From the folks who brought you the best place for rental car deals, AutoSlash.com, HotelSlash is the best way for many folks to get the lowest prices on hotels. This is perfect for when you’re staying outside of a chain where you have status, or when price is more important to you than hotel points and elite benefits.
HotelSlash saves you on hotel stays in two ways.
- they have membership site discounted rates, and they pass on much of the savings to you
- they track hotel prices and prompt you if rates fall in order to get you rebooked
You can ‘book direct’ through a chain and earn hotel points, status credit, and receive benefits during your stay. Or you can book through a third party – public rates on Expedia and the like won’t generally be lower, but membership sites aren’t subject to rate parity rules and chains don’t honor best rate guarantees.
Some of these sites earn phat commissions, while HotelSlash will generally pass much of the commission back in the form of a lower rate. And they’ve been delivering the best rental car savings for ages through their sister site. I’ve used AutoSlash since 2010, and I’ve used HotelSlash for non-chain stays and where the savings was big enough to forego the points.
They have a Black Friday offer of 7% off with coupon code BLACKFRIDAY on all prepaid bookings made through Tuesday. Apply the discount on the checkout page, and it will reduce the cost of their in many cases already cheaper rates.
In order to offer their ‘membership’ rates that are exempt from rules requiring them to offer the same higher prices as hotel website direct rates, they have to charge for membership. That’s currently $49.95 per year. But View From The Wing readers can currently sign up using promo code VFTW and that fee is waived. This is lifetime free membership and you should jump on this while it’s available.
There’s no cost to take advantage of it, and it lets you add HotelSlash to your toolbox checking for the lowest hotel rates. And you can book wherever you wish and just have HotelSlash monitor the prices of your reservations for you in case rates drop. That way they do the legwork to earn your business.
And since it’s lifetime free membership, no credit card is required at signup. So there’s no reason not to sign up.
Thanks, Gary.
I currently have an account with HotelSlash, but using the VFTW code, my membership status was updated automatically for a free trial with 10,323 days remaining.
My new membership expiration date is Tuesday, March 4, 2053.
@ Gary — Have you ever booked one of these rates? Curious about real-world experience with elite benefits and/or elite credit.
Jumped on it with a free trial of 9,999 days.
Look out 2051 ! 🙂
I will likely be SO dead by then… But I’ll still be a Marriott Lifetime Titanium. 🙂
I tried the program a year or two ago. Every prospective booking came back with a rate that I was otherwise able to get. Never found *incremental* value. Perhaps I was just lucky.
I have used them regularly in some cities where their rate comes in 30-40% below the direct booking rates. I get points + stay credits more than half the time with IHG, but not with Marriott or Hilton.
@Gene – I’ve only booked with them outside the major chains
Is this going to work for overseas stays?
Existing members, how did you get it to add more days to your account?
I used HotelSlash for a two night booking in Johannesburg for a Radisson near the airport. Other booking sites were approximately $150 a night for a standard room. Hotel Slash got me an “executive room” for $154 total for 2 nights. I got a voucher to present to the front desk. Not only did my rate include the breakfast buffet for the 2 nights, but the executive room got me free access to the lounge which served drinks, snacks, and hot appetizers in the evening. I’m a believer!
@John: I enrolled again using the VFTW code and my same email address I used for original enrollment.