Hopper's New Feature Lets Customers Freeze a Great Hotel Deal - and Will Cover the Difference If the Price Goes Up

Alison Fox
·2 min read

Scoring a great deal on a hotel can make a vacation that much sweeter, and travel app Hopper is rolling out a new feature to help travelers do just that.

The new Price Freeze for Hotels tool will allow users to hold onto a deal they find on a hotel stay for up to 60 days, Hopper shared with Travel + Leisure. To lock in the price, travelers must put down a deposit, which is a percentage of their stay.

If the price goes up during that time, Hopper will cover the difference, up to $100. And if the price goes down, travelers will be able to pay the new, lower price. Additionally, the price freeze deposit is transferable to a different hotel if a traveler changes their mind.

"As travelers look to get back out there this summer, demand for hotel rooms is surging, causing prices to skyrocket," Anwesha Bhattacharjee, the head of Hotel Fintech at Hopper, told T+L. "Hopper's Price Freeze is the perfect tool to lock in low hotel rates now, before they rise with demand this summer."

Hopper estimates this tool will save travelers an average of $17 per night on their hotel stay, but could save people upwards of $70.

Hopper app
Hopper app

Courtesy of Hopper

The rollout of this new feature comes as record numbers of travelers are taking to the skies and booking summer travel. On June 11 and June 13, more than 2 million passengers passed through U.S. airports, a first since March 2020, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

Bhattacharjee told T+L Hopper has seen a 130% increase in searches for hotels since the beginning of 2021. And searches for hotels in May were up 22% compared to April.

In addition to freezing the price of a hotel, Hopper allows customers to search for last-minute deals, potentially saving them 25% off peak prices when they book within 48 hours of when they plan to check-in.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.