To find the best hotel deals online it helps to know where to look
before you book.
If you spend time searching for the best hotel deals online, you're
already looking before making a booking. But are you looking in the right places?
With so many hotel search sites claiming to offer you the 'best
rate guaranteed' it makes you wonder why they're not all offering the same price for the
same room, in the same hotel, on the same date.
Even if they did, you still might not be getting the best hotel deal
when you travel.
To be really sure of getting the best hotel deal online, you need to
find the hotel that's right for you.
Hotel Location
The first thing to consider is where to stay in your travel
destination.
The Regent Grand Hotel de Bordeaux - Michel photos.travelnotes.org
If you're travelling
by train, you might prefer your hotel to be located close to the railway station.
There's little point in making a big deal about saving money on the hotel price when you
have to spend extra on taxi fares.
Likewise, if you're travelling by car, it helps if the hotel offers
free parking; or there is at least a convenient place to park your car close to the hotel.
If you're flying, perhaps consider hotels that offer a free shuttle
service from the airport, or hotels that are close to airport bus routes. Airport hotels are
probably only of any value if you arrive late at night or have an early flight.
To scout hotel locations, the Travel Notes hotel guide lets you zoom and pan around an interactive map.
Once you have a better idea of the area you'd like to stay, in your
destination, you can mouse over the pins for a thumbnail image and average price range of
past bookings.
Compare Hotel Prices
The hotel guide helps you think about where you might want to stay but
you'll still need to use an Hotel Comparison Tool
to instantly compare hotel details, rates, availability and taxes from such websites as Booking.com,
Expedia,
Hotels.com,
Travelocity
(and many more) all in
one set of search results.
Special Offers
It may also pay to take a look at the official hotel website to
see if they have any ongoing special offers.
Mercure,
for example, offered a 'Two for One Tandem' (in France) - where you could stay in a double
room for the price of a single and one breakfast was offered free of charge; if one of the
two guests was 55 or older.
Think about your existing hotel loyalty points, or joining the hotel
loyalty program if you intend to use a particular hotel chain more than a few times on
your travels.
Social Media
Another place to look before you book is social media; especially Facebook Fan Pages and Hotel Travel Tweeps on Twitter.
Many hotels are now connecting with their customers - be they fans or
followers - through social media and often offer discount codes and special deals to repay
their loyalty; hopefully encouraging the hotel guests to follow up with positive reviews
and in turn help spread the word to their friends and followers about where they liked to
stay.
Even the booking sites are using social media.
If you find Otel.com offer you the best price on a particular hotel,
you may even save a further 10% by using the discount code on their
Facebook page.
Added Extras
It also pays to read all the small print. Don't overlook any of
the hotel details. They are there to help you make a wise choice on getting the best hotel
deal.
If you travel with a laptop, will you have to pay for Internet access
in your hotel room?
If the hotel offers free WiFi, they usually like to mention that. If
it's not mentioned, that's a little extra charge you might not want to incur. They all add
up.
Is breakfast included in the room rate?
Is there a resort fee?
What about if you don't use the spa facilities? You may even get a
discount for not using them if they're included in the hotel price.
Budget Travel
When we talk about budget travel, we need to remember
that every traveller has a different budget.
I have stayed in some very nice hotels in South America for $5, and
some dives in the United States for ten times that.
If your budget is tight, then hostel accommodation
might be worth thinking about.
The accommodations listed are not all hostels and not all beds are in
dormitories. Cheap single rooms are also offered in many of the 'budget hotels'.
Don't Forget
Before you book your next hotel online, just remember where to
look.
By Michel.
TravelTweet
TravelTweet Directory:
Directory of travel tweeps on Twitter.
Related Links
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