Comments on: Hotels – how do you book yours?

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:07:25 +0000

Good point re: noise Tjitske, awful to get a noisy night (I guess review sites will be honest with that, while few hotels will disclose they have a noise issue). And completely agree about outdated information. There’s no excuse.
Skype is an interesting one. Have you found many hotels using Skype? I have to admit it seems to be the exception, although it would be so much better if they did, particularly where its expensive to make calls to that country. Thanks as always for sharing your experiences.

By: Tjitske

Tjitske — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:43:58 +0000

Further to the above, I find it quite amazing how out of date many websites are…. it seems they are put out on the web, and then forgotten about… simple things like email addresses, tel numbers, special offers etc are so often out of date or incorrect…. additionally everyone should have a Skype address and have the settings correct to actually be online… also missing most of the time, inexcusable really when there are millions using Skype all the time 24/7… seems many many places have no idea of the power of the internet now…

By: Tjitske

Tjitske — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:40:49 +0000

It would also help if the availability check was automatic via the hotel or lodge’s website, which many have…. noise pollution is a big no no for me, so I would want to see that mentioned on the hotel’s website, whether its in a noisy part or whether its in a peaceful location, its probably one of the most important factors for me… otherwise I agree totally with your post…. it is often extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find a hotel or lodge’s own direct website, which is a bit annoying if one doesn’t know the exact url… some have very ambiguous names…

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 08:28:57 +0000

Thanks for all the comments. Glad to hear that others use Tripadvisor with a healthy dose of realism too. As Kevin suggests, intuition is key. Thanks also for the tips Barbara – I’ll look those sites up. I’ve used AsiaRooms and been impressed.

By: Beau

Beau — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:32:15 +0000

Great article. The process we take to book hotel rooms is almost identical as you described. We find places on Tripadviser and use google to find the hotel websites. We’ll usually cross reference with our Lonely Planet guides downloaded on our computers. I agree with Kevin, Tripadviser can be frustrating sifting through all the contradicting statements, but I guess it’s human nature, everyone is going to have their own take on places. We tend to play the numbers game, if the lion’s share of reviews are good and there’s just a few “Hell on Earth” and “Never Again, Never” comments, the hotel website looks good and if it has free wi-fi we will roll the dice and book the room. After 200+ straight on the road, we’ve been happy with this strategy with only a few inevitable hiccups.

By: Kevin Hall

Kevin Hall — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:06:48 +0000

I have learnt to take Tripadvisor reviews with a pinch of salt, some of my favourite hotels are plagued by bad reviews, and some of my worst hotels are up in the top 10.

I think the best way is to use good old intuition, to do as you say and have a good look at photo’s on the hotels website, use google earth to see the area, and then trust your instincts.

By: Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels

Barbara at Hole in the Donut Travels — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:36:55 +0000

When I travel long term, I never book in advance because I never know for sure where I’ll land the next day. So, I rely on some lesser known, but very dependable sites for last minute accommodations. In Italy (they also cover much of Europe & some other areas as well) I’ve had great success with Venere.com. In Asia it’s AsiaRooms.com. And n Australia and New Zealand it’s Wotif.com. Of course, there’s always the hostel sites. I also check Lonely lanet’s Thorn Tree Forum and TripAdvisor, but never use Expedia or Traveocity.