The best hotel websites for booking rooms and finding cheap hotels in Kenya:
- How far in advance should you book hotels when traveling? As soon as you’ve confirmed your trip and acquired a visa (if required). Room rates usually increase (rather than decrease) as days go by. Prior booking is even more important when looking for kid-friendly hotels especially in bigger cities like Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and everywhere else in Kenya
- Which days have the best hotel rates?
- Generally large cities like Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru (that are more popular with business travelers) will be more expensive on week days, i.e. Monday to Friday, and cheaper on weekends and during the holiday seasons.
- Tourist and holiday destinations such as Naivasha, Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa, Diani, etc. (that are more popular with tourists) will have cheaper rates on weekdays.
- I’m a huge fan of Airbnb. Get KShs. 2,500 for free accommodation when you signing up with this LINK.
What's Covered in This Article
My single best hotel tip:
Not just because it’s the right thing to do.
But because courtesy goes a long long way.
Being nice may just be the ticket you need to help you score late checkouts and upgrades, get free stuff in abundance, and make that pay-per-view charge mysteriously disappear.
Oh, and by the way, karma is real.
The Best Hotel Sites
With over 9 years of independent travelling under my belt I’ve over time learnt which websites and services are the best for booking hotels.
I have always used and trusted the following websites:
Booking.com
Booking.com is my best hotel booking service.
The website allows you filter and sort accommodation options by price, location and amenities offered.
Pros:
- This website has like twice the number of accommodation listings as any other hotel booking website.
- I also like that they are very honest with their costs. Like for instance they let you know whether a listing includes tax or not.
- Booking.com also has a great selection of options you can use to filter hotels according to your needs.
Cons:
- You can’t filter by “nearby”.
Hotels.com
Pros:
- Book 10 nights at Hotels.com, and get the next night free
- Get notified if prices change
- Hotels.com also offers price matching. If you’re able to find a lower price, Hotels.com will reimburse you the difference or give you a coupon.
- A great bet for non-hotel accommodations e.g. farm stays, bed and breakfasts, etc.
Cons
- You don’t earn points for car rentals
- You don’t earn points for flight bookings
- Rather expensive listings.
Orbitz.com
Orbitz. com is my favorite website for when I want to book package travel deals.
Pros:
- Through Orbitz rewards program, you will earn a percentage back from each booking called Orbucks. You can use your Orbucks to pay for hotel bookings you make on the site.
- Orbitz.com’s selection of filter options allow you to sort hotels by price, distance from downtown and available deals, price range, neighborhood or by destinations.
Cons:
- There’s no option to set up price alerts before making a booking. This makes it difficult to know if /when the price goes down.
Expedia.com
Pros:
- Your earn points for every purchase on the site.
Cons:
- No price updates or price change alerts.
Hostelz.com
My go to hotel booking website when budgets are tight.
Hostelz.com focuses on budget accommodation types such as: university dorm rooms, camp grounds, hostels, cheap apartments, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, etc.
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