When you're trying to book cheap hotels, online booking agencies are the best place to start. Try websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire, Hotels.com and Orbitz. Or try Kayak, a newer website that searches several websites at once. On any of these sites, you can organize your results by price, from lowest to highest, and then check out the photos, location, reviews and so on. If you're satisfied with one of your options, book it immediately.
Before booking on a third-party site, see if the hotel you're interested in has its own website. If so, ask if their rates are cheaper for your travel dates. The hotel might be offering a deal for that time period. Some hotels offer a cheaper rate if you are willing to pay for your room in full when you book.
If you are more of a risk taker, try a bidding website such as Priceline. Using Priceline's Name Your Own Price feature, pick your destination, dates and hotel star rating and then pick a price you are willing to pay per night. Start low, since you can bid again. You can bid immediately if you change at least one part of your search, such as dates. You must wait 24 hours if you keep all items the same. The risk is that you don't know what hotel you're getting until a website accepts your bid. The other risk is that your credit card is charged in full once a website accepts your bid. The upside is that you can often book a four- or five-star hotel at a really cheap price.
