Everything you need to know about monitoring hotel prices, setting alerts, and saving money on every booking.
Getting started takes under three minutes. Here is the full process:
No account required. You simply enter your email address when you add a booking — that is how we identify your bookings and send you alerts. Your email is stored securely and never shared or sold. You can delete all your data at any time via the link in the footer.
We recommend booking on Expedia or Hotels.com with a free cancellation rate. Both platforms offer excellent coverage of hotels worldwide and most standard rates include free cancellation up to a defined date before check-in.
We also monitor Agoda, Trip.com and other platforms, so even if your original booking is elsewhere, we will find the best available rate across all of them when we alert you.
A cancellation fee is the charge your booking platform imposes if you cancel your reservation. It is set out in the booking conditions when you book, and in your confirmation email.
Common structures:
If you are unsure, enter your best estimate. You can always update it by re-submitting the booking with the correct figure.
When you type your hotel name into the booking form, HotelMonitor will search for it automatically and attempt to match the TripAdvisor page. In most cases it finds the correct page and fills it in for you.
If it cannot find it automatically, or you want to verify it is correct:
The URL should look like: tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g123456-d789012-Reviews-Hotel_Name...
Once your booking is registered, our system checks the current price for your exact hotel, dates, and guest count every four hours across multiple booking platforms. We compare the live rate to what you originally paid.
If the live rate is lower by more than your cancellation fee, we calculate your net saving and email you immediately with:
If the price has not dropped enough to be worth acting on, we simply keep watching silently until your check-in date.
We currently monitor prices across Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda, Trip.com, and additional platforms via our aggregation service. We are continually expanding the number of sources we check.
Where a hotel offers direct booking rates, we check those too — sometimes the best price is direct with the property.
We check every four hours, around the clock, from the day you register your booking until your check-in date. Hotel prices can move quickly — sometimes within hours of a drop appearing — so frequent monitoring significantly improves the chance of catching a window before it closes.
We only send you an alert when the net saving is positive — that is, the price difference is larger than your cancellation fee. The formula is simple:
Net saving = (Your original price) − (New lower price) − (Your cancellation fee)
We also apply a small minimum threshold to filter out trivial differences (e.g. a £2 drop is not worth the effort of rebooking). Alerts are sent when the net saving is meaningful enough to be worth acting on.
No. We only contact you when a drop is worth acting on. If prices fluctuate by a few pounds we will not fill your inbox — you will only hear from us when there is a genuine saving to capture. Most users receive one or two alerts over the monitoring period, or none if the price holds firm above what they paid.
Watch a Hotel is for people who have not booked yet but have a specific hotel in mind and a price in mind. You tell us the hotel, your dates, and the maximum price you are willing to pay. We watch the rate and email you the moment it hits your target — so you can book at the right price rather than guessing when to pull the trigger.
You can use both features simultaneously — for example, monitor your booked hotel while watching an alternative you might switch to.
When the price drops to your target or below, we will email you with the live rate and a link to book immediately via Expedia or Hotels.com.
Act quickly — price windows can close within hours. Here is what to do:
It happens. Hotel prices are dynamic and a lower rate can disappear as quickly as it appeared. This is why we recommend acting on alerts promptly.
Crucially: do not cancel your original booking before confirming the new lower rate is live and bookable. Always check the rate is still available before cancelling anything.
If the rate rises again before you rebook, simply stay on your original booking. HotelMonitor will keep watching and will alert you again if another opportunity appears.
No. Our rebook links go directly to Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda or Trip.com — not through a reseller or intermediary. You book directly on the platform as normal, enter your loyalty number as you would for any booking, and earn points as usual. Your elite status and benefits are fully preserved.
Yes. There is no limit on the number of bookings you can monitor. Simply add each booking separately using the same email address. You will see all active bookings on the My Bookings dashboard, and receive individual alerts for each one.
Yes, completely and genuinely free. There are no hidden fees, no premium tier, no subscription, and no trial period. You will never be asked for a credit card.
We earn a small affiliate commission from Expedia or Hotels.com when you rebook through one of our links — typically 2–4% of the booking value, paid by the platform, not by you. You keep 100% of your saving.
When you rebook through a link in one of our alert emails, HotelMonitor receives a small referral fee from the booking platform (Expedia, Hotels.com etc). This is a standard affiliate arrangement — the platform pays us a percentage of the booking value as a thank-you for the referral. The price you pay is identical whether you clicked through from HotelMonitor or went directly to the site.
There is a natural alignment of interests: we only earn anything if you save money and rebook. If we do not find you a better rate, we do not earn. That keeps us focused on finding genuine savings, not inflating numbers.
Only what you provide when adding a booking or watch: your email address, hotel name, check-in and check-out dates, the price you paid, cancellation fee, and guest count. We do not ask for your booking reference, payment details, or any personal documents.
We never sell your data or share it with third parties. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.
Go to My Bookings in the navigation (or enter your email address on the dashboard to load your bookings). Find the booking you want to stop and click Stop. Monitoring will cease immediately and no further alerts will be sent for that booking.
You can delete all data associated with your email address at any time. Scroll to the footer of any page on HotelMonitor and click Delete my data. Enter your email address and confirm — all bookings, watches, and alert history linked to that email will be permanently removed within seconds.
This is in accordance with your rights under UK GDPR. For any queries about your data, contact us at the contact page.
Only if you opt in. When registering a booking, there is a separate optional checkbox for promotional emails such as travel deals and platform updates. This is entirely optional — you can tick or leave it unchecked. Alert emails for price drops on your specific bookings are sent regardless, as these are service communications you explicitly signed up for.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time via the link at the bottom of any email.
Add your hotel booking in under three minutes. We watch the price around the clock and email you the moment it drops enough to save you money.
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