What is the cheapest hotel booking site for finding great deals?

Price aggregator sites like Trivago and Kayak don't actually book hotels themselves - they simply crawl and compile data from various booking sites to show you the best deals in one place.

The time of year you book can make a significant difference.

Hotels typically offer their deepest discounts during the off-season for a particular destination.

Flexibility with your travel dates can unlock major savings.

Being open to staying a day earlier or later can sometimes drop prices dramatically.

Loyalty programs offered by hotel chains, airlines, and credit cards can provide exclusive member rates and perks that non-members don't have access to.

Last-minute hotel bookings are not always the cheapest.

Contrary to popular belief, booking further in advance can often score you a better deal.

The day of the week you book on can impact pricing.

Weekends and Fridays/Saturdays tend to be more expensive than weekdays.

Using a virtual private network (VPN) to change your apparent location can sometimes uncover lower rates targeted to specific regions.

Metasearch engines like Google Hotels may pull from a wider range of sources than traditional booking sites, potentially surfacing more obscure deals.

Hotels sometimes offer better rates on their own websites versus third-party booking platforms in order to drive direct bookings.

Dynamic pricing means hotel rates can fluctuate dramatically based on factors like occupancy, events, and seasonality in a given area.

Booking sites may use advanced algorithms to customize prices based on your browsing and purchasing history, so clearing your cookies can potentially uncover lower rates.

The cheapest room type isn't always the best value.

Upgrading to a higher-tier room can sometimes cost only a few dollars more per night.

Comparing prices across multiple booking sites, even for the same hotel, is crucial - differences of $50 or more per night are common.

Membership in organizations like AAA, AARP, or your employer can unlock exclusive hotel discounts you won't find elsewhere.

Some credit cards provide automatic hotel status upgrades or statement credits that can offset the cost of your stay.

Unpopular travel dates, like the middle of the week or off-season, tend to have significantly cheaper hotel rates.

Booking directly through a hotel's mobile app can occasionally yield better deals than their website or third-party platforms.

Using a travel rewards credit card to pay for your hotel stay can maximize points/miles earned, effectively lowering your out-of-pocket costs.

Certain booking sites like Priceline and Hotwire offer "blind booking" where you don't know the exact hotel until after you pay, but the savings can be substantial.

Being flexible on the specific hotel brand or location within a city can open up more cost-effective options you may not have considered otherwise.