Hotel Tonight Wants to Help You Escape
Hotel Tonight, the app that helps you find last-minute low prices on hotel rooms, has added an "Escape" feature designed to inspire busy people to make a last-minute getaway. Suddenly find you have a free couple of days? Poke around on Hotel Tonight's Escape page to see if there's a property within a few hours' drive that's offered at a low rate, book through the iOS app and you're off.
Until now, Hotel Tonight could only show you which hotels at one chosen location could be reserved for discounted prices, up to seven days in advance. Escape now adds a globe icon at the bottom of the screen that, when tapped, will show you available deals at hotels in popular destinations near your area. (Tapping not your thing? Simply swipe right when you open the app.)
In addition to Escape, Hotel Tonight has also improved its super-low-cost GeoRates, which are displayed after 12pm for same-day bookings when you're near a hotel or at travel hubs such as airports or train stations.
From northeast Los Angeles, for instance, the first Escape choices were Palm Springs, Monterey and Mammoth Lakes, all reached within a few hours by car. Tap one of the locations, and the app brings you to a list of hotels there, along with their average discount prices.
In a comparison test, using a AAA discount for a King Room at the Riviera Palm Springs is $639.03 for two nights (plus taxes and fees) — still higher than Hotel Tonight's Escape rate of $604.
Hotel Tonight's rate of $691 for two nights (plus taxes and fees) at the Paradox Hotel in Santa Cruz was also lower than the hotel's own quote of $712.59.
If this is your first time using Hotel Tonight, know that you can get a $25 credit using the promo code BKELLY99 — and we hope you have a great time on your last-minute getaway.