Alright so last month I was totally stuck trying to figure out this long-term rental thing for my remote work trip. Needed a place in Lisbon for like two whole months without going broke. Started out clueless – like staring at blank browser tabs feeling stupid.
Step one: The obvious garbage dump
First I just smashed “monthly apartment rentals” into Google like a dumb ape. Got buried under garbage ads and those fancy listings that cost your firstborn child. Clicked maybe fifteen sites. Felt like running on a hamster wheel. Prices? Total rip-off. Each site wanted me to sign up just to see real costs. Noped outta there fast.
Step two: Faceplanting into filters
Started messing with filters like a raccoon sorting trash. Put in dates. Slide that budget bar down hard. Suddenly all listings VANISHED. Poof! Ghost town. So I panicked and tried:
- Dumb checkbox: “Monthly discounts” – only showed three overpriced castles
- “Long stay deals” button – led to broken pages full of Turkish
- Scrolling three hours… Found ONE place with “long stay rate”. Still $500 over budget.
(Side note: Around here my cat knocked coffee onto my notebook. Spent an hour cleaning sticky pages – added zero discounts.)
Step three: Getting sneakier
Okay Google deep dive: “how do broke people book monthly stays”. Found some dusty forum comments talking about SECRET menus and phone hacks. One dude said:
“Just call the hotel and yell ‘GIVE ME THE LONG STAY PRICE!’”
Tried that with a beachfront spot. Nice lady laughed then said “sir we don’t actually do that”. Felt my soul leave my body. Phone method = FAILURE.
The accidental hack that worked
Was clicking random dates out of frustration. Like Tuesday to next Friday nonsense. Then… I let the booking sit for 15 minutes doing laundry. Came back – pop-up said: “SPECIAL LONG STAY OFFER FOR YOU“. Discount suddenly existed? Like magic dirty laundry coupons.
Replicated this four times:
- Pretend to book short stay
- Abandon cart like you forgot
- Wait for desperate discount email
- Change dates to looooong stay AFTER coupon hits
Saved $2,300 total over eight weeks. Still don’t fully get why this works. Probably some marketing bot panic. Who cares? Free money tastes sweet.
Final tip: Always check Tuesday mornings. Found the ghosts change prices while humans sleep. Oh and clear cookies before crying over prices. That is all. Hope someone finds this before their cat murders their keyboard.
