Save Money in Ocean City, MD

Ocean City has gotten very expensive and all of us want value when we head out for a vacation.  Here are some great ways to make your hotel budget go farther in Ocean City.

1. Consider Mid-Week Stays
   Even when you want to stay for a weekend, you might consider skewing your stay either a little earlier or later.  For hotels, Sunday night through Thursday nights are considered mid-week and have lower rates than Friday and Saturday nights.   Arriving on Thursday and leaving Saturday is much cheaper than arriving on  Friday and leaving on Sunday.  If you can plan to escape so you stay Sunday night through Thursday nights and can avoid the weekend altogether, you will not only save enough money to add another night’s stay, you will also avoid some of the crowds.
2. Book Directly with the Hotel
   Many hotels are increasing the price on some of the rooms sold through the large online travel agencies like Hotels.com to cover the high commissions the hotels pay on these rooms.  Therefore, it will usually benefit you to go to the hotel’s website and book directly.
3. Plan Ahead & Book Early
   Many hotels have book early specials that they offer in the Spring.  If you know you want to go to the beach, then check out the book early specials offered by most hotels. 
4. Consider the Off-Season
   Just like avoiding the crowds in the middle of summer by booking mid-week will also help you avoid some of the highest prices, avoiding the peak summer months and visiting in the Fall or Spring will help you save a lot of your hard-earned cash.  And in our opinion, Ocean City in the Fall is the best time of the year.  It’s still warm, the water is warm enough to swim, the weather is usually great and the crowds have died down.  Best of all the prices drop dramatically, not just on hotel rooms, but on restaurant prices too.
5. Look for Packages and Deals from Hotels on OceanCity.com
   OceanCity.com does not charge commission on promoting hotel rooms so we publish offers and deals that hotels give us to promote.  We frequently will publish packages hotels have for holidays and special events.  Just check this page often as offers change constantly.
6. Sign-up for email lists from the hotels  
   The Hotels often send out promotional rates and packages through email to their subscriber list
7. Avoid the Headline Event dates
   If you aren’t interested in the big Ocean City events, you may want to try book your trip around those dates.  The popular events can get busy and discounted hotel rates can be hard to come by.  Some of the big events are Bike Fest, 4th of July, OC Air Show, and Sun Fest.