Booking travel has become a bit of a game—especially if you want to get the best possible prices and avoid getting ripped off.
That’s because hotels and airlines have developed the lovely habit of futzing around endlessly with their rates. Depending on when, exactly, you go to book the room or flight you want, you might end up being charged way more than if you waited a few days or even hours for prices to drop.
The problem is that it’s damn-near impossible to figure out the logic behind it and know the right time to buy. And who among us has the time or energy to stay on top of that and keep checking back at all hours with the hope of magically stumbling onto a magnificent deal?
Well, my fellow savings-seeker, we’ve officially got a better way. It’s a completely free-to-use service, with no downloads or installations involved. In fact, it’s right in front of your face—just waiting to be found.
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Your travel-planning deal-seeker
Our tool in question is actually just a website—one you might’ve even visited before. But it’s got a simple-seeming new switch that massively boosts its usefulness and transforms what it’s able to accomplish.
➜ The tool is none other than Google’s hotel search site. The site has long been a handy way to compare hotel prices and reviews for any given date and location—and now, as of this month, it sports a single subtle switch that can save you serious money.
The switch automatically tracks prices on any specific dates and destinations you’re considering. Once you flip it into the active position, Google will send you updates via email anytime prices drop with any hotels that match your parameters—so that way, you’ll instantly know the second savings become available and you can zip over to complete your purchase right at that most optimal moment.
⌚ You’ll need about 20 seconds to get things going.
✅ Just head to google.com/hotels in any browser, on any device, and look for the newly added “Track hotel prices” options within the search area at the top of the screen—after you’ve put in a location and dates.
If you aren’t seeing the switch right away, try clicking or tapping on a specific hotel in the results—or try performing a different search and then coming back to your original search after. It can be a little finicky at first, but once the switch shows up once, it seems to stick around even as you change the specific parameters you’re searching for.
Google offers a similar switch on its flight search site, too, by the way. There, you have to start a new search—then the switch will show up once you’ve selected specific flights.
Either way, once you flip the switch, Google will email you alerts to let you know anytime prices change. (You will need to be signed into Google during the initial search, for obvious reasons—or it won’t know your email address and be able to send you those updates!)
Notably, you still end up making your purchase through the actual hotel or airline—or, if you so choose, a third-party reseller. Google itself doesn’t handle any transactions or payments; it just scans all sorts of sources for the best possible prices, then links you out to the appropriate place whenever you’re ready to buy.
⭐ Bonus tip: If you own an Android device, combine this site with the “app”-creating advice I shared in a recent issue of my Android Intelligence newsletter for a powerful one-two punch of on-demand efficiency!
- Google’s hotel search site and flight search site are both available on the web—no apps or downloads required.
- The services, including their price-tracking systems, are completely free to use.
- And they follow Google’s standard privacy practices, in which no personal data is ever sold or shared with any third parties.
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Adam Becker is a science journalist and astrophysicist. He has written for The New York Times, BBC, NPR, Scientific American, New Scientist, Quanta, Undark
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