Hotel Amenities That Save You Money When Traveling

Traveling is expensive, but it’s so important, so we have to figure out how to do it. For some help, check out our How To Travel On A Budget guide, filled with ways to save money on your next vacation.

Hotel Amenities That Save You Money When Traveling

This list is filled with hotel amenities to look for to get the most out of your hotel stay. They’re grouped into four categories: food savings, transportation savings, hidden fee avoidance, extra savings and credits, and then a section with additional amenities that can stretch your dollar.

That way, you can either read the full post or jump to the section that you need most.

Hotel Amenities That Save You Money on Food

Free Hotel Breakfast

Booking a hotel with a complimentary breakfast is one of the best ways to save money on your trip.

If you go out to breakfast, that’s at least $15 per person, if you’re getting a meal and a drink. For a couple, that’s $30. Multiply that by every day you’re on vacation, and that’s a huge part of your travel budget.

A full hot breakfast buffet, which has hot items like breakfast meats, eggs, and usually has a pancake or waffle maker, can offer more value and savings overall than a continental breakfast, which is mostly just cold items like pastries.

As long as there’s some sort of free breakfast, you pocket that savings.

It saves you more than just the breakfast tab, too, because you’re not paying to go anywhere.

Since you don’t have to leave the hotel for breakfast, you don’t have to pay for rideshare or gas to get there. And you don’t have to find and pay for parking near the restaurant.

All those savings add up.

So, if you’re debating between two hotels, and one is a little more expensive but offers a free breakfast, we suggest the one that includes breakfast.

In-Room Coffee Maker

Coffeeshops can get so expensive. If you head out for coffee every morning you’re on your trip, that daily $5 cup of coffee really cuts into your budget.

So, instead, book a hotel room with an in-room coffee maker.

The hotel usually has a single-serving bag or two of regular and decaf waiting for you in the room. If you drink more than that, stop at the front desk on the way back to your room and ask for more. They’re usually more than happy to give you a couple extra instant coffee packets.

What I really love is when a hotel has coffee in the lobby when you walk in. That means it’s always available. So if you want a cup of coffee when you’re checking in (and tired from traveling) or at night after your spent all day sightseeing, you can run down to the lobby rather than running to the closest Starbucks (and spending another $5).

Fun frugal tip: If your hotel has hot chocolate in the lobby too, you can make a hotel mocha.

Hotel Happy Hours

Hotels with happy hours, which can include either drinks (if you’re 21+) or full meals can save you a ton of money.

We once stayed at a Kimpton hotel that had a daily complimentary happy hour each night with free beer, wine, coffee, and tea. My parents stayed at another of the hotel chain’s properties that a hot chocolate happy hour, complete with a huge toppings bar.

If the happy hour fits into your schedule right, you can pre-game there and save about $15 a person per night (if you drink two drinks) before you go out. That way, you can spend less on drinks and the local bars and breweries.

For our wedding, we room blocked the TownePlace Suites Marriott, which offered free drinks and free appetizers from a local restaurant a few times a week. I know the Drury Hotel offers something similar daily too.

So, if you need to stretch your budget, you could actually eat a full meal at the hotel, saving yourself at least $20 a person.

Kitchen / Kitchenette

If you book an extended stay hotel, like the Hyatt House, it usually has a kitchenette area with a refrigerator, microwave, and stove top.

You may not want to cook a full meal while you’re on vacation, but, having a kitchen or kitchenette saves you money because you’re able to save your leftovers.

Since you’re bringing them back to your hotel, you’re not throwing money away by throwing them away. Then, on the last day of your trip, you can heat up all the leftovers in the fridge rather than going out for one more meal. That will save you close to $100 (as long as your entire family has enough leftovers for a full meal).

Hotel Amenities That Save You Money On Transportation

Complimentary Parking

Parking can be so expensive in hotels in big cities. Those cities don’t have the room for large parking lots, so hotels end up charging a lot of money for parking.

If you’re debating between two hotels, and one is a little more expensive but offers complimentary daily parking, go with that one.

If parking is included in the hotel price, that’s great. But, if it’s not included, it can cost upwards of $50 per night … just to park in the hotel’s lot.

A $50 a night charge really adds up over your trip. And then it’s not really a frugal hotel anymore. So, a hotel with a higher nightly rate, but free parking, might actually be a better deal.

Complimentary Airport Shuttle Service

One of the hotel amenities to look for to save money is a complimentary airport shuttle service.

That can be a huge savings because some airports have additional fees for using rideshare. So, your trip is more expensive. Of course, this varies by airport, but just a quick example: When we flew into like Nashville International Airport, there was a $5 airport fee plus a $2 city fee for airport pickups.

So, if you don’t have to pay for taxis or rideshares to get from the airport to the hotel and can use a hotel’s free service instead, you can save a lot of money.

Shuttle To Attractions

If your hotel offers a shuttle to popular attractions, use it. It can save you so much on rideshare costs and is especially helpful if you don’t have a rental car (which is another travel expense).

There are a lot of complimentary Las Vegas shuttles for hotel guests, which will bring you between casino properties. That way, you can see a bunch of different properties without having to take taxies or rideshares to get to them.

In Nashville, there are hotels in midtown that will take you to Broadway for free. The hotels in midtown are cheaper because they are away from the honkey tonk bars everyone wants to go to, so now you’re saving on the hotel and rides.

And, when my parents stayed at the Best Western Plus Humboldt Bay Inn in Eureka, CA, there was a complimentary limo service that drove guests from the hotel to restaurants downtown, then pick them up.

So, you’ll want to ask a concierge or the check-in desk about these services because they’ll vary by hotel.

Hotel Amenities That Help You Avoid Hidden Fees

Free WiFi

With remote work getting so popular, we all need internet at all times. Most, but not all, hotels will offer free WiFi. Some only offer it for a specific number of devices, though, which is not great if you’re traveling with kids who each have their own device.

So, make sure that your hotel offers free WiFi. If not, internet usage is usually $14.95 a day, and that can really add up.

No Resort Fees

Some hotels, especially on the strip in Las Vegas, add resort fees onto your hotel stay. Resort fees are a mandatory, daily surcharge that cover things like pool usage, shuttles, WiFi, etc. even if you don’t use them.

They’re in addition to the daily rate and can be over $45. Hotels in downtown Las Vegas heavily lean into their no resort fees advertisements because, even if you’re going to Vegas for a long weekend, the resort fees can be $200 total.

Since resort fees can vary greatly by hotel, you definitely want to compare them before booking.

Frugal tip: Certain hotel chains waive resort fees if you’re at a certain level in the hotel’s loyalty program. So, check that out before you book too.

Bonus Ways Hotels Help You Save Money

Benefits For Not Using Housekeeping

I always say my favorite part about staying in a hotel is that I don’t have to make the bed. So any time I stay at a hotel, I never put up the do not disturb sign. Please, housekeeping, come make my bed.

(And yes, before you even worry, I do tip housekeeping daily for making the bed.)

But there are hotel chains that offer you perks for not using housekeeping. Some casino hotels will offer you free play, which is free money, so that’s worth it.

A resort we stayed at on Hilton Head Island offered us a $5 credit for the hotel’s sundry store if we skipped housekeeping. And a hotel we stayed at in Charleston offered us 250 loyalty points if we didn’t have our room cleaned.

Those little perks can add up … unless you’re like me and always appreciate when someone else makes the bed.

Amenities That Add Value to Your Stay

Pool

If you’re on vacation, your trip can get expensive. Dining out, sightseeing, and transportation all cost money. So you might be looking for a day where you can stop spending but still have fun.

If you book a hotel with a pool, it indirectly saves you money because you can spend an entire afternoon there for free.

Be sure to check the rules at the pool because some will let you bring food and drinks down, so you can plan lunch by the pool and not have to pay to dine out that day.

Plus, if you don’t have a pool at home, swimming in one at a hotel is such a treat.

Fitness Center

When Pete is on vacation, he loves booking a hotel with a fitness center so he can keep up with his workout routine. Because yes, it’s nice to exercise on vacation.

If a hotel doesn’t have a fitness center, and you’re traveling with someone who needs to work out daily, that person may look into a day pass at a local gym, which costs money and cuts into your vacation budget.

So, a fitness center at a hotel doesn’t directly save you money, but it does stop you from extra spending.