Budget Stays: Accommodation Hacks for Southeast Asia Travel
Hi, I’ve been traveling Southeast Asia for the last 12 months and previously I’ve traveled all around the UK and Europe over the last 10 years. I’ve done that everything from backpacking to luxury trips and everything in between. I’ve met people along the way are students all the way up to retirees and everything in between. Again there my goal is to help you plan the best trip ever. And I want to give all the hints, tips, and advice that I never had to you so you can book the best trip. Hi, I’m Liam and I’m going to take you through a minieries today where we look at different accommodation hacks for cheap travel. So, the first tip today is to consider host, home stays, and guest houses. These options are often much more affordable and way friendlier. I personally find that they give me a much better experience because I get to speak with locals and meet people who are actually living in the area. A lot of these people in the guest houses who run it and host it, also sort out your breakfast, will tell you about trips, will know other people who organize the trips and excursions as well. And they’ve been there that long that they will also know about all the hidden gems. If you’re not comfortable with the hostel cuz you don’t want to be in a dorm with everybody else, I get it. There’s also a lot of host that have a private room with a private shower. So you can spend your all whole day with everybody else, get to know the people and then in the night you can relax and have some peace and quiet which is really important when you’re traveling. This has saved us so many times because when we were in Japan we looked at loads of different hotels and it was really expensive. We also looked at Rioan which are like a luxury traditional Japanese state and then there’s Muko which is a more budget friendly version of the Rio Rioan. I would recommend that whenever you’re looking for somewhere to stay that you look everywhere. Don’t just book the first couple of places and don’t just stick to the usual apps that you might use. I personally love the home stays the best because I get to live with locals. I get to spend some time with them, understand what they like and what they don’t like and what it looks like to have that life as a local. So number two is to use booking apps and websites wisely. The first thing I’ve got to say here is use them interchangeably. So sometimes you get the cheapest price on an app, sometimes you get the cheapest price on the website. Try them both. See which one works for you. Another point before I go on to the actual apps is to use a VPN because if you spoof your location, sometimes you’ll find that prices are so much cheaper. Like I find trip.com and go there are specifically really cheap if you move your VPN around to match the location that you’re looking at. Now the apps that I use mostly are trip.com, hostel world, and Airbnb. Now, the reason I use those the most is because Hostel World is actually the best for host, but Trip.com generally has these host listed cheaper. And then finally, Airbnb if I’m looking for something either unique with a spectacular view, or maybe perhaps I want something specific, like I need something with a specific shower or fast internet or whatever it might be. I found looking through these websites that there’s two key things that will get you the biggest discounts. The first one is long stay. If you can do 7 days, 14 or even 30 days, you’ll find that your stay is considerably reduced. And the second thing is last minute deals. If you’re looking for something the night before or the day before, you’ll find that there’s people with massive discounts. Now, when you’re using these apps or website, this is the absolute key thing to do is to check the reviews. Now, don’t just check recent reviews and don’t just check the top reviews. Reviews are paid for in Southeast Asia and this happens all the time where you go and then you find out it’s not what you expected. I would say look at the top 10 most recent bad reviews and then work out from there if this is a good idea for you or not because quite often it’ll say it’s very noisy or there’s no hot shower or there’s no Wi-Fi or no fan or no AC and you would never find those things out if you just check the reviews that have been paid for. Number three is to stay outside the tourist hotspots. I don’t need to say much here, but if you go a little bit more rural, you’ll find that if you stay away from the main attraction, so there’s a main strip, for example, and you stay 10 minutes away and walk in each day, it’ll be half the price, if not less. Use local transport. Use things like Grab and Go Jack to get around, which are the apps that I talked about in the previous video, transportation apps, and they’ll get you around for next to nothing. I personally like to walk from place to place because that’s how I find all my hidden gems, local eeries, and places that most travelers will never find. I personally like to walk everywhere because the less touristy neighborhoods be you become like a little mini celebrity. As you walk through, people will stop you, ask you where you’re from, what are you doing, what’s it like to be here, what’s different from your home place, and all those questions make for my trip. I’ve said this time and time again, but people make my trips. So, I love interacting with the people and that only happens by going through these areas. I find that going and having these interactions leads to more authentic experiences and better prices in general. Having a chat and wondering around gives me an open opportunity that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. Number four is negotiate for longer stays. Now, I mentioned this earlier or kind of, but I’ve got a slight caveat to it. So, if you’ve already booked for 3, four, or 5 days and you now decided, I love this area. I want to stay for 7 days. There is room for negotiation. You can even offer to cancel your booking and rebook for the 7 days. Or you can say to the host, look, I’m looking to stay a little bit longer, but what I’d like to do is pay this price or that price. They’re generally open to a bit of a haggle. They actually really like this and so they’ve got no problem at all with you doing this. Almost everywhere we’ve stayed has been happier to lower the price for a longer stay than to have the room empty for 2 or 3 days. We stayed in Pie with this lovely couple in a really nice apartment and we ended up paying £4 a day to stay for the extra time. Whereas when we booked through Airbnb we were paying £8 a night for the stay instead. So, it was half the price for the exact same stay, but because we’d extended our stay to an extra, I think 5 days. Number five is to check alternative accommodation types and to check flexibility. What do I mean by that? I hear you saying capsule hotels is a really good one for this. Uh, cabins, glampurn, all that type of thing. It happens in Asia just like it does in the western world. And they are absolutely affordable. They’re so much cheaper than paying for a hotel or for an Airbnb at times. I will say though, if you’re into Airbnbs, you can find some of the craziest rooms with really unique taste, characteristics, and unusual settings all on Airbnb. And generally, because they’re unique, they’re a little bit cheaper than what everyone else is. In the Western world, that’s the other way around. But here, it seems to be the more unique it is, the cheaper it becomes. Now, I never take advantage of this, but I hear every other traveler talking about it, and that’s flexible bookings. Now, I guess you don’t want to land in somewhere and then get stuck there because you didn’t book enough time or you book too much time and you can’t cancel it. Personally, I’m quite specific with my dates and if I need to stay somewhere, I will do. If I need to go, I’ll go. But having that flexibility, it might cost a little bit more money, but it’ll give you peace of mind and ease of journey when you’re on your next trip. That brings me on to the last part of this point, and that’s always, always check cancellation policies. I’ve said this time and time again. I’ve talked about it with the hotels, talked about it with airlines, but it’s so so important to check your cancellation policy. I don’t want you to want to cancel or need to change and unfortunately you can’t do that or you’ll lose a load of money. The worst thing in the world. Don’t let it happen to you. Okay, that’s it for accommodation hacks. I have loads loads more tips, hints, and tricks. Let me know if you like this type of video. If you want something a bit longer or a bit shorter, or maybe you want something completely different. Let me know in the comments. Or if you don’t like the comments, simply like or dislike the video, and I’ll know if I’m doing a good job or a bad job. You should now know how to book at a good price without sacrificing on those comforts. Thanks so much for watching. See you soon.
Cheap accommodation in Southeast Asia is easier to find than you think! In this video, I share my top travel tips for finding budget stays, hostels, guesthouses, and unique places to sleep while traveling Southeast Asia. Discover how to save money on accommodation, book the best deals, and experience authentic local stays across Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond.
Whether you’re a backpacker, digital nomad, or just looking to stretch your travel budget, these accommodation hacks will help you find affordable and comfortable places to stay. Learn how to use booking apps, compare prices, and score last-minute deals. I’ll also show you how to negotiate for longer stays, find hidden gems outside tourist hotspots, and choose between hostels, guesthouses, minshuku, and more.
Plus, I’ll share tips on reading reviews, checking cancellation policies, and making sure you get the most value for your money. With these strategies, you can focus on enjoying your Southeast Asia adventure without worrying about overspending on hotels.
If you’ve got your own favorite budget stays or travel hacks, drop them in the comments! Subscribe for more travel tips and guides to help you explore Southeast Asia for less.