“You girls are at everything! How do you afford it?” This is one of the most common questions we get and unfortunately the answer isn’t— we have a money tree in the backyard. (Though if anyone figures that out… hit us up!) Where you are staying when traveling to an event or education can cause a huge amount of stress. Let us help you travel on the cheap like a Hair Nerd.

You Fancy, Huh

Right off the bat you need to know that traveling like The Hair Nerds means a lot more Holiday Inn and a lot less Ritz Carlton. We love a gorgeous hotel with room service and a great view, but believe us.. you PAY for those things. So when we are traveling for education we almost always choose a low budget hotel/motel.

Why? It truly comes down to the return on investment.

Amenities

In a mid-range hotel (think Holiday Inn, Best Western, Comfort Suites), you are typically going to have a free breakfast, no or negligible fees for parking and the basics… room, bed, decent bathroom, ice machine, gym, etc. You are also more likely to have a refrigerator and microwave in these establishments.

It is really important to consider these things when booking. Eating breakfast at the hotel, even if it is bagels and yogurt, cuts your food budget by 1/3 each day. Now throw a banana and muffin in your bag to snack on later and you are really ahead of the game.

Say you drive your car to the event because parking is free and now you don’t have Uber fees. You can grab food and store it in your mini fridge, heat up leftovers or get REAL thrifty and war up your cup o’ noodle.

Now let’s talk about the real MVP in this kind of hotel… free WIFI. Nothing makes me angrier than to pull out my laptop only to discover they want 19.95 a day for decent wifi… I’m looking at you Las Vegas…

These ho(tels) ain’t loyal

Amenities are great but how do you decide where to spend your hard earned cash? When it comes to travel, brand loyalty truly pays off. Hotel loyalty programs are a great way to make your dollars count by allowing you to earn free nights based on your stays. You must be strategic in choosing a hotel chain. Consider the following things:

Do they have hotels in the areas you want to travel?
Compare the basic and elite levels. ( When we stay at an IHG property, we are given automatic upgrades, snacks, extra points, early/late check in because we are Spire level.)
Promotions - some hotel chains like Best Western run deals throughout the year like stay 3 nights in the next 90 days and earn a free night.
Extended Stay Deals- For instance, when you book at 4-night stay with any SPG hotel using rewards points or cash, you can get a fifth night for free. That fifth night is mighty handy if you are at a week-long Sassoon class.

You can find a really great guide on the pros/cons of each program here.

*Pro tip: If you have elite status with one hotel chain, you can often call other chains and request that they match your status. This will give you extra perks at several hotel brands.

Shy about Commitment

Not ready to go steady with a chain? Fear not, sites like hotels.com and Expedia.com have their own loyalty programs. While we have always found individual brands to be the best deal dollar for dollar, travel sites are a great way to dip your toes into the pool of exclusivity.

Plastic

Earn extra points with Hotel branded credit cards or travel related cards. We aren’t going to push plastic down your throats but if you are looking to earn mega points fast with huge bonuses… there are some awesome cards, especially the Chase Sapphire card. We are definitely not financial experts but found this chart to be crazy helpful when choosing a card.

Pack your bags

Monthly hair ventures are possible with a little planning and creativity! Let us know where you are traveling this year in the comments.

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn