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[henri]

I imagine many of us are attempting to stretch our too-thin travel budgets.  Too often conference hotels are outrageously priced.  Hence, for a number of years I've been using Priceline with great success. 

Recently, I became familiar with a site called betterbidding.com--with which I have no affiliation whatsoever!  It's an enormously helpful site for Priceline and Hotwire users, suggesting bidding strategies in order to score reasonably priced, oftentimes four- and five-star hotel rooms.  You'll be amazed by the deals you can dig-up with a bit of research. 

I'm eager to hear how others make their travel budgets go further.

[larryc]

I've done well with Priceline for hotels, not so much for flights.  Hotwire used to be the place for super cheap airfares, but apparently the airlines are not cutting deals with them anymore.  A very helpful site for deals of all kinds is Fatwallet.com, in particular their Travel Deals page has great advice for scoring the cheapest possible airline tickets and hotel rooms: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.php?catid=63&zb=39366501

Early in my career I did all the standard things to save money--stay at the cheap hotel on the edge of town and take a bus to the conference, shave off nights on either end to save on the hotel still more, pack a bunch of protein bars and a flask of whiskey for sustenance, even drive and sleep in the back of the car (I miss our old Camry wagon sometimes). But really, the best way I have found to save money on travel is to write some grants and to include plenty of travel money in the budget!  It has been wonderful these last few years to stay at the conference hotels and eat in restaurants.

[dr_crankypants]

Cheap hotels?  That sounds better than some of the things I tried when I was in graduate school.  One time, I stayed in a college dorm (during the summer), trekking down the hallway past a bunch of college students to use the shower.  I also packed things like granola bars to eat.  I have to say that I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to do that again!  Though it was really cheap....

I absolutely have to second Larry's advice about getting grants.

[avaya]

Another great site for figuring out what to bid on Priceline is biddingfortravel.com  -- it's more comprehensive than betterbidding.com, but the moderators can be really cranky, so make sure you have your ducks in a row or you risk the wrath of the moderators....

[schoolmarm]

OK, besides packing your own loaf of bread, bag of apples and jar of peanut butter....here are a couple of hints.  Some of them work better when you are going abroad, others for domestic.

Check out www.ratestogo.com  for last minute (21 days in advance) bookings.  You get a rebate back as well.  If you want to book more in advance, you click on their partner site and pay a higher rate.  This site is really good for Germany--so so for New York, Chicago, London, etc.

I also check out www.hostelworld.com (or www.bootsnall.com) to book private rooms in hostels.  This also works a little better abroad, but I just used it last week to book the Y in NYC....What a surprising bargain, and not as bad as you would think.

For airfares going to Europe, just get something cheap to the continent, and then use a cheap European airline (ryan air, Bmi baby, hapag-lloyd express, etc.) to get you where you need to go.  Hapag-Lloyd has a great fly-rail deal where you can go anywhere in Germany for something like 14 Euros (or maybe it's 14 Pounds).  Some of these airlines run fares where you pay a penny in addition to the tax.  Also, you should check out the international airlines sites in addition to orbitz, travelocity, expedia, etc.  Keep Southwest airlines site bookmarked and buy your conference travel when it goes on sale....it almost always will go on sale.

The H-list has a monthly housing bulletin if you need a place (especially in Europe, but also the USA) or if you are leaving and want to sublet...

I get preliminary info on biddingfortravel, but I don't post there.  The Admin is a stickler for following her procedures.

I also check out the cheap hotel-motels near the conference center.  There is almost always something like an Econo Lodge or Super 8 nearby.

Another option that lots of people overlook is dormitory or campus housing.  This is great in the summer--not sure that I would try it in the winter.  I'm staying at a dorm in Salzburg with a swimming pool, and there was a health club at the medical student dorm in Toronto.

Best way to cut conference costs. besides writing grants?  Cultivate friends all over the place and just stay with them!

(Many appologies for any typos...I'm on a German keyboard and it is giving me fits.)

[expatinuk]

If you look at the Ryan air website you will also see a link to hostels... a LOT of hostels are now doing 'adult' and 'family' rooms (by adult I don't mean porn!). I've had friends use these and say that they are quite nice.

I use sites like: www.homelidays.com which is for apartments and houses owned by individuals. You can do a 'self catering' for a reasonable amount.

Thankfully I don't have to do any of this when I travel for business. My uni pays my expenses.

[curly]

Several of these posts are really helpful.  Links from Fatwallet, which I learned about here, were pretty good.

Aside from those site already mentioned here, I might add:

Quikbook (no 'c') for hotels - often very cheap or at least a guide for what to bid below on Priceline.  (that being said, Quikbook tells you the name of the hotel whereas Priceline doesn't.)

ITA software for airfares.

[dr_crankypants]

One thing to consider is that you can save a lot of money by staying at a hotel with a kitchenette, at least if you're going to be somewhere for a while.  I don't mind going out to eat every day for a few days, but when I'm on extended research trips, it gets old (and fattening) very quickly.  I sometimes stay in places designed for business travelers, like Extended Stay America, which is also just really cheap compared to a lot of hotels (but still clean and comfortable--not something that is true of other cheap places I've been to).  Being able to cook something (on a mini stove) really helps break up the monotony. 

[deleteplease]

Some that have worked for me:

If you can drive to a conference, sleep in your car or a tent at a campground. You can shower and steam wrinkles out of clothing at truck stops or camplgrounds.

Stay in cheap hotels -- and remember that a two or three mile walk in the morning is actually good for you (I'm always amazed by the number of people who consider a couple of miles "too far")

On the topic of walking -- carry only what you can walk with easily (an internal frame travel pack is ideal). Anything under five miles (rail station to hotel), walk. Otherwise use cheap public transit.

Bring an immersion heater or mini-coffee pot and small thermos (saves lots of money on tea/coffee). Instant oatmeal and protein bars and trail mix are all meal possibilities.

Combine conference and research travel (if you need to examine manuscripts in European libraries, do a conference nearby).

For longer research trips, make sure only to carry clothes which can be handwashed and dry quickly -- this saves on laundry/dry cleaning.

[helpful]

Craigs list is excellent.

[losemygrip]

Yes, BiddingForTravel.com is the best site for Priceline information.  If you want bidding help, be sure the read and follow the instructions in the FAQ section.  The moderator runs a VERY tight ship, 'tis true, but it's because she wants everything on topic and useful.  Just follow the instructions and there'll be no problem.

I can usually find pretty good airfares by checking alternate airports, using FF miles, booking in advance, etc.  So it's the hotel that costs.  It's really important for me to have a nice place to stay when I travel.  I can't do those dumpy bathroom-down-the-hall places like when I was a 24 year old grad student.  In fact, I hated them even then.

Priceline is particularly good for Washington, Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, and Berlin.  Not so good for other European cities or New York.  Los Angeles used to be good, but it's much harder now (unless you stay downtown).

Other options: I've used lastminute.com for a great and cheap hotel in London.  Travelzoo.com has some great deals from agencies and wholesalers.  Also, check out flyertalk.com, where the frequent flyer mileage maniacs hang out. 

[thundering_m]

Stretching the travel budget assumes there is a budget, as opposed to a survival strategy of use it up-wear it out-make it do- or go without. that is my fall-back position.

That said, I find I have a dual system depending on the purpose of the travel. For conferences, if I am driving, I'll stay anywehre I can that is cheap, but parking will make a difference. If I am flying, I try not to rent a car, but ground transportation sometimes makes it the best option. If no ground transportation is availble, I may decide that staying at the conference site is worth the money, especially because the nicer hotels include more amenities in the room.

At any rate, if I can keep a natioanl conference under $1000 I feel as if I've done OK.