Vegas Trips on a Budget - Part 2 of 9: Accommodations

This is the second installment in my series of money-saving ideas for your Vegas trip planning. These ideas are taken from some of my own personal experiences and include the valuable input of some of the wonderful members over at LV4E.

Accommodations

Find reduced-rate rooms for your stay - Using sites like TravelZoo, Priceline, or a Vegas-related site like i4vegas (http://www.i4vegas.com/) to find deals on hotels on or off the Strip can save you a lot of money.

Visit during the "off-season" - Finding deals during the slower months - especially July, August, and December - can save you a lot of money. The hotels are always trying to fill their rooms, and they are willing to cut you a break if they have rooms to spare. The key is to be willing to change your reservation up to a couple of weeks out from your departure date if you find a great deal on a room.

Consider sharing rooms with friends and family - Share the price of a room to save yourself some cash. A room with two queen beds usually goes for the exact same rate of a room with a king bed, and you can spend your savings elsewhere.

Think about hotels located off the Strip - The bigger, fancier hotels are mostly located on the Strip, so finding a hotel off-Strip is probably cheaper. Places like The Orleans, Gold Coast, and Tuscany are just some of the great options away from the hustle and bustle. Do your homework and check out the competing properties before you make your decision.

Downtown is a whole other city - and a whole other experience - If you've never visited downtown, maybe your next trip would be a great time to try it out. Besides the much lower room rates, most of the hotels are within walking distance of one another, and access to Fremont Street and the Fremont Street Experience is available from most hotels. Another bonus: many of the downtown hotels have recently undergone or are undergoing renovations, so you're getting a great "new" room for a much lower price.

If you have comped (complimentary) rooms, use them - You've gambled in Vegas before, so if you get an offer to come back and stay for free, do it! Taking advantage of free rooms is a plus for you because you're staying on the hotel's dollar. Of course, gambling in their casino will hopefully get you more offers for free rooms in the future - and so on, and so on...

Consider moving between hotels during your stay - If you have a couple of hotel choices you can't quite choose between, or if you get an offer for free rooms for only part of your say, think about moving between hotels to take advantage of free offers and/or reduced room rates at other hotels. During my last trip, I had three nights comped at Paris, and ended my trip with a reduced room rate (and $50 free play) at Bellagio. I was able to stay at two hotels I'd never visited before, and I paid only $89 for a total of four nights at very nice places.

Once again, these are just a few ideas for you to consider when you start planning your next Vegas trip. Hopefully you'll find some inspiration somewhere among the paragraphs.

Next up: Tips for saving on your transportation costs.