The Kumano Hayatama Taisha in Shingu, Japan is one of the three grand shrines I visited on my Kumano Kodo trek.
Accommodation and flights are often one of the biggest travel expenses. On my recent six-week trip to Japan (a combination of work and personal travel), I learned some new money-saving tricks that I wanted to share about how to find the best hotel deals.
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Hotel Booking Tips: The Best Mobile Hotel Deals
Booking hotels on mobile apps like Expedia saved me 15-30% on hotels with its mobile pricing. For example, I booked a room at the Smile Hotel in Okayama, Japan on Expedia’s desktop for a Saturday night stay about two weeks in advance for $96. Five days before my stay, I happened to look up the same hotel and date on the Expedia mobile app, and it was nearly 30% cheaper—$69.05! I booked it instantly and canceled the more expensive one. (Now, I’m a bit obsessed with finding the best deal so I often price check rates for refundable bookings when I’m stuck in a grocery store line or waiting for my luggage in an airport baggage claim.)
Fast forward a few days later, I got stranded in Japan because a typhoon delayed and then canceled my Taiwan trip. Since I enjoyed my stay at the Smile Hotel in Okayama, I stayed loyal to the brand. (Smile Hotels have simple, spotless rooms in convenient locations, which I highly recommend if you’re traveling to Japan anytime soon.) I strictly only looked up hotel mobile rates on Expedia, which saved me at least 15% each time and were even cheaper than my previous booking! I booked rooms for $36-50/night after taxes in both Okayama and two Osaka locations by Shin-Osaka and Tennoji train stations. The rates were even cheaper than booking directly through the hotel’s website, which is normally the best place to book. And, I even stayed over the weekend for these cheap rates!
Important note: The U.S. dollar is strong against the Japanese yen currently so it’s much more affordable for Americans to travel now. I was spending around $80-100/night in bigger cities or remote locations before I discovered this hack!
The best part of this trick is that you still earn rewards for booking these mobile deals! The One Key rewards I earned from Expedia for my bookings were easily applied to my next booking, which was great because I was booking new hotels every two days waiting to see what this typhoon would do!
I booked rooms at three Smile Hotel locations in Japan for $36-$50 a night on my trip in September. The hotel brand has clean rooms in convenient locations withing walking distance of major train stations.
How much cheaper are mobile hotel rates?
On average, it is 10-30 percent cheaper than desktop prices. Booking.com requires participating hotels to offer at least a 10% discount.
Why are mobile hotel rates cheaper?
There’s a higher cost to get desktop users to book—paying for ads and keywords—whereas mobile users are easier to convert to a sale. Booking.com says 50% of its traffic is from mobile. (The same article says that two-thirds of those bookings are made by millennials who leave more reviews than other groups.) Some hotels even offer lower rates strictly to mobile users based on these high usage statistics.
It’s always worth double-checking desktop rates, but I’d advise doing it without logging into the website. I had one instance where it seemed like the mobile app changed to reflect the desktop price after I logged in online.
If the “mobile” rate is a good deal and there’s free cancellation, I often just book it on the spot. Then, check the desktop site later to verify. Keep in mind that just because the app claims it’s a “mobile only” deal doesn’t mean that it actually is a better rate. Do your homework.
The Expedia’s mobile rates show up as a green icon when using the app.
What is the best travel app for hotels?
Honestly, I check a variety of apps along with the hotel’s website to compare. My go-to apps are Expedia, Booking.com and Hotels.com. I used Booking.com for my Kumano Kodo hotels and Expedia for all the big cities but did find a cheaper deal on Hotels.com for my hotel (Iroha Grand Hotel) in Nara, Japan. (In Tokyo, I loved this hotel!) I don’t really have any loyalty between the brands. I simply book the cheapest option with the most flexible refund policy.
Loyalty programs and rewards are also important and can help save you more money. Since I’ve finally achieved Booking.com’s highest tier (Genius Level 3), I automatically get 20% off many bookings and even scored a simple room for $26 in Shingu, Japan!
Looking for more Japan travel tips?
Check out my Instagram highlights for a detailed story on budget trips for Japan travel and my hike along the Kumano Kodo, the sacred UNESCO-designated pilgrimage trek.
