One tip I've found from experience in Germany is not to buy a weekly or multi-day travel pass until you've checked in at your hotel. Sometimes hotels sell local bus/tram/rail passes at discount rates, or can sell travel passes that aren't available to normal passengers at all and are even better value.
Additionally, very tourist-oriented towns often have a special local Kurtaxe (literally "spa tax" as originally it applied specifically to spa towns) which is a local tax added to your hotel bill. Sometimes, to make you feel better about paying it, you get a travel pass thrown in free as part of the deal.
Of course, keep track of the normal fares and make sure the hotel price actually will save you money.