Subject: Re: Hotel costs
As some might be aware, we travel between 6 and 10 months a year, so we do quite a bit of hunting around for the best price - and all of the above strategies can offer the best price from time to time. A couple of additional ideas:

1) Be aware that non-cancelable rates can be much cheaper, but your travel insurance/credit card company will not cover the cost of a cancelation unless you meet their conditions (such as being ill).

2)Sometimes foreign hotels are cheaper (even if using an agency like Expedia) if using a VPN (sometimes coupled with Google Translate) to appear as if you are local (payment is generally in foreign currency, so make sure your credit card doesn't charge a premium).

Jeff