Money-saving hospitality apps have been around for many years, the most popular including Airbnb and Hotels.com, but many other apps have risen to offer deals that are just as good or better than these, depending on your lifestyle and needs.
Hospitality apps can help you save money on everything from hotels and resorts to restaurants, theme parks, and more. If you’re traveling or looking for a fun night out and want to save some money, take a look at some of the apps below.
Groupon
Groupon is one of the most well-known hospitality apps, and for good reason. It has deals on dining, travel, events, theme parks, resorts, and much more. Some of its offers are discounted rates while others give you cash back. It is easy to search the area you are staying (or live in) to find great deals. Simply purchase the deals with your credit card and show the groupon to the vendor, or link your credit card to get the cash back offer.
Nocto
Nocto is a newer app that has a unique feature: according to app creator Mark Brouwers, it brings consumers and vendors together through a social media platform. People like you find and share about their experiences at certain venues, including pictures and videos, and earn digital tokens based on the number of likes the post receives. For every 10 likes, you earn 1 Noc. Nocs can be used to get deals at popular hospitality vendors or on a chance to win prizes on a spinner.
The Flight Deal
The Flight Deal is ideal for those times when you need a last-minute flight and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg. You can keep tabs on flight prices in real time so that you can snag some tickets when the price drops. The Flight Deal also has deals on car rentals. For flight deals, simply search for the city you are traveling from. For deals on rental cars, you’ll search by city using their special search engine powered by rentalcar.com.
Restaurant.com
Restaurant.com allows you to purchase gift certificates at local restaurants for as much as 60% off, but some places require you to spend a minimum amount to get the deal. For example, you can get a $10 certificate for as little as $4 at some places, but the minimum you would have to spend to get the deal could be from $20-$45 before the certificate can be used. It is easy to use: simply search for the city where you want to dine and purchase the certificate, but be sure to read the fine print!
Raise
Raise has a plethora of options for saving money at restaurants you may regularly eat at anyway, and it will add up over time. Some of the vendors they work with include Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Panera, Ruby Tuesday, Fandango, and others. They have deals on travel, too, including flights, hotels, Airbnb, Uber, and more.
You can purchase cash back gift cards or discount gift cards, which will be digitally delivered to you or the person you are gifting them to, and some of which can only be spent online.
Hotel Tonight
As the name suggests, Hotel Tonight offers late and last minute hotel bookings. Hotels that have extra rooms that have not been booked send offers to this site. You can stay in a luxury hotel at a generously discounted rate. Just log on to see which hotels in the city you are staying are offering some of their rooms at great deals that night.
Hopper
If you’re wanting to book a flight, hotel, rental car, or home for your next vacation or business trip, Hopper can save you money. It has an additional feature that will predict price drops so that you can keep an eye on the flights, cars, or places to stay that might turn into great deals.
You can pay a deposit to freeze the price on a deal if you think you want to take it but aren’t sure yet. That way, a great deal won’t slip through your fingers.
The downside is, if you decide not to book it, you lose your deposit, but the upside is that you are guaranteed the low price should you choose to book it, or will be allowed to book at a lower rate later if the price decreases.
Hotwire
Hotwire has great deals on travel, especially hotels. You can also search for rental cars, flights, or vacation packages based on the city you want to travel to.
One of the best features of this app is the Hot Rate it offers on hotels. These are special, secret deals that save you even more money. The only catch is, they don’t reveal which hotel the deal is for until after you book your stay. These Hot Rates are also non-refundable.
You can find these special Hot Rates by searching in specific areas of a city. You can view the amenities and rating of the hotel. One pro tip is to compare the ratings and amenities with known hotels in that area to try to guess which hotel you will get based on how they match up.
As You Stay
As You Stay is a newer app that allows you to book a hotel room on an hourly basis. The rate is determined by the number of hours you stay, which allows you to save money. You can check in and out through the app and earn free hours of stay by using it.
The app has a selection of boutique and independent hotels, as well as some chain hotels such as IHG, Hilton, and Marriott.
This app is ideal if you need somewhere to sleep when a flight is delayed or has a stop-over, or if you’re on a road trip and looking for somewhere to crash for the night. You can book the day-of, and it’s especially ideal if you’re not staying more than one night. If you have a late check in and an early checkout, you might save up to $40 on your stay!
Goldstar
If you’re looking for discounts on live entertainment, such as the Blue Man Group, a concert, a musical, or a comedian, you should check out Goldstar. They offer discounted tickets for up to 50% off in the city nearest you. They also offer discounts on local attractions such as museums, or local events such as seasonal family and children’s activities.
Be sure to use one of these apps the next time you travel or are looking for something fun to do more locally!
