If you are going on a business trip or romantic vacation, where you will stay for at least 3 days, it is quite important to choose a hotel where you will feel comfortable. Trust me, I had my share of failures, and there is nothing more unpleasant than ending up in a smoking room or sharing the bathroom, if you are not prepared for that kind of adventures. Being a \u201cbooking genius\u201d takes a lot of experience and if you read this chapter carefully, you will see that choosing the right hotel can be quite a challenge.<\/p>\n
After you set the destination, I suggest you follow these simple steps for choosing the right hotel or a place to stay:<\/p>\n
If you are on a business trip, you need to consider the amenities like: internet (wired or wireless), working desk (you cannot work in\u00a0your bed or on the floor), breakfast option, perhaps even in-room dining (to save you time and charge you with the necessary energy for the presentations), fitness center or at least a pool are a must (stretching yourself after long meetings is very important) and it is also very convenient if the hotel has a quiet place where you can meet your business partners. If you are on a romantic vacation you will probably appreciate the extras like massage or beauty salons, the variety of meals (all-inclusive options are usually a good choice), outdoor activities and the vicinity of the beach or other tourist attractions. If you are on a road trip and just passing by, then you usually just need a cozy bed and a place to spend the night.<\/p>\n
No matter how high my budget is, I always choose the accommodation by myself, for various reasons. First of all I don\u2019t want any surprises. Second, I don\u2019t want to overpay the rates offered by travel agents or hotels directly. Last but not the least, I really enjoy surfing the booking sites and comparing their offers. I am a travelholic, remember? \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
My favorite booking site for choosing the hotel is Expedia<\/strong><\/a>, even though their selection is sometimes quite limited. I like Expedia because you can enroll their loyalty program, which can get you a lot of benefits and rewards. For example, I saved over 500 US dollars in 2015 by using the coupons I got from my Golden Elite Plus status.<\/p>\n The second hotel browser I use is Booking.com<\/strong><\/a> which is also very good and they usually offer a wider selection of accommodation. Their search engine is very simple and transparent. If you are a frequent user they give you a \u201cBooking Genius\u201d badge \u2013 which offers better prices for some hotels. They also claim to guarantee the best price but I only used this option with them once and they didn’t reply.<\/p>\n Besides Expedia and Booking.com there are many similar booking sites like Agoda or Hotels.com, where you just set the size of your budget and compare the selection (usually they all offer you to choose the price range you are interested in), however if you travel a lot I suggest you pick your favorite<\/strong> one so you can take advantage of the loyalty program they offer.<\/p>\n A bit different from the options mentioned above is Airbnb<\/strong>. This site includes accommodations from local hosts, which can be very convenient if you want more personal touch. The locals rent out a room, a part of their home or even an entire house. They can be very handy with offering you some useful information on how to make the most of your vacation in their hometown. All hosts are usually very polite and respond to your questions within 24 hours. They are also rated by previous users \u2013 the more stars they have the more \u201csafe\u201d is your decision. Airbnb is as safe as any other booking site \u2013 in terms of payment, cancellation policy and accommodation descriptions. If you don’t have Airbnb account, register via this link<\/a> to get a 30 \u20ac discount for your first booking (the total cost of your booking has to be over 300\u20ac).<\/p>\n If you are browsing for your accommodation on booking sites, you will usually see guest rates next to the descriptions. For example if a guest rate shows 3 points for a 4 star hotel it means you probably won\u2019t get what you pay for. However it is always good to double check it, since some of the hotels might be newly listed and don\u2019t have credible rates yet. For this purpose I use Tripadvisor<\/strong>, which is literally a travel Bible (sorry Lonely planet, you became far too commercial in my humble opinion). Besides the updated accommodation and other reviews Tripadvisor also offers guest photos (which are more realistic than official hotel pictures) and many other useful tips, including some prices, places to eat, etc.<\/p>\n Other important checkpoints you should consider before booking:<\/p>\n If you think I am crazy for being so meticulous with \u201ca simple process\u201d like choosing the right hotel then I suggest you imagine booking a romantic holiday in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and ending up with a pool under renovation and a beach flushed away by a hurricane. You can thank me later.<\/p>\nCheck guest reviews and photos<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Basic check list <\/strong><\/h5>\n
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