Can VPNs really save you money on hotels? I tested them to find out

Buyer beware—prices may vary drastically.

- SAM SINGLETON

Some of my colleagues based on the West Coast have recently been commenting on how expensive hotels have become. Sure, they've become pricier for everyone, but now, they were saying, it’s getting ridiculous.

At first, I just chalked it up to the post-pandemic tourism boom. But then articles started to pop up accusing popular hotel booking sites of a predatory technique called price discrimination.

Residents of the notoriously affluent city San Francisco were charged higher rates for hotels online (fave.co/3FCdQpE) than those based in other places. A study by researchers at Northeastern University (fave.co/43FFrQP) found that users of some sites were unwittingly placed into pricing buckets based on their stored cookies and steered toward more expensive hotels. The list goes on.

So what does all of this mean, and can you use it to your advantage to actually save money on your next hotel? I tested this out on the most popular booking sites and found that a VPN might be just the solution you need to find the best price no matter where you are.

WHAT IS PRICE DISCRIMINATION?

Price discrimination is based on the idea that some consumers are willing and able to pay more for goods or services than others—especially when they're unaware of the differences. Think of the stereotypical used car salesperson who sizes you up and then highballs you because they think you'll be able to pay extra.

The same thing is happening across nearly every segment of online shopping, but it's particularly egregious on travel sites. Airfares and hotels are notorious for this practice and you might have already seen shades of it yourself—flight tickets and hotel room rates often fluctuate with each refresh of the website.