- NordVPN has launched an extension to boost holiday savings
- PriceMice shows you better prices from other countries
- The extension is available on Chrome and is completely free to use
Have you ever felt ripped off when booking a holiday or found that your search for the best accommodation deals never actually resulted in saving a penny? NordVPN has just launched a tool that might help relieve that stress.
PriceMice is a free browser extension that shows how much the same hotel room costs when booked from other countries. This way, you can check whether a lower price is available before confirming your booking and, if so, save money.
TechRadar's best VPN pick continues to leverage its security features to the full. With PriceMice, it now offers you a useful way to use the service for your personal needs too. Even better, you don't need to be an actove NordVPn's subcribers to use the tool.
How PriceMice works
PriceMice compares the final prices of the same room in different locations, helping you find the best deal before completing your online payment.
The tool addresses the fact that holiday companies can sometimes advertise the same accommodation at different prices depending on the customer’s specific geographical location. If you’re not aware of this, it could end up costing you money that you could otherwise spend on your holiday, such as dinner or museums.
Even if you are aware of regional price differences, checking whether a better price is available elsewhere often means manually changing your location or switching to a different version of the website to repeat the search. As the process can take a long time, it could mean that places are already fully booked by the time you make a decision.
PriceMice promises to speed up the process significantly. Once the extension is installed, it works alongside your usual browsing on Booking.com when searching for hotels.
When you find a room, you can click on 'find better price,' and it automatically goes on a best price hunt without requiring you to open new tabs or windows. Within seconds, it checks prices across dozens of regions and displays the lowest option, including taxes.
You can then just connect to that region using a virtual private network (VPN) app like NordVPN and return to your booking, where you’ll see the adjusted price before completing the booking.
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Why using PriceMice
Savings might be worth the look. For example, prices can vary considerably between the US and the United Arab Emirates: NordVPN cites an example where using PriceMice resulted in a claimed saving of almost $150.
The company suggests that you can save at least $20 per stay, with maximum savings of up to $500.
As more platforms are expected to be added to the list soon, Domininkas Virbickas, product director at NordVPN, stressed that the goal is to provide users with the transparency they need "to know for sure before they book."
Indeed, the VPN points out that several factors can affect the final amount a traveller has to pay. For example, some destinations only add accommodation costs at the time of payment or charge them on arrival.
Final rates may also vary due to exchange rate fluctuations, while booking platforms may carry out real-time price testing that affects final prices.
Nevertheless, although the responsibility to check the final price and booking details before getting your wallet out remains with you, the prospect of saving money, particularly as the next holiday season approaches, still makes PriceMice definitely worth a look.
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