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‘Tis the season of gathering with loved ones, napping after huge meals — and getting an early start on booking your 2024 travels. While you’re snapping up discounted gifts left and right and filling your carts with Black Friday clothing deals, you shouldn’t sleep on the myriad of travel deals currently on offer, either. The time between Black Friday and Travel Tuesday (that’s the day after Cyber Monday) are widely known as the best window of the entire year to get a good discount on your upcoming trips.
This year, Expedia and Hotels.com are offering deals on thousands of hotels starting at 30% off from now through November 29. We’ve seen plenty of stays going beyond that markdown, with 50% or even 70% slashed off the nightly rate. Given that most brands offer Black Friday discounts that max out at 30% off, this is pretty phenomenal.
To help you bag the next getaway of your dreams, we’ve rounded up the best hotel deals from this blockbuster sale. The best part? You can still enjoy tons of savings beyond Travel Tuesday: ahead, we will also walk you through OneKeyCash, the brand’s relaunched (and better-than-ever) loyalty program, where you can earn cash rewards off bookings across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.
The Hoxton, Downtown LA: 40% off, from $215 $129/night
Virgin Hotels Nashville: 32% off, from $259 $176/night
Blind Tiger Burlington, Vermont: 30% off, from $255 $179/night
Arlo Wynwood Miami: 40% off, from $322 $193/night
The Sofia Hotel, San Diego: 70% off, from $691 $201/night
Paradisus Cancún – All Inclusive, Mexico: 30% off, from $1,024 $724/night
TRS Cap Cana Waterfront & Marina Hotel – All Inclusive, Punta Cana: 58% off, from $481 $249/night
Del Sol Spa Hotel, Santorini, Greece: 35% off, from $227 $147/night
Hotel Keihan Tokyo Yotsuya, Japan: 35% off, from $128 $83/night
Pestana Lisboa Vintage City Center Suites, Lisbon, Portugal: 30% off, from $190 $110/night
While Vrbo.com is not offering specific Black Friday deals this year, it’s still worth having a look over at the booking platform’s vacation homes. We have recently learned a secret savings hack: you can access up to 20% off Vrbo by booking a home under the filter “New Listings Discount”. This discount rate is available if you’re one of the first three guests to stay at the property.
The list of new listings are constantly refreshed, but here’s our pick of the current hidden gems that have caught our eye. The discounts have already been applied in the prices.
Palm Springs Oasis, Little Tuscany, CA: from $330/night
Carters’ Cozy Cabin, Blue Ridge, GA: from $133/night
Taos Family & Artist Retreat, El Prado, NM: from $210/night
Palms Estate, West Palm Beach, FL: from $736/night
Long Pond Cottage, Rome, ME: from $208/night
Things get significantly more complicated when you’re traveling in a group, especially around this time of the year. After factoring in the differing needs and preferences of friends and family, finding an accommodation that keeps everyone happy can feel like a huge undertaking. To simplify things, I’ve been recommending people to book vacation rentals like Vrbo instead of hotels. It’s much easier to find something that checks all the boxes for everyone — especially when kitchen and laundry are non-negotiables — and get a turnkey experience that feels like home.
I’ve stayed in my fair share of both Airbnbs and Vrbos, and there is one thing that Vrbo offers that is noticeably above and beyond: in my experience, the Vrbo hosts I have met are all highly communicative, knowledgeable, and passionate about their homes. On a recent Vrbo stay with my family, the host gave us a private mini tour of all the artwork and antiques inside the house after my dad expressed interest in learning more about the wall art. Vrbo, on its part, takes special care in training its hosts to offer the most hospitable experience: the platform offers Premier Hosts status to listings with a high-star rating and have met a standard of excellence based on travelers’ reviews.
The thing that really seals the deal for me? When you book on Vrbo, you will earn OneKeyCash through your stay, which can be spent your next Expedia and Hotels.com booking, too. This type of rewards program is not available when I book an Airbnb, and gives me that extra incentive to be the “booker” for the whole fam — and bag all the rewards.
OneKeyCash is a membership program that allows you to earn cash rewards when you book through Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. Any time you make a booking on these sites, you will see a OneKeyCash amount that you will be able to earn. This cash reward can then be applied to hotels, vacation rentals, cars, activities, and flights.
You also get access to Member’s Prices, a special deal category that contains discounts of 10% on more for hotels, and up to 30% if you book at trip package containing hotels and flights.
Yes, you can sign up for free to gain access to Member’s Prices, but with enough trip elements on your belt, you will get to Silver or Gold status — enabling you to unlock even better special pricing.
A trip element can be a hotel, vacation rental, flight, or car rental booking made within one of Expedia’s family of brands. You can be upgraded from Basic to Silver status by earning five trip elements in a calendar year, and Gold status by earning 15 trip elements.
The barrier to entry is significantly lower than say, an elite membership status with an airline, where you risk being demoted if you don’t take 25 to 30 flights with the carrier in the same year. You can also sweep up enough trip elements on one single vacation booking: as an example, going on a solo road trip with a two-night hotel booking, and a three-day car rental will yield enough trip elements to promote you to Silver status.
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