How To Book A Hotel On Expedia

With the world slowly (or quickly) going back to travel, it’s exciting to get back to planning itineraries and looking at hotels. But, hotel stays can get pretty much expensive if one doesn’t know where to look and how to find the best deals. That’s where Expedia comes in. Although it’s relatively new, the vacation planning portal has carved a name for itself in the hospitality industry. Booking hotels on Expedia, no matter which days you book them, is an incredibly easy process. A highly intuitive website, coupled with an easy-to-use search bar and filters, makes it a delight to skim through hotels on this website. Whether you’re headed on a couples vacation or going on a full-blown-out holiday with friends, Expedia is the place to look for digs. Here are some helpful tips for booking hotels on Expedia.

Hotel Insurance

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One of the most important parts of booking hotels on Expedia is choosing insurance. Expedia has two kinds of hotel insurance options, Hotel Booking Protection (USA hotels only) and Hotel Booking Protection Plus (outsides the USA). The first one covers trip interruption and cancellation for up to the total trip cost. What’s more, you can use trip delay coverage if your delay causes you to miss a night’s stay at a hotel or if the delay is six hours or more. Moreover, the plan even includes baggage delay insurance protection. The latter plan includes everything in the Hotel Booking Protection plan, plus expense coverage for certain medical conditions, sickness, and accidents. Finally, you also have insurance protection in cases of emergency evacuations. But, please note that these extra coverages are only available for staying in hotels outside the USA.

Expedia Rewards Program

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The Expedia Rewards Program is one of the best features of the vacation planning portal and allows you to unlock many opportunities for savings. What’s more, this program is free and, as members, you have many perks if you book a hotel through Expedia.

• Expedia points: Every time you make an eligible booking, you’ll begin earning Expedia points, which double if you book through the app. The more you use the portal, the more you’ll earn points, and the higher your status is in its loyalty program. For instance, Gold is 3 points for every 1 USD spent, and Silver is 2 points. VIP access stays earn you additional 2X points per 1 USD spent.
• Discounted hotel rates: You’ll save an extra 10% or more on specific hotel bookings as a member. You can use these points against future Expedia hotel stays, flights, and more.
• Free travel perks: If you’re a Silver/Gold member, you’ll get special amenities at VIP Access Hotels (look for the VIP Access logo). These include spa credits, free Wi-Fi, and more and differ from property to property.
• Exclusive Expedia sales: Finally, members of the Expedia Rewards Program also get access to special sales.

If that wasn’t enough, Expedia Rewards members are even refunded the difference if they find a lower hotel rate on Expedia or another website. Complete the Hotel Price Guarantee form, and the portal will refund the difference. 

App-based Bookings

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App-based bookings have a special place in Expedia’s ecosystem. Signing up to the Expedia App unlocks up to 10% savings with mobile-exclusive hotel deals. When booking hotels on Expedia through the app, the rewards include:

• Savings up to 570 USD when you book a hotel and a flight together on the app.
• Savings up to 40% on mobile-exclusive deals.
• Double rewards points on every in-app booking; hotels, cars, flights, and activities.

Do you want another reason to browse and book through the Expedia app? Some deals are app-only offers. For instance, during Expedia’s mind-blowing Black Friday sale, some hotel offers were available only on the app.

Consider Group Rates

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Are you a huge group of friends or family looking for hotels? It’s Expedia Group Rates to the rescue. Under the group rates program, book as a group but pay the hotel separately. The best bit? It’s free! All you need to do is fill out a form, after which the portal will assign one of their expert planners who customize hotels and quotes based on your requirements. After comparing offers and negotiating online, choose the best deal and get guaranteed low group rates. These private rates are usually lower than online rates that individual travelers and the general public get on the portal. Finally, you get not only an assigned local planner but also free hotel room vouchers if they’re available.

Timing Matters

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You might have been reading about the best days to book hotels on Expedia, and it’s true. So, what’s the ideal day of the week to book and stay?

• For domestic holidays within the US, the lowest average daily rate (ADR) for hotels tends to happen on Mondays. In this case, you could save more than 15% vs. if you book and stay on a Friday, which is the most expensive day.
• For international trips outside the US, booking and staying on a Tuesday, and additionally, not on a Thursday, could save you nearly 10%.

Also, if you want to save money, have the hotel amenities to yourself, and avoid the crowd, book weekday staycations. According to Expedia data, booking staycations with check-in on weekdays can save you up to 20% compared to checking in on weekends. Furthermore, Expedia’s Book Early feature allows you to save at least 25% by booking your hotel at least 60 days in advance.

Canceling Reservations

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We don’t ever want to cancel hotel reservations, but sometimes, exigent circumstances force us to. For hotels, you can cancel or modify your reservations. Whether or not you incur any additional expenses depends on the type of your reservation. All you need to do is sign in or enter your “Itinerary Number” for your trip. Once your hotel details are in front of you, choose “Change” or “Cancel” in the details. You will receive an email that your booking has been changed or canceled. Do you have different bookings? You need to cancel or modify different bookings separately.

Using Coupons and Credit Card Points

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One of the most exciting things about booking hotels on Expedia is the fact that you can save by using credit card points and coupons. The vacation planning portal has partnered with major payment providers and banks – including UOB, American Express, and Mastercard – to provide additional discounts for hotel bookings. Additionally, you might even save on any Expedia hotel bookings through the coupons available on the Expedia coupons page.

Last-minute Deals

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It might pay to procrastinate – finally! Expedia incentivizes hotels with last-minute cancellations and offers some fabulous deals to fill those rooms. Are your last-minute travel dates flexible? You might even find hotels costing 25% lesser than the regular rates. AARP members, military personnel, and students will also find special last-minute deals on the vacation travel portal. For instance, AARP members get 10% off select hotels throughout the year, as well as monthly travel deals. Likewise, Expedia also runs student discounts sometimes, which you can find on the Student Travel Discounts page.

Like there are the best days to book hotels on Expedia, there are certain discounted hotels and other packages if you’re willing to travel within the next two weeks. So, if you can pack your bags in a jiffy, then you might find incredible deals on the Last-minute Deals page.

Payment Options

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What makes booking hotels on Expedia so great is that it has a plethora of flexible payment plans available to travelers. If you can’t or don’t want to pay for your entire trip at the time of booking, the portal allows for making smaller payments through Affirm. This is a service that offers short-term loans for online purchases. If your payment schedule is approved by Affirm, you can pay for your upcoming trip in monthly installments. Additionally, Expedia also has a “Book Now Pay Later on Hotels” policy regarding certain hotels. Not only do you get to book at a possibly lower rate, but also most of the bookings are completely refundable. Finally, the portal accepts Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, JCB, Discover, and American Express. The best bit? Expedia displays the total price with fees and taxes right from the get-go.

Zeroing Down On Accommodations

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Finally, what makes booking hotels on Expedia so great is that the portal now also includes villas, condos, bed and breakfasts, and vacation rentals in addition to resorts and hotels. So, you can look for various accommodation types, especially if you’re booking a multi-city trip and prefer different accommodations in different cities. As a rule, each search result on Expedia shows you the price per night. What’s more, the price displayed is always for a base-level room, which means it’ll increase for premium rooms and suites. Moreover, the search results also give out important information at a glance, including complimentary breakfasts, cancellation policies, etc.

Do you want to save big on Expedia stays? One of the most popular recommendations is to down-star your hotel to save a few extra bucks. For instance, you can save almost 50%, on average, by opting for 4-star hotels instead of 5-star ones. Finally, you could save as much as 30% if you book 3-star hotels instead of 4-star ones.

Guide To Booking A Hotel On Expedia

Setting things up

Go to www.expedia.com and click on the top “Hotels” menu. Then, use the left-side window to indicate the kind of accommodations, destination, check-in date, check-out date, number of people in different age groups, and number of rooms.

Sorting the results

Once you reach the results page after searching with the above details, click on the top headings to sort your results by popularity, best deals, star ratings, guest ratings, hotel names in alphabetical order, price, and distance from your area of choice. What’s more, you can also click the left-side buttons and checkboxes to filter your results by hotel services and amenities, type of hotel, price, and star rating. Or, you could click the highlighted box saying “Hotel Name” and type in the name of the specific hotel you’re looking for.

Going through hotel details

Once you find the hotel that you like, click on the name to scroll down to the “Book Your Room” window on the next page to see which rooms are available. Each window displays photos of the room in question and its basic amenities. After choosing a hotel room you finally like, click on “Book” to get to the final stage of the booking process.

Entering details

Next, there are three main things you need to do. The first you need to do is to enter your contact including your name, phone number, and country for the country code. Next, you need to fill out the billing information. Finally, you need to tell Expedia where you want the booking confirmation sent; that’s your e-mail ID. Finally, click on “Complete Booking” to receive your confirmation email.

Are you looking for car rentals too? Here’s a guide on how to rent a car on Expedia.

Does booking a hotel through Expedia work?

Yes, it is safe to book through Expedia, as it’s absolutely trustworthy.

How much is the deposit on Expedia?

Usually, they put a pending charge on the credit card you put down on the file, and it’s not an uncommon practice.

When you book a hotel on Expedia, when do you pay?

Since Expedia has a “Book Now Pay Later” option, you don’t need to pay for your stay until you actually arrive at the property. The booking is guaranteed in advance, but you pay only once you check in.