Cheap Accommodation Methods in 11 Steps

If there is an indispensable part of a trip, it is accommodation. When your holiday adventure starts, you have to spend the night in places like hotels or hostels. Well, this also brings a cost. Accommodation, one of the most important cost items of travelling, has no limit in terms of luxury. Accommodation options are completely related to your budget. You can stay in a luxury hotel somewhere or you can choose a tent. In summary, everything depends on the budget. If you are thinking about your budget while travelling, then you are in the right place. Because cheap accommodation methods you can reduce this cost item and contribute to your budget.

When it comes to accommodation, the hotel option comes to mind first, but there are many alternatives other than hotels. There are also cheap hotels, of course, but many options outside the hotel are usually more affordable. In this article you will find both how to find a cheap hotel and hotel alternative ideas. So the main goal is cheap accommodation.

Although accommodation generally costs money, it should not scare you. You don’t have to be rich to visit places. There are many accommodation alternatives. You’re sure to find an affordable place that appeals to you. Beyond finding out, you can also meet different people and have different experiences. You can witness the culture of the place you visit and the life of the local people. In summary, get rid of the mentality that you need to be rich to travel and take action immediately.

Cheap Accommodation Methods & How to Stay Cheap?

Use Hotel Search Engines

Air ticket search engines but not hotel search engines? If you are going to choose a hotel for accommodation, of course you should use the internet and hotel search engines. There are countless hotel search sites at home and abroad. If you say which of these sites should I use, completely institutionalism and budget come to the fore here. The hotel search sites you choose are definitely corporate. Otherwise, you are very likely to have problems.

One of the leading engines for cheap accommodation is Google Travel. You can select the hotel you want from this site and see which site is cheaper. It has a very useful and simple interface. It is also very successful to show the prices on the map.

For abroad, we usually use Booking and Expedia. There are also good discounts on these sites. At this point, the biggest advice I will give you will be to choose hotels with Free Cancellation option. Since plans can change at any time, you will not pay any penalty if you cancel the hotel in this case. I know that we have cancelled the hotel we have arranged 5 times, so the free cancellation option is very important. For cheap accommodation, you should scan these hotel search engines well and keep the applications of these sites on your phone.

Clear Browser Cookies

Search engines are good, but after entering a few times, it starts to recognise you thanks to the cookies it sends you. When it recognises you, it says that either the prices are increasing or the run is running out quickly and pushes you to make a reservation. Actually, the method they use is simple. Is there a remedy, of course there is. When it comes to cheap hotels or accommodation, the road does not end.

In every field, I think we need to use the internet well because we live in a digital world. Because there are really good opportunities on the internet. I have seen people who use the internet well and stay in a hotel for 1 Euro a night, or buy a plane ticket for 1 Euro. So the internet can open the door to very good opportunities.

Let’s come to the part of tricking hotel search engines. There are 2 things you can do at this point. The first is to clear the cookies of the site after using the site as I described below, and the other is to use VPN and search for hotels from other country IPs. With these methods, you can catch cheaper hotels or hostels for sure.

Remember, you must clear cookies on the site before searching the hotel for the 2nd time. To clear cookies, while your browser is open Ctrl+H you should say clear cookies. You can also put your browser in incognito mode and search. For this, it will be enough to do the following small operations.

Incognito mode for Chrome and Safari: Ctrl+Shift+N
Incognito mode for Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer: Ctrl+Shift+P

Another internet tip is to use a VPN. Sometimes hotel prices can change in searches from country to country. This is a valid situation for hotels abroad. You will need to use VPN  for IP change. Using VPN, you can book a hotel as if you are connecting to the internet from another country. There are many applications on phones for VPN. You can use the application that gets the most comments.

Stay in Hostels

When you think of Hostel, don’t immediately think of bad places. There are many hostels that are beautiful enough to compete with hotels. You can think of hostels as places where you can meet your basic needs and stay with a lower budget. Although the hostel culture is not very developed in our country in my opinion, there are quite nice hostels abroad.

Staying in hostels is a really nice experience. Hostels have rooms just like hotels and you can stay in these rooms for 2,4,6,8,10 people. The number can increase according to the capacity of the hostels. You can think of it as the more the number of people staying in the room, the lower the price. There are also common areas in hostels. These areas are usually shower, wc and kitchen.

As I said, hostels offer a very nice accommodation experience. You should try hostels especially on your holidays abroad. If you are looking for cheap accommodation in terms of budget, hostels are the perfect place. We stayed in hostels in Kiev and Tehran and we were very satisfied. It was better than hotels. We both got to know different people and contributed to our budget at low cost.

Note: Some hostels also work like hotels. So if you are a couple, there are also rooms for 2 people. If you say you don’t stay with people you don’t know, you can consider this option. Finally, since hostels have kitchens that you can use, you can use this kitchen instead of paying money to restaurants outside. There are all kinds of kitchen utensils. Just buy ingredients for the meal. We also bring pasta with us from Turkey and cook it in the hostel kitchen.😂

Use Airbnb & Missafir

Airbnb I guess there is no one who does not know. With the popular accommodation site of recent years, you have the opportunity to stay in many different houses. This is not a site that markets hotels or houses. In Airbnb, you rent your own home or a room in your home to others for a certain period of time. As a company, Airbnb receives commission from this transaction and provides income to the company. So the company does not have houses or hotels.

You have many opportunities to find affordable accommodation through Airbnb. If your house or room is available, you can also earn income from there. So, with this application, you can both stay in other places and open your home to service. We had the opportunity to find and stay in very nice and affordable places on Airbnb. For our Bodrum trip, we stayed in the house we found through Airbnb and were very pleased.

Here is the detailed guide I wrote about this application. All About Airbnb

Don’t Forget Couchsurfing

Another answer to the question of how to stay cheaply is of course Couchsurfing. This application, which was once completely free, became paid after the pandemic. When I say paid, using the application is paid, not accommodation.

Couchsurfing is a platform that allows travellers to connect with local hosts around the world and provide free accommodation. You get in touch with people through the application and you can stay in their home according to availability.

In addition to free accommodation, Couchsurfing organises events and meetings that allow travellers to interact with local communities. These events allow members of the Couchsurfing community to come together to meet new people, explore different cultures and have fun.

In conclusion, Couchsurfing is a very nice application that provides cheap accommodation for travellers and allows them to learn more about the local culture and lifestyle. We experienced Couchsurfing in Tebriz, Iran and were very satisfied. For more detailed information about Couchsurfing you can check this my article. For cheap accommodation or even free accommodation, this application should definitely be on your radar.

Prefer Hotels Outside the City

First of all, out-of-town hotels can offer a calmer and more natural environment than city centres. If you want to get away from the city noise and chaos, you can choose these hotels.

Since our topic is suitable accommodation, hotels outside the city are a bit better in terms of cost. Out-of-town hotels are usually located in less touristic areas and are therefore less in demand. This makes the prices more affordable.

So when we go somewhere, in which region do we choose a hotel ? In this regard, we generally choose hotels in the city. If you say why, we think it is more important at this point to be close to the places to visit and to reduce the cost of urban transport. Time is everything on our trips. It is more important for us to save time by choosing hotels in the city. But if you find a very affordable hotel outside the city, do not miss it. After all, you are cutting an important cost item. Here you should make the cost-benefit analysis according to the cost of the hotel and transport costs.

Don’t Forget Early Booking

Booking a hotel in the right season will definitely help you save your holiday budget and have a better holiday experience. While hotel prices increase during the peak holiday season, hotels may offer more affordable prices during off-season periods.

For example, if you want to stay in a hotel by the sea in the summer, you may find that prices may be higher during the peak summer holiday months. However, during less popular holiday times, such as autumn or spring, you may find more affordable prices at the same hotel during the low season. We experienced this in Santorini. The hotel we stayed at was very affordable in the off-season and about 3 times the price in the season.

To make a hotel reservation at the right time, you need to make your holiday plans as early as possible. Thus, you can also benefit from early booking discounts at hotels. Additionally, hotel booking sites and apps can help you compare hotel prices and find the best price. In this way, you can save more on hotel prices and have a more enjoyable holiday experience when making your holiday plans. Remember, early booking is essential.

Choose Homestay Accommodation

Another answer to the question of how to stay cheap is Homestay accommodation. Homestay means providing accommodation with a local family during holidays or travels. This type of accommodation option is perfect for those who want to experience different cultures and local life while travelling. Homestay offers accommodation in the homes of local families, which usually includes a room or rooms. It may also include breakfast and sometimes dinner provided by the host family during the stay. It all depends on your communication power.

Homestay accommodation is more affordable than hotels or other types of accommodation. In addition, the opportunity to get to know local cultures more closely by staying with local families is also very attractive. Homestay accommodation is also a very popular option during language learning or business trips.

Popular homestay sites include Airbnb, Homestay.com and Booking.com. On these sites, you can find accommodation options in the homes of local families and compare accommodation prices. Homestay accommodation is an excellent opportunity to have a different and unforgettable experience on your travels. Don’t forget to rate it.

Use Volunteer Programmes

Joining volunteer programmes is a great option for cheap accommodation. Volunteer programmes are generally designed for people who want to help local communities while travelling. These programmes involve working in different areas such as landlords, agricultural businesses, schools and animal shelters.

By participating in volunteer programmes, you can cover accommodation, food and sometimes travel costs free of charge. These programmes can also offer great opportunities to experience a different culture and lifestyle. While working as a volunteer, you can meet new people and enjoy working with them.

Before joining volunteer programmes, it is important to research the details of the programmes and make sure that the programme is suitable for your interests and skills. Don’t forget to make a good deal about accommodation and other details before joining the programmes and don’t join programmes that are not for you.

As a result, participating in volunteer programmes can be considered as a cheap form of accommodation. These programmes give you great opportunities to help local communities while travelling. Below you can find important websites related to volunteer programmes.

• VolunteerMatch
• Idealist
• All for Good
• Catchafire
• Workaway
• WWOOFing
• DoSomething.org

Camping & Tenting

Tenting and camping is a great cheap accommodation option for travelling. Although it is not in the comfort of a hotel, camping is a great option for those who want to be in touch with nature and spend time outdoors. If you want to keep your holiday budget low, pitch a tent. Either pitch a tent in campsites or pitch a tent in suitable places that are not prohibited.

Recently, setting up a tent has also become an expensive action, but it is still more advantageous than many hotels. If you are not going to use a campsite while setting up a tent, you need to be supplied. After all, there are essential materials for the tent. Therefore, if your budget is low, do not leave your tent with you.

While camping in campsites, you can enjoy the natural beauties compared to the hotel and discover landscapes you have never seen before. Also, camping offers the opportunity to meet and socialise with others. You can do fun activities such as barbecuing, lighting fires and watching the stars with camping people in campsites.

I know that tent prices are also very high, but I think that setting up a tent, which is one of the cheapest accommodation methods, is a must for you.

Be a Good Researcher

The most important thing about cheap accommodation is to be a good researcher. On top of that, if you use the internet well, you will probably catch good deals. For cheap accommodation, you need to specialise in the sites I mentioned above. Have the application of these sites on your phone and constantly check prices. Believe me, travelling is not expensive. When you find the way, you can find very good opportunities. As long as you research, find and act. Be entrepreneurial, have strong communication, be sincere, and the rest will come like socks.

Yes, friends, I tried to write cheap accommodation methods under 11 headings. If there is something I missed, be sure to write in the comments section and we will discover new ways. We have a lot to learn from each other. If I discover new ways to reduce costs, I will update my article. I wish you plenty of travelling days. Stay safe.