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When I recently told my husband I got a Groupon for a hotel stay, he audibly and quite loudly GROANED. This is because our first Groupon hotel stay 10 years ago made us swear off of them forever. The experience was miserable, but it was the only way we could see to afford an anniversary trip that year. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most romantic weekend. Thankfully, Groupon has changed a lot in the last decade, and with a few tips, you can book a quality and inexpensive stay.
What to know when booking Groupon for hotels
Despite our terrible experience a decade ago, there are often some really great deals out there on Groupon (specifically for Great Wolf Lodge, if that’s on your list). We have learned in the last decade to do our research before clicking that Buy Button.
- Look at Reviews – take the name of that hotel to google. It’s amazing how nice you can make something look with digital images these days, but people love to express their point of view on Google Reviews. Even if Groupon lists it as a top secret hotel, there should be a link to their tripadvisor reviews.
- Check the Cancellation Policy – a lot of these hotels may have generous cancellation policies, but the groupon policies can be much stricter. Know what you ability to cancel is, and make sure you’re comfortable with that.
- Check the rates elsewhere – Sometimes the hotels listed on groupon aren’t a better deal on groupon, you may be better off booking through your credit card portal or through the hotel directly. Obviously if points are available for that hotel, we highly recommend finding a way to book on points.
- Check the fine print – Groupon actually has a section labeled fine print that details out what you need to pay attention to. Read through this and ensure you’re in the clear with any weird rules or occupancy limits.
- Watch for price changes – Groupon’s list price may change as you pick different dates, so pay attention to what you are selecting and how it is changing your pricing.
Great Wolf
Recently we utilized a Groupon for Great Wolf Lodge. Yes, we could have used points and miles to erase a travel purchase, but it was $100/night for all of us to spend a night and have waterpark access. Just their day pass for our family was coming out to $250 so we jumped at the $100/night to celebrate the end of the school year. The one caveat was a very strict cancellation policy, so I knew if someone got sick, we were in trouble. Thankfully, as I researched, it seems like Groupon will usually put that money back into your Groupon account, so in those instances you aren’t totally out the money. We LOVED our stay and I cannot wait to tell you about it in an upcoming post. If Great Wolf is on your list I highly recommend stalking Groupon so you do not have to pay $400/night.
