Travel Deal of the Day (July 10, 2007)

If you are staying at a hotel on a Thursday and Friday night or a Sunday and Monday night, it is often advisable to verify how the rates on those nights change if you include a Saturday night. Though you might not have originally intended to include a Saturday night, sometimes this extra night can decrease the price of your total stay.

The Deal:
Quite often, you can lower the price of your Thursday and Friday night hotel stay or your Sunday and Monday night hotel stay by including a Saturday night. Most hotels offer midweek rates targeted at business travelers that are much higher than weekend rates targeted at leisure travelers. (Hotels in business sections of big cities or near airports often cannot fill their rooms on weekends, so they offer huge discounts to entice you to stay the weekend.) When you check-in on a Thursday and depart on a Saturday or you check-in on a Sunday and depart on Tuesday, you often qualify for midweek rates rather than weekend rates. Quite often, the total bill for a three night total stay that includes a Saturday night will be lower than a two-night stay without a Saturday night stay (since the stay including the Saturday night may qualify for weekend rates for all three nights or some other weekend promotion/discount).

How:
When checking rates, always see how your rates change if you include a Saturday night. Also, check packages which may include free breakfast or other perks for including the weekend in your stay.