How to find good places to stay cheap when you travel

When looking for a decent but affordable place to stay in other countries that main two sites I use are: agoda.com  and my prefered site: booking.com (this link gets you 10% off).  For hostels I also sometimes use hostelworld.com.

The picture is of the street I stayed on in Colombia.  As cute as described.
Each site has a good amount of info about each place and has a collection of reviews for perusal.  I personally prefer the search options on booking.com as there are many options. I personally look for reviews by Europeans and Canadians to get a good feel for what the places are like.  So far, I’ve found the places to be as good as I expected, other than where I stayed in Cambodia.   However, for example, the place I stayed in Colombia was under $200 for a week, with a great location, and included breakfast and bedding (but oddly not a bath towel).  But that was a minor concession for that price and location.

Priorities: The main things I look for are location, safety, and cleanliness.  As I am frequently a solo female traveler, I want to confirm that past solo female travelers felt safe and that the security features of the room and premises were good.  I also want to minimize the travel time to the places I will be visiting, if possible, by getting a centralized location (so I usually mark up a map with the places I most want to see before picking a hotel/hostel).  Even when traveling with others, I still put a preference on locations like this

In terms of cleanliness, I want to know that in general, any shared spaces are clean (particularly shared bathroom facilities) and that the rooms (particularly) the sleeping areas are clean.  Places can be a bit run down but still clean.  And if I can save $100 a week because I don’t have a newer bathroom or whatever, I’ll take the savings.

Checking reviews: I also review a bunch of evaluations to get a feel for the atmosphere of the location.  Is it a party place? Is there lots of drinking?  Is smoking allowed?  Is there a lock-in time?  Do they have any social areas or events for lodgers?  Look at whichever things about the atmosphere and rules that are important to you (some people are looking for the party places,  some are not, there are places for every type of traveler).
If there are complaints about the property in the reviews, does it look like sour grapes, something trivial, or some unexpected uncontrollable event?  For example, if there are a bunch of negative reviews at one time complaining about the pool being closed or 2 bathrooms shut down or such, but there clearly was some unexpected issue with the water supply that caused it, and it was a one-time thing, I don’t hold that against a property.  But if it does seem like a lack of preparation or repairs by the property rather than just a chance instance, then I do downgrade my opinion of the property and would generally avoid staying there unless there are strong mitigating factors.

Final Decision: I compare the locations and amenities to pick what I think is the best combo, although I am a little flexible on some amenities (like sheets and towels) for the right location as those are easy to take with (see below). Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn for qualifying purchases.
If bedding in the location I choose isn’t included (which is rare, but does happen), I bring a very small set of silk (or “silk”) sheets with me, like these.  Sometimes it is worth it for a prime location that otherwise looks good.  I sometimes bring this even if I don’t “need” it in case the sheets are scratchy, or a flat sheet isn’t normally provided with the bedding (as in much of Europe where there is a fitted sheet and then a comforter, but no top sheet).

Similarly, sometimes you need to bring a towel for the same reason.  You can get towel sets on Amazon for cheap that are quick-dry and small – like this 3 piece set. Another option is a nice Turkish towel that can also double as a beach towel.

Happy travels!