How to save money on hotels with a VPN

This episode is brought to you by Focus Features. On March 27th, Focus Features invite you to be a part of the most explosive movie of this year's Sundance and South by Southwest Film Festival.

The AI doc or how I became an apocalypticist is being called supremely entertaining and the most urgent movie of our time.

The AI doc or how I became an apocalypticist rated PG-13 only in theaters March 27th.

Hey there, it's Kim and welcome to the audio version of my daily tech newsletter The Current, read by nearly a million people every single day.

Because sometimes you want the news in your ears, not just your inbox. Now let's get into today's newsletter for Wednesday, March 4th, 2026.

Today I've got a hotel pricing trick that could save you hundreds, a Spotify earn that plays music at your funeral. Yes, I said earn.

We've also got a pastor getting deep faked for cash and I'll close with a fun fact that'll make you look like a genius the next time you're stuck waiting at the gate.

But first, here's something you can use in the next five minutes. Google Maps isn't just for turn-by-turn directions. It actually understands what you mean even when you don't know exactly what you're looking for.

Try typing in quiet cafe with Wi-Fi and it pulls up local spots. Type free things to do and you get parks, events, museums, all the zero dollar options.

Type sunset view and it finds you somewhere scenic. Google Maps is basically a concierge you forgot you had.

And here's what most people miss. You don't need an exact business name. Just describe what you want and boom, it's that smart.

But make sure to check reviews first. Some people's definition of cozy is very generous.

Alright, now let's get into today's big story. And this one genuinely got under my skin.

So get this. You and your coworker could book the exact same hotel room dates and everything, even book it all on the same site and end up paying completely different prices.

And neither of you would ever know. I tested this myself. How? Well, I searched for a hotel in Miami from Phoenix. And the price?

$389 a night. I switched my location to San Antonio. Same room, same dates, $506. Then I connected through Poland. And it was only $299 for the same room, same nights.

The most expensive price was 69% higher than the cheapest. That's $207 a night gone just because of where my Wi-Fi thought I was sitting.

This is called AI dynamic pricing and every major booking site does it. Expedia Hotels dot com booking dot com. They track your location, your search history. How many times you've looked at the same hotel, the more desperate you look, the higher the price climbs.

Here's how to stop paying what I call the eager traveler tax. Step one, open an incognito window on Chrome. That's control plus shift plus N on safari. It's file. Then new private window that wipes your search history from the equation.

Step two, connect to a VPN. A VPN changes where the booking site thinks you're located. Countries with lower purchasing power like Poland, Japan, and India consistently show lower hotel prices. I've tested this multiple times. Step three, book directly with the hotel. I call the front desk, give them the best rate I found online and ask them to beat it. Sites like Expedia charge hotels, a 15 to 30% commission. When you cut out the middle man, hotels have wiggle room.

And they often throw in perks. The third party sites won't free breakfast, late checkout, waved resort fees. And here's a bonus tip. Checking in on a Sunday can be up to 24% cheaper than Friday and booking within a week of your stay can save another 21% because hotels slash prices to fill empty rooms.

So if you combine the power of a VPN plus booking direct plus a flexible check in date, then that's real money back in your pocket for about 60 seconds of effort. Now I want to give you one more example before we move on because this one really seals the deal.

A friend of mine tested the same trick on a rental car in the UK. Same car, same dates, same agency. When she tried booking from Los Angeles, the price was over $600 higher than when she was booking as if she were in London.

For the same car, $600 more dollars. Wow. So if you want the full walkthrough, including the exact VPN I use and trust and a link to try it is sitting in your inbox right now in today's issue of the current.

Oh, and before I forget, today's deals in the newsletter are all about your car, a phone mount that stays put on bumpy roads, a wide angle rear view mirror clip on that makes merging way less terrifying, a trunk organizer that actually keeps your groceries from rolling everywhere.

And micro fiber towels that won't scratch your paint. All of them are under $25 with some as low as $10. All the links are in today's newsletter and you can find all my latest picks in my Amazon shop just head to Amazon dot com slash shop slash Kim commando believe me your car will thank you.

Now let's talk about something that made my jaw drop deep fake scammers are now cloning pastors. Yes, you heard me right full face voice backdrop the whole deal.

Fort Lauderdale pastor Jennifer LeClaire says a fake version of her convinced a follower to pay for bogus one-on-one spiritual counseling. The fake was convincing enough to fool someone who actually knew her. So here's what to look for weird blinking lip sync that slightly off audio that sounds a little hollow.

Janky lighting and anything that feels out of character especially if it involves money nothing says spiritual guidance like the Holy Trinity of fraud deep fake AI voice cloning and your local church Facebook group.

If a pastor a celebrity or honestly anyone is asking you to pay for something through a social media message or a video call you didn't initiate stop call them directly on a number you already have don't trust that message alone take the steps to verify before you even think of opening your wallet.

Okay now for the story I've been sitting on all episode spotify partnered with a company called liquid death on something called the eternal playlist earn yes and earn for your ashes with a Bluetooth speaker built into the lid.

You can think it like any device and it loops forever and ever. Oh and if you're having trouble picking out your playlist there's actually a quiz that scans your listening history to generate your forever soundtrack.

Finally a way to get a song stuck in your relatives heads one last time so if this is your vibe don't wait because it's on a limited run and only going to be sold in the United States.

Before I get to our closing fun fact if you're not subscribed to the current newsletter yet that is the first thing I want you to fix today.

Go to get Kim dot com to sign up that's get Kim dot com it is completely free and it's five star rated every morning you'll get the full newsletter with daily deals.

I actually vet tech tips device advice and a trivia question that will make you the smartest person at any dinner table because my readers show up to conversations with facts nobody else has.

That's the whole point join nearly a million other smart folks at get Kim dot com.

All right here's your closing fun fact and this one is going to change how you fly you know how airlines almost never tell you about a delay until the absolute last second the plane is clearly not at the gate.

The board still says on time and everyone is just standing there pretending everything is fine turns out one tool can predict your flight delay before the airline even admits it's happening it uses artificial intelligence historical flight data live radar and aircraft tracking and it won't flag a delay unless it is at least.

80% confident that tool is Google flights yes the same Google you already use roughly 8 billion times a day and it's not an extra app either just search your flight number directly in Google and it will often tell you what is coming and why late incoming aircraft weather whatever it is before the gate agent says a word.

I do this every single time I fly remember that move next time.

Alrighty folks that's everything for today's audio edition of the current thank you so much for spending part of your day here I know there are a lot of places you could put your time and attention and I don't take it for granted that you share some of it with me.

Head to get Kim dot com right now and I'll show up in your inbox tomorrow it's free it's five star rated and I just know you're going to love it and remember your strongest encryption is good judgment and will keep upgrading it together I'll see you next time friend.

Hey let me know what you think about these podcasts there's a special address podcast at commando dot com that's podcast with an S of course P O D C A S T S at commando dot com by the way a couple of people read those notes so make sure that you're always kind of nice again podcast at commando dot com let me hear from you.

Security program on spreadsheets new regulations piling up and audit red it's time for vanta vanta automate security and compliance brings evidence into one place and cuts audit prep by 82% less manual work clear visibility faster deals zero chaos call it compliance or call it calm clients get it join the 15,000 companies using vanta to prove trust go to v a n t a dot com slash com.