Picking the best hotel is never easy. When you stop to think about how many deals, and promotions are available, it can actually start melting your brain. Further complicating matters is how many hotels have websites full of alluring photos and effective promotional copy, leading you to believe that just setting foot in the lobby will mean getting showered with premium-level treatment. How can you possibly tell if any hotel is going to live up to even its own hype? More than that, how do you even know which hotel is the right one for you? Given how each traveller has their own needs when looking for hotels, you should ask yourself what you think is most important. Whether you’re interested in Going Luxury, just want a great deal, a good B&B, or a nice location, we’re about to cover the various parts of selecting a hotel so you can have an easier time figuring out what works for your next trip.
What Specifically Matters Most to You?
Before starting your search, you should decide what kind of accommodation you prefer. You also need to determine what your budget is. Is location going to take precedence over price? Or will you only be staying at places less than £100 per night? Would you like to spend the night at a smaller property which has tons of local character? Or do you want a hotel which features a fitness centre and spa? Once you make the decision on your top priority, you can start narrowing your search. The following are a handful of the most common factors for picking a hotel, plus some tips for locating properties which suit each of those needs.
Price
Almost every one of the major booking engines enables you to sort results just by price. Use your preferred booking engines to first see what is available, and then test the rates at any specific properties that you might be interested in. Once you do, book directly through the hotel website. The majority of hotel chains guarantee you the lowest possible rate only when booked through their own site. They’ll even usually match lower prices you find elsewhere.
Location
Every major booking site lets you view your search results on a displayed map, which means you can see for yourself which ones are in a neighbourhood that you like or are right on the beach. You might think of guidebooks as old-fashioned, but they’re still around for good reason, as they’re an effective resource for finding hotels in particular locations. They are typically listed by their neighbourhoods and plotted out on a big city map you can use.
Amenities
Many hotel booking engines also enable you to filter listings by particular amenities that you might be looking for: restaurants, swimming pools, and fitness centres are common examples.
Frequent Flyer Miles and Loyalty Programs
If you do a lot of travel, or you’re a registered member of a particular frequent flyer program, then it might be worth it to also join a hotel’s loyalty program. You can earn points that accumulate towards future hotel nights, and if your hotel has a partnership with a frequent flyer program you are a part of, you might have the possibility of accumulating airline miles along the way too.
Eco-consciousness
Many travellers want to minimise the environmental impact their trips create, so they look for green hotels. This can be done through several organisations, including the Green Hotels Association and Green Globe.
Family-friendly
If you are travelling with children, then you should look for both family-friendly policies and special deals.
Experiences in the Real World
Not many people book hotels these days without first looking over reviews that our fellow travellers write on Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and other sites. These are places where you can discover the reality about room cleanliness, Wi-Fi performance and staff friendliness. A lot of review sites also let users put up photos of the hotel they stay at. These tend to be far more realistic and not as glamorous as professional shots that hotels post on their own website. Having said this, take traveller reviews with a pinch of salt. Overly exuberant reviews might be creations of anonymous hotel staff, and tremendously negative reviews might be the fury of travelling divas who aren’t satisfied with anything. However many misleading reviews there are, they are typically in a small minority, most traveller ratings are authentic and unfiltered insights you can use in picking a hotel.
