Book a hotel cheaper with a VPN, without switching servers for hours
The usual instructions say: turn on a VPN, change country, open a private window, search the hotel again, write down the price, and repeat for ten countries. That takes an hour, and it often produces the wrong result because the room, the board or the cancellation terms change along the way.
What goes wrong when you try it by hand
- Unlike offers: a non-refundable room without breakfast is of course cheaper than a flexible rate.
- Taxes and fees: some countries show prices without taxes. The saving then disappears at checkout.
- Time lag: between the first check and the tenth, the price can change.
- Genius and mobile rates: discounts that appear in only some sessions distort the country comparison.
- EU countries usually do nothing: the Geo-blocking Regulation forbids price differences by place of residence inside the EU (Verbraucherzentrale).
The faster way, in 4 steps
- Pick the hotel on Booking.com and copy the link (with dates and number of guests).
- Paste the link into GeoRates and choose room, board and cancellation. The options come straight from Booking.com.
- Wait for the result: GeoRates asks 15 countries in the same run, including taxes and fees, in euros. A hit is confirmed with a second fetch.
- Only if it is worth it: connect a VPN to the country that came up, reload Booking.com, check the final price and book.
Don’t lose the saving when you pay
If you are charged in local currency, an ordinary bank card often costs 1–2% foreign-usage fee plus a markup on the exchange rate. If Booking offers to convert into euros, the rate is usually worse. Choose the local currency and pay with a card that has no foreign-currency fee.
What does this realistically save?
In 223 GeoRates checks (16 Sep–4 Nov 2026) another country was at least 1% cheaper in 59.6% of cases, and at least 10% cheaper in 26.9%. The median was 2.2% (€12.60); the average was 4.89%, or €61.29. The highest result was 51.1%, and the largest euro saving was €553.54. From 19 Sep, after a correction for Genius discounts, the median was almost the same at 2.1% (140 checks). Our advice: on an expensive booking the check is worth it, and it should not take more than a minute. The breakdown by country is in the overview of country prices.
Is this allowed?
Using a VPN is legal in Germany. Whether a specific rate applies to you is in the booking conditions: do not book rates that say “residents of … only”. Also check the cancellation terms, because cheap rates are often non-refundable. This is not legal advice.
Check your Booking.com link now →
Frequently asked questions
Can I really book cheaper with a VPN?
Sometimes. In our data a country was at least 1% cheaper in 59.6% of checks, and at least 10% cheaper in 26.9%. The median, though, was only 2.2%.
Which country should I pick on the VPN?
It depends on the hotel. In our data the USA, India and Japan were cheaper most often (42, 30 and 22 times, each by at least 1%). GeoRates shows you the country that fits your hotel.
Do I need the VPN already for the comparison?
No, only for booking.
Do I have to clear my browser history?
For the booking, use a private window so Booking.com does not take your country from old cookies.
Which card should I use?
A card with no foreign-transaction fee. Pay in the local currency rather than in the euro conversion Booking offers.