10 tips to save £££ on Booking.com.

1) Book your stay with free cancellation in advance. This will allow you to search for a better price elsewhere and cancel the more expensive accommodation closer to your departure date. A non-refundable hotel will be cheaper than the refundable option.

2) If you are brave enough, check for last-minute offers. Hotels will sell their last rooms with a discount of up to 70% to fill up their spaces. Lastminute.com and Travelsupermarket.com are excellent websites to find last-minute offers as well.

3) Some websites like Booking.com offer the "price-match guarantee" tool which means that if you book a hotel room and you find it cheaper elsewhere, Booking will refund you the difference. Trivago and Kayak are amazing comparing websites for hotel rooms.

4) Join the Genius Loyalty Program on Booking.com. There are 3 levels, all with their perks. You can become a Genius level 1 by completing two stays within 2 years. Easy enough, right? This will give you a 10% discount on thousands of properties. But the real advantage comes with Genius level 2 by making 5 bookings within 2 years. You'll enjoy a 15% discount on many hotels/apartments/hostels, you'll be able to access secret and limited-time deals, some properties will offer a free breakfast, and you'll be able to get a free room upgrade on selected stays. If you are a travel lover and you manage to complete 15 stays in 2 years (bold!) you'll become a Genius level 3 and on top of the above perks, you'll get a 15-20% discount and priority support from Booking.com on all stays.

5) Don't book a room in the center of the city unless absolutely necessary. This will save you a lot of £££. Do some research on your destination, you'll find that the best areas to sleep are not always in the heart of the city, but in places you can easily reach by taking transport. Small cities are even better, you can probably reach the center by walking for 20 minutes maximum. Moreover, at the same price, you might find a 3-star hotel just outside the center rather than settle yourself with a 1-star hotel.

6) Call the hotel and ask. Sometimes the best way to save money is to book with the hotel directly. Booking takes about 15 to 18% in commissions from the properties, this will give you an advantage in negotiating the price. Some hotels will be happy to give you something more like free breakfast or a welcome drink and match your Booking price just so you can book with them directly.

7) Call Booking.com if you have a complaint. Language barriers can be difficult, especially when you have to explain to the receptionist or owners what makes you feel uncomfortable. Booking.com customer support is quite amazing in helping with complaints, sometimes they will even give you a full refund or some credit back for your next trip.

8) If you are a Genius 2, book properties that give you a credit back. Then when booking again for your next trip, pick any stay with the icon"pay with wallet", this means you can have a discount equal to the credit amount you have saved on your previous trip. You can filter by clicking "pay with wallet" on the left side of the page.

9) Don't use too many filters, you might end up with zero results. The first thing to avoid is adding the position, you can choose the best area by using the map functionality. Secondly, do not filter hotels by star rating as that is not about the quality, but the services they offer. Also, do not click many review ratings at the same time, Booking will show you the highest only, therefore click on the minimum rating you are happy to accept. I would not suggest going below 7 to make sure you do not end up in a bad place.

10) Be aware of extra payments. Read carefully the description of the property and what they offer, some places will ask city taxes to be paid at the hotel, I even had one asking for A/C to be paid extra (20 Euros a day!).

Go and save on your stay now.