to be able to ask for on-platform references after you’ve successfully completed the job. You can only get those by confirming the gig through the house-sitting website.

And once everything is confirmed, don’t hesitate to keep in touch. If you have any additional questions or concerns, ask them! Direct and honest communication is key to successful house sitting, so don’t be shy.
 

8. Have a fantastic time

While house sitting is a big responsibility, remember why you’re doing this in the first place — to explore a new place and have fun!

That being said, always honor your commitment. Do not back out at the last minute because you found a more glamorous gig somewhere else, you changed your travel plans on a whim or anything else that’s not a legitimate emergency.

If you want to stay spontaneous on the road, then house sitting isn’t a good option — or at least not all the time. While some travelers do this full-time, the vast majority do not. Some nomads mix in periods of house sitting between other more flexible accommodation options, while others aren’t nomadic at all and simply house sit to enjoy a different, more affordable way of traveling.

Find out what works for you and create your own ideal travel style.
 

9. Follow up by asking for a review

After every gig (but especially as you’re first getting started), don’t forget to ask for a review.

It’s essential to build your portfolio of references, as this makes you a more trustworthy and competitive candidate for the next opportunities that you apply for. Give the folks you house-sat for some time to settle back in from their trip, and if they haven’t submitted a review after a week, send along a gentle reminder that it’d be greatly appreciated if they could leave a quick review.

Most homeowners don’t realize how important these reviews are to house sitters but are more than happy to help when you ask them for one.
 

10. Reflect, rinse, and repeat

Every gig is a learning experience, and this goes double when you’re first starting out. Take stock of what worked and if there was anything that didn’t. This will help you refine your approach for the future so that you can happily house-sit for as long as you want!

House sitting can be an incredible way to travel at a reduced cost, make new friends (both human and furry), and see the world in a different way. While it does come with some planning and a great deal of responsibility, the rewards can be huge. With these tips, you’ve already got a leg up.

Happy house-sitting!

The post How to Start House Sitting appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

When I started traveling the world, I stayed in hostels. Money was tight and hostels were cheap so it was a no-brainer. Plus, I was a bit introverted and hostels were a great way to connect with other backpackers and make friends.

I still love hostels but since I now run a business while I travel I often need more space — and privacy — when I’m on the road. However, I’m still a budget traveler at heart so I hate paying hundreds of dollars for a room I’m just going to be in for a few hours.

Enter the art of collecting points and miles by getting credit cards and joining loyalty programs. These points and miles can then be used to get free perks and upgrades, including free hotel stays.

Over the years, I’ve used points to earn countless free stays at hotels, which has saved me thousands and thousands of dollars in accommodation (tools like Awayz are great for helping you maximize hotel points).

Whether you’re a casual tourist or a die-hard backpacker, every traveler needs at least one hotel credit card in their wallet. These cards come with big welcome bonuses, cool perks, and free nights that can help you save money on accommodation.

All the major brands have multiple credit card options but below are my favorite from each brand:

Below, you’ll find a detailed review of each card, including the perks and cost, so you can pick the best hotel credit card for your travel style and budget.
 

Hilton Honors American Express Card

The Hilton Honors American Express Card comes with a generous welcome offer, which is a great way to get started with earning points for hotel stays if you don’t want to pay an annual fee right away. You’ll also earn 5x points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations, as well as 3x points on all other purchases. It also has $0 annual fee (See Rates and Fees.)

This card offers:

• Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the Hilton Honors American Express Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• 7x points on Hilton hotels and resorts
• 5x points on U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
• 3x points on all other purchases
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status
• No foreign transaction fees

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card

With this card, you unlock free stays at the largest hotel chain in the world. While it has a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees), this is a great card for fans of Marriott hotels and resorts, as you’ll more than recoup that cost with just a few stays per year.

This card offers:

• Earn up to 135,000 Marriott Bonvoy® bonus points. Earn 85,000 points after you spend $5,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 6X Marriott Bonvoy® points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®
• Earn 4x points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases at restaurants and supermarkets, then 2X points)
• Earn 2X points on all other eligible purchases.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® Free Night Award: Earn 1 Free Night Award after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases on your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® Card in a calendar year. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at a hotel participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. Certain hotels have resort fees.
• 15 Elite Night Credits: Each calendar year with your Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card you can receive 15 Elite Night Credits toward the next level of Marriott Bonvoy® Elite status. Limitations apply per Marriott Bonvoy® member account. Benefit is not exclusive to Cards offered by American Express.
• No foreign transaction fees

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card

The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card has a great welcome offer and is easy to earn points on, with 5X points on travel, dining, and gas stations, as well as up to 26X points on IHG purchases. The card’s perks more than outweigh the $99 annual fee, with one free stay per year, and up to a $100 statement credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS (up to $120 starting Oct. 1, 2024).

This card offers:

• Earn 170,000 Bonus Points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• 5x points on travel, dining, and at gas stations
• 3x points on all other purchases
• Up to 26x points on IHG purchases
• Automatic Platinum Elite status
• Reward night when you redeem points for a consecutive four-night IHG hotel stay
• Free anniversary night (up to 40,000 points) at eligible IHG hotels
• Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS Statement Credit of up to $120 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card
• Up to $50 United® Airlines TravelBank Cash each calendar year

The World of Hyatt Credit Card

Hyatt is my favorite chain at which to redeem points. They offer great value, often going much further than other hotel chains’ points. The World of Hyatt Credit Card offers an easy way to rack up Hyatt points as well as get perks like complimentary Discoverist status and a free anniversary night.

This card offers:

• Earn up to 65,000 Bonus Points. Earn 35,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
• Earn up to 9 points total for Hyatt stays – 4 Bonus Points per $1 spent on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels & up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member
• Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
• Enjoy complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status for as long as your account is open
• Get 1 free night each year after your Cardmember anniversary at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort
• Receive 5 tier qualifying night credits towards status after account opening, and each year after that for as long as your account is open
• Earn an extra free night at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year
• Earn 2 qualifying night credits towards tier status every time you spend $5,000 on your card

No matter your travel budget or style, every traveler should have a hotel credit card in their wallet. From the free loyalty status to free annual nights, the best hotel credit cards offer tons of amazing perks that can significantly lower the cost of your trip.

Don’t spend hundreds of dollars for accommodation that could be free. Grab one of these cards, start earning points, and you’ll be on your way to free accommodation in no time!

Stop paying full price for travel!

Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you:

• How to Pick a Credit Card
• How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending
• How to Redeem Your Points
• And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips!

Get the guide

The post The Best Hotel Credit Cards to Get Right Now appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

“Fuck Airbnb,” I said to myself as I read one of their customer service replies. Despite having documentation that my host hadn’t paid the refund they agreed to give me, Airbnb decided to side with the host and wouldn’t issue me the refund. This was the second time in several months I had to call customer service — and the second time they sided with the host.

It was the moment I decided to finally quit Airbnb.

Let me explain the journey to this decision.

Back in 2019, I wrote an article called “Is It Time to Break Up with Airbnb?” I cited numerous safety, service, and overtourism issues with the company. That article somehow made its way to Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, who reached out to talk to me. We scheduled a call and, to his credit, he listened when I just unloaded on Airbnb and went into all the things I thought were wrong with it. He acknowledged that the company wasn’t perfect and gave me some insights into what Airbnb was doing to fix their issues.

When I started traveling last summer, I decided to use Airbnb again. I still thought it had a ton of unresolved problems but, in places where hotels are limited, it is often the best and cheapest accommodation option. (Despite my issues with the company itself, they do list some really great accommodation on the website.)

While I was in the Finger Lakes area (a wine region in upstate NY that is just absolutely wonderful), I woke up to an email from Airbnb saying my friend and I had to leave our lodging right away and that my account was now frozen. I had no idea what was going on. The host was equally confused by the situation but was happy to let me stay until I resolved it.

“I’ll figure this out later,” I said and went off to a wine tasting. Someone at Airbnb called me and asked if I had left yet. “No, not until you give me the reason,” I replied.

I wasn’t moving until Airbnb told me what was wrong, since both the host and I were happy. But Airbnb wouldn’t tell me until I left (standard procedure, they said). We were at an impasse.

So I deployed the only solution I could think of: I texted the CEO for help.

It turned out that because my phone number was on two accounts, during an automatic review, their system froze them both, thinking this was part of some kind of fraud. And that triggered the email, which, when unanswered, triggered the phone call. Why couldn’t they just tell me that on the phone? It seemed weird their procedure was not to ask “Hey can you clear this up for us” but to say “Your account is frozen. Leave now!”

My account was restored, but I was left thinking, “What if this had happened to someone who didn’t have the CEO’s number?” Imagine a family on holiday being told they had to leave but not why. (Heck, one of my team members had her account suspended a few years ago and was never informed why. They won’t give her the account back. She just woke up one day and was told, “Sorry, you’re off our platform.”)

It left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Fast-forward to September. I’m in LA and I found a unicorn: an Airbnb run by a person whose actual home it was, not just an apartment bought to be run as a pseudo hotel (See: overtourism). I get to the place and meet the host. The apartment was just OK: it was cluttered, the blinds in my room were broken (and never fixed, despite a promise to do so), and the room had no AC or heat.

But, whatever, it was a place to sleep.

Except it wasn’t.

On the second night, at 11:30pm, I was trying to sleep when the host’s conversation outside turned to a yelling match. She and the guy she had over were fighting. This went on for over 30 minutes until I decided to pack my bags and leave for a hotel down the road. The guy was double my size, and I wasn’t going to tell some strangers to kindly shut up so I could sleep. That could go south really quick, and I wasn’t risking my safety over that.

I emailed Airbnb, explained what happened, and asked for a refund for my remaining nights. They got back to me, said the host denied my story, and that I should have spoken to her first. I’m sorry, forgive me for not telling the big scary dude I was trying to sleep and to keep it down.

I was told that I should have made my problems known in the first 24 hours in order to be eligible for relief. Airbnb has a 24-hour rule where, if there’s a problem, you can still leave with a refund. However, after 24 hours, you can’t. This is a mighty stupid rule. What if something happens outside that window, especially if you’re staying a long time? Are you just screwed? (Narrator: Yes, you are.)

Now, it seems ridiculous that the rep couldn’t just look at this situation and say, “OK, it’s only two hundred bucks, here ya go!” since this isn’t a problem one could foresee in the first 24 hours. But they didn’t. And what annoyed me even more about the interaction were the emails they sent! Look at these actual emails from customer service:

I’m sorry, but you’re a $100 billion company and you can’t hire staff that writes emails that can be understood? It boggles my mind.

Eventually, this got resolved because, you guessed it, I texted Brian.

Finally, last month, I rented an Airbnb in Austin. Not only wasn’t it clean but everything was covered in pet hair. The host hadn’t mentioned they had a pet in their listing; had they, I wouldn’t have stayed. Between those two issues, I decided to leave. So, after some texting, the host and I agreed to a 20% refund.

Except she never paid. I waited a few days to see if the money hit my credit card. When it didn’t I messaged her again and she just ghosted me.

So I contacted Airbnb, showed them our conversation, and asked for help. They said they couldn’t help me because not only was I out of that 24-hour period but because the reservation was also over. “I should have talked to the host,” they said. Excuse me, but I did! I only waited because I know sometimes it takes refunds a few days to appear on your statement.

“OK, we’ll look into it,” Airbnb replied.

The answer came back: the host is denying the refund so it was out of their hands.

“But look at the thread! She already agreed to it. Gimme my money!”

“Sorry, you screwed,” they said (OK, I’m paraphrasing but that was the gist).

How did this one get resolved? I vented on Twitter, Airbnb’s customer support saw it, suddenly the problem got escalated to a manager, and a refund was issued.

All three incidents left a bad, bad taste in my mouth. What if you’re a regular user who doesn’t have a blue checkmark on social media or the CEO’s phone number? How do you get help then? I shouldn’t have to use these options to get good customer service.

Sure, “VIPs” get special treatment from companies all the time. But how can I recommend a company to you when I know, if something goes wrong, I’ll get better treatment and you’re likely to get screwed? Their customer service should be the same for everyone. It shouldn’t require you to text the CEO or complain on Twitter. Policies should be clear and agents empowered to help people, regardless of whether they are a blogger or just a family from Des Moines.

I want Airbnb to succeed, as the original concept is still amazing. But I think it’s time for me to break up with it. Along with its overtourism issues, its customer service is dog shit: it’s not reliable, its policies are opaque, and it’s willing to lose customers over a few hundred dollars.

I think Airbnb should empower its agents to just take care of issues below a certain value. Give the customer some money back, give the host a warning, and everyone can move on.

But they don’t do that.

Airbnb still seems to pretend that it’s a service that is just connecting people and isn’t responsible for what happens. The message they send over and over again is “You work it out with the host.” They find ways to avoid getting involved.

But hosts are humans too and stay with enough of them and a problem will eventually arise (because people often clash). And when that happens, I don’t want the anxiety or frustration of dealing with a company that is just going to tell me I’m out of luck.

(You might be tempted to say I’m an outlier, but if you saw my inbox, you’d think otherwise. It’s filled with complaints and requests for assistance to get them resolved. Heck, I once had a reader ask for help because a host was denying her a $7,000 refund she also had proof she was entitled to and she was taking Airbnb to court over it!)

So why would I want to deal with a company I know doesn’t really have my back?

I don’t. Which is why I’m breaking up with Airbnb. I’d rather stay in a hotel where I know I’ll get a consistent level of service. No surprises, no pets, no 24-hour rule, no midnight fights. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than Airbnb.

I know most of you will continue to use Airbnb. And, in many parts of the world, they are often the best selection. But be warned: if something goes wrong, I wouldn’t count on getting any help.

Note: I still like Airbnb experiences and have had no issues with that part of the business.

The post It’s Time to Break Up with Airbnb appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Since international travel on pause, people have turned to exploring their own backyards. From the U.S. to Canada to England, Europe, and New Zealand, people are getting in cars, campervans, and RVs and heading out on road trips. After all, it allows you to social distance while still getting outside!

Today, I’ve invited my friends Mike and Anne from HoneyTrek to share their RV tips and advice. They’re full-time RVers and will help you get your next RV adventure started easily and on a budget!

A couple of years back, the van life craze had everyone curious about rubber-tramping across North America. Maybe you thought, nah, I prefer my city apartment or jet-setting abroad.

Then COVID-19 hit. All of a sudden, getting out of Dodge with a house on wheels started to sound really good, didn’t it?

There is no doubt that RVing is one of the easiest and safest ways to travel right now. No crowded planes or questionable hotel rooms required — an RV gives you the freedom to explore and the peace of mind of having your own space.

Over the course of our eight-year “HoneyTrek” we’ve tried virtually every style of travel — backpacking, house-sitting, small-ship cruising, backcountry camping, five-star honeymooning, etc. — but the day we rented a campervan in New Zealand, we knew this was our preferred mode of travel.

For the past three years, we’ve been traveling full-time in our 1985 Toyota Sunrader “Buddy the Camper,” from the Baja Peninsula to the Arctic Circle and 47 states in between.

We’ve learned a lot along the way and are excited to share what we think are the most important things to know before setting out on your RV journey.

Here’s a video we just filmed which covers all the basics (or read the post below):

 

How to Pick the Right Size RV

For maximum adventure and comfort, we’d recommend a camper around 21 feet long. We know those big RVs tricked out like a penthouse apartment look tempting, but remember that every foot in length costs mobility. A shorter rig allows you to:

• Access rugged terrain
• Fit in a normal parking space, even parallel park
• Avoid length restrictions on some of America’s most beautiful winding roads and ferry rides
• Get better gas mileage (Most rigs get 6–10 MPG. Ours gets 19.)
• Have less stuff to break, which means more time exploring and having fun!

And, while even shorter 16- to 19-foot-long campervans do have the ultimate mobility, there are a few things you should know before you fall for that adorable Westfalia or stealthy Sprinter.

First, life ain’t so pretty without your own indoor shower and bathroom. And, while we respect the vanlifers who make do with public restrooms, bucket toilets, and catholes (digging a hole outside when you need to go to the bathroom), let us tell you the virtues of having a flushing loo: privacy, cleanliness, and autonomy.

We can be in a city center or a protected conservation area and conveniently and responsibly stay the night. In these unprecedented times, it’s more important than ever to be self-sufficient and not rely on shared facilities.

Besides a bathroom, a 19- to 22-foot long RV is big enough to also give you a proper bed and ample storage while still being small enough to explore with wild abandon.
 

How to Get Power (A.K.A. the Virtues of Solar)

RVs and campers have a house battery to run the lights, water pump, fans, and power electronics. Here are the various way to keep it charged:

• Drive a few hours per day
• Pay to plug in at a campground
• Run a generator
• Have solar panels

Your average road trip will likely give you enough charge from driving, but if you really need power, an RV park is never far away. If you are looking to slow-cruise the wilderness and lower your environmental impact, solar panels are a must. The simplest and most affordable option ($70–150 USD) is to get a portable panel and use it whenever you’re stopped in order to charge up the house battery of your RV. This obviously isn’t as convenient or powerful as an integrated system, but it should be enough to keep your phone and laptop charged.

If you are in this for the long haul, though, you’re going to want to install a solar system. We bought 300 watts of flexible monocrystalline solar panels, installed them to the roof, and wired them all together with a charge controller, lead-acid battery, and power inverter in about 20 hours — all for $1,200 USD.

If you want the best efficiency and lifespan, spring for a lithium-ion deep cycle battery, like the Relion RB100. If a DIY electrical project sounds too scary, you can have it professionally installed for $1,000–2,000 USD. We know that’s is a chunk of change, but investing in solar has allowed us to spend the last three years without having to ever pay for electricity, worry about running out of power, or generating any greenhouse gases.
 

How to Get Internet

Your smartphone is your on-the-go router. It’s important to use a carrier with an extensive national network (AT&T or Verizon) so as to get reception in remote areas (the dream is to be using your laptop from a secluded beach, right?).

We use our Verizon phone as a hotspot for our two laptops, getting 50GB unthrottled per month, plus unlimited calls and texts, for $109 USD.

While that’s a decent amount of data, it’s not a home internet plan through which you can be streaming all day. If you’ll be on the road for more than a couple weeks, monitor your usage with the GlassWire app and install NetLimiter on your laptop to help ration your data. Save your big downloads and uploads for free Wi-Fi zones.

We love working at libraries, not just for the internet but for their inspiring spaces, peace and quiet, community offerings, and open invitation to stay all day.

And, when all else fails, McDonald’s and Starbucks have wifi that’s usually strong enough to tap from the comforts of your camper.
 

How to Find Places to Camp

Your basic campground typically offers a flat parking spot with a picnic table, fire pit, and shared bathroom for $10–30 USD per night. If you bump up to $35–80 USD a night, you’re in RV park territory and will likely get power, water, sewer, and shared amenities like a clubhouse and a pool.

But did you know there are tens of thousands of free campsites scattered around the wilds of the USA? The federal government has reserved 640 million acres of public lands (national forests, BLM [Bureau of Land Management] land, national conservation areas, etc.) for your enjoyment. These sites are pretty bare-bones (sometimes it’s just a clearing in the forest) but, since we have a self-contained camper with our own drinking water and bathroom, all we really want is a peaceful spot with a good view.

This style of independent camping has many names: dispersed camping, wild camping, dry camping, freedom camping, and most commonly “boondocking.” We find our favorite boondocking spots via the Ultimate Campgrounds app, which we use to see what sites are nearby.

If we’re striking out on that app, we turn to iOverlander and FreeCampsites.net.

With these apps, we’re able to find great camping on the fly and rarely pay a dime.

That said, there is a time and place for more traditional campgrounds. They can be a great way to meet other campers, enjoy a few extra services, or stay in the heart of a national park. ReserveAmerica.com is the main campground portal (290,000 listings!) for public (national and state parks) and private campgrounds. HipCamp.com also has extensive offerings and is our favorite for unique sites on private land — it’s like the Airbnb of camping. KOA has tons of options too.

If you know there is a certain place you want to be on a specific night, you can book in advance. But also just don’t be afraid to go with the flow — there is always a beautiful boondocking spot somewhere!
 

Urban Boondocking

Speaking of boondocking, it’s not just for the woods. We have spent countless nights “camping” in the heart of cities, and if you adhere to a few simple rules, you can feel confident doing the same:

• Obey all street signs and curb markings and keep the meter fed. If it says “no overnight parking,” take heed. If there is any ambiguity in the signage (street cleaning conflicts, permit parking, etc.), find another spot.
• Don’t overstay your welcome. We usually limit our time in the same parking spot to two nights.
• Don’t draw attention to yourself with excessive lights, music, noise, etc. Even though our 1980s RV is far from a stealth camper, we have slept in over 50 cities and never been asked to “move along.”

Be smart, be respectful, and the world is your campground.
 

How to Save Money on Gas

We know gas is only around $2 USD/gallon at the moment, but when it comes to your long-term travel budget, every bit counts. Here are some tips to save at the pump:

• Get the GasBuddy app. It allows you to see the gas prices along your route, often saving upwards of 50 cents per gallon, particularly if you can wait to cross a state line or get farther off the highway.
• Get yourself a Chase Freedom Unlimited card; certain months of the year, they offer 5x points on your fill-up.
• Sign up for gas station rewards programs, especially Shell and Pilot, which give 3–5 cents off per gallon.
• Keep your tires inflated at the recommended PSI, and drive under 55mph. In addition to the gas savings, it’s safer and prolongs the life of your rig.

How to Find the Back Roads

Set your GPS to “avoid highways” and you’ll discover just how beautiful this country can be. Interstates have blazed straight lines across the nation but the old network of roads, working with the contours of the land and connecting historic towns, still exists.

The best routes are America’s Byways, a collection of 150 distinct and diverse roads protected by the Department of Transportation for their natural or cultural value.

Even better than that website (because you can’t rely on back roads’ cell reception) is a hard copy of the National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways. It maps out the prettiest drives in every state, with something to marvel at even in “the flyover states.” We refer to it every time we start a big drive and discover interesting landmarks, quirky museums, scenic viewpoints, quintessential eateries, and short hikes, which always improves the ride.
 

Take Glamping Breaks

To make sure you don’t burn out on small-space, off-grid living, treat yourself to the occasional glamping getaway. Creative outdoor accommodations with a plush bed, hot shower, and friendly host always remind us how much we love the woods.

When we get to a glamp camp, we can walk away from our normal responsibilities (setting up camp, cooking for ourselves, and DIY everything) and truly relax. A gorgeous treehouse, dome, yurt, or safari tent has been designed with your enjoyment in mind, and if you need anything, your host is at the ready.

A little pampering and fresh take on the outdoors will give you the energy to keep on truckin’.

To find fabulous getaways along your route, check out our glamping book, Comfortably Wild: The Best Glamping Destinations in North America.
 

How to Protect Yourself and Your Ride

You’ll be exploring remote areas, going down rough roads, and having wild adventures (get excited!). Consider these three forms of protection and you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way:

• RV insurance – While this is specialty car insurance, the good news is it can be cheaper than insuring a sedan (we pay $375 USD a year for our Progressive plan).
• Travel insurance – While most people think of travel insurance for big international trips, it usually kicks in 100 miles from your house, covering health emergencies, trip delays, canceled reservations (from campgrounds to river rafting excursions), and a variety of other snafus. Rather than getting insurance every time we hit the road, we use the Allianz so we’re automatically covered wherever we go throughout the year.
• Roadside assistance – Good ol’ AAA does have RV plans, but we like that Good Sam is designed specifically for RVers and doesn’t charge a premium for it. An annual membership covers towing RVs of all sizes, tire blowouts, running out of gas, locking your keys in your vehicle, plus lots of other benefits and travel discounts.

As full-timers, we’re incredibly passionate about RVing and lot to share road trip itineraries, advice about buying a vintage camper, and lessons learned from three years on the road. While there is a lot to know about RV travel, renting a camper is a safe and easy way to get started. And there is a wonderful RV and #vanlife community online that will be happy to help too.

Mike and Anne Howard left on their honeymoon in January 2012 and never came home. They created HoneyTrek.com to chronicle their journey across all seven continents and help people realize their travel dreams. They are the authors of National Geographic’s bestselling book, Ultimate Journeys for Two, and the first-ever book on glamping in North America, Comfortably Wild.

The post How to Plan a Successful RV Trip appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.