Contact the hotel directly

Call the hotel rather than any reservations office - the hotel will have all the access to the inventory in the property. Booking directly may not always get you the best rate, but it does increase your chances of scoring a hotel upgrade.

With the hotel getting a higher portion of your booking, you're a more valuable customer to them and will be higher up the list to move to a better floor should the chance arise. Check online, and then call and negotiate.

Ask hotel staff for their recommendations

A better way to get recommendations than asking for somewhere that will suit you is to ask a concierge or bartender where they like to go in town. You'll end up somewhere off the main tourist scene and might just get somewhere that's of-the-moment you'd otherwise have missed.

And if you like where you end up you can ask the staff at that place for another tip, and move on in a gloriously unpredictable manner. Don't have a concierge? You could, if very bold, use one at another hotel - but you should certainly tip them as if you were a guest.

Stay in a private hostel room

One of the best deals in many cities is staying in private rooms in hostels. Though spartan, these rooms are clean and functional, and hostels are very good places to meet people. Bigger hostels also offer family rooms, which will be a big hit with kids.

Consider serviced apartments

If you're thinking three-star or higher, look at serviced apartments. Usually aimed at the business traveller, these are often a hidden bargain. You'll get cooking and laundry facilities and often even access to a gym and pool for the price of a pokey hotel room.

Give the hotel chain a reason to upgrade you

If you've got a card, by all means flash it. Loyalty programs: join them. They work best if you pick one and stick to it, but hotels have been known to upgrade people just for joining a loyalty program on the spot - the best time to try this is at check-in.

If you don't get the bump, at least you're earning points. However, there is a backlash going on in the industry against guests using ever-more-spurious reasons to get a better room on the cheap.

Think like a hotelier

Think like a hotelier. If the hotel thinks there's a chance you might bring future business to the hotel, they'll look after you. Reasons could be that you're planning to return with a group, holding an event there or even just passing through town several times.

Don't use everything in your room

A gentle reminder: some things in hotels are there to not be used. The telephone is one. Is watching a movie in your room as much fun as going to the cinema? And room service will always cost more than a stroll out, or even ordering pizza in your room.

Avoid hotels when a major event is on

When there's a convention or event in town and the hotel's full of doctors or computer programmers, your appeal for a cheap room is more likely to fall on deaf ears - if there's a room available at all.

Hotels generally overbook for these periods, so it's unlikely that they'll be trying to unload any rooms.

Keep an eye out for new boutique hotels

Aiming for a boutique hotel? Then look for both very new places that haven't quite established themselves and those that were quite the buzz a year or two ago. New places price competitively when they've just opened, both to get off to a flying start and test-run the place.

No-longer-quite-so-hip hotels won't enjoy the same clamour for rooms they once did and may even be due a refit, so you may be able to use this to your advantage.

Find a good deal at a private house

Rooms in private houses are, in many parts of the world, an excellent route to a good deal -as well as something that can offer you some real insight into how local people live there.

In many places prospective hosts with rooms available meet new arrivals off of trains and planes, meaning if you haven't booked somewhere in advance this could suit you.

However, make sure you're happy with the location of the lodging first, and ask about curfews or other house rules that will affect you. If in doubt, use a local travel agency, which should offer reputable and good-quality rooms.