This travel app pushed me to be more spontaneous in Europe, and also saved me A TON of money
I’m a freelance writer, so my schedule is always all over the place. Most of the time, I get sent on assignments around the world, but once my work is done, I like to take a day or seven to explore the countries around me. While most people plan their trips months ahead of time, I’m typically left scrambling for hotel accommodations sometimes two nights away or on the day of. That’s how I discovered the reliable travel app HotelTonight — and it saved my life.
Even though I go with the flow, this doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous about not having any plans. However, using HotelTonight, travelers — especially last-minute bookers — no longer have to stress out about having a place to stay in advance.
In fact, HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank, explained exactly why you should do the opposite.
"[On HotelTonight] we now have hotel deals up to 100 days in our most popular destinations," he tells HelloGiggles. "When hotels have unsold rooms, they load them onto our app at a great rate. HotelTonight offers deals that customers won’t see anywhere else, including GeoRates, based on location and special rates for our rewards program members."
I put the app to the test last month during a reunion with some friends in Europe. As expected, I was the last one to get my dates together and they had already booked their accommodations well beforehand. To avoid their hotels’ strict extra-person fees, I sucked it up and found my own place to stay.
We were headed to Paris and I wanted a spot near everyone, so I wouldn’t feel left out. Naturally, they chose places in the touristy neighborhoods by the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées, and you can imagine how expensive those areas got a few nights away from our vacation.
But thanks to the travel app’s exclusive rates, I landed a four-star hotel that was only a 10-minute walk from the Champs-Élysées for $92/night. The sad thing was that my friends paid nearly double for similar accommodations in the area. I have to admit, though it was a panic to get everything together, the stress was well worth it once I found this Parisian steal — so worth it, in fact, that I may have to continue with this unconventional method of travel.
I hope you have the same luck with the HotelTonight app as I did.
