Hotel Booking in Five Easy Steps
Carol’s 5-step method for finding and booking the right hotel:
For any properties recommended in Lipstick Getaways, I have done steps # 1 – 3 for you.
1. Zero in on one or two locations/neighborhoods. How?
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Use Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Orbitz, or any number of guidebooks and websites (starting with Lipstick Getaways!) to get a sense of which neighborhoods are best for visitors. Where are the sights, shopping areas, museums, theaters, restaurant and nightlife scenes, etc?
Cool trick: Get a brief “snapshot” of neighborhoods using Orbitz. Just do a general search for hotels in your destination city (you can leave the dates blank for now). On the results page, you’ll see a map with neighborhoods. Roll your cursor on each neighborhood to see a description.
2. Next look for several possible hotels in your price range, in the desired area(s). How?
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I always visit these two sites for research: Kayak.com and Tripadvisor.com.
Kayak is an “aggregate travel search engine”: it searches multiple sites at once — including hotels.com, orbitz, expedia, the hotels’ own websites, and more — and displays the results for you to compare.
Tripadvisor is one of the web’s best resources for unbiased travelers’ reviews. You can see which hotels have mostly positive reviews (but keep in mind — even good hotels usually get at least one cranky reviewer). Plenty of other useful features on this site; check it out.
Hotel Rewards Members: Of course, if you are a member of any hotel chain’s frequent stay program, you’ll want to see what they have to offer in your desired neighborhood.
3. Visit the hotels’ own websites for more detailed info.
You’ll see what types of rooms they have (“deluxe,” “executive,” “junior suite” etc.), room size and floor plans if available, amenities, any special offers, maps, directions, and helpful visitor information and links.
4. Now compare prices, and decide how many restrictions you can live with!
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Again, save time by starting with Kayak.com. They will do the comparison shopping for you, by searching multiple sites at once, finding the best rates, and displaying the results for you.
Note: Kayak does not book travel; once you find the deal you want, you click through to the seller’s website (e.g., you get redirected to hotels.com, or orbitz, or skoosh, or the hotel’s own website, etc.)
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About those restrictions: Pay in advance? Non-refundable?
Remember, to get the cheapest rates you often need to pay in advance — and there might be a penalty if you need to cancel or change your reservation. Plus, the very cheapest rates are often non-refundable, so if you plans fall through, you’re out of luck. Just be sure you understand the restrictions before you purchase.
I often get my best results via the hotel’s own website.
I find I get the same — or even better — rates, with no need to pay in advance and no penalty for cancellation. It’s also easier to specify room type and number of beds. Don’t forget to look for special rates like AAA, corporate rates, and weekend or seasonal promotions.
5. Choose your best deal, and make your reservation!
- Be sure to get a confirmation number and print out any confirmation emails.
- I strongly recommend that you follow up with a phone call to the hotel, especially if you’ve used a travel booking website. You want to be sure they have your reservation and any preferences noted.
What about Hotwire and Priceline?
If you’re willing to pay upfront and take a gamble, you can sometimes score huge savings using a site like Hotwire.com or Priceline.com.
The gamble is this: you don’t know which hotel you’ll be staying at until after you make your nonrefundable purchase. You tell them your dates, select the neighborhood and star rating, and see a generic description (but not the names) of several available properties; after you make your selection and pay, they email you a confirmation with the name of the hotel.
So if you are feeling lucky — or you are not that picky about your accommodations — go ahead and try one of theses sites. I’ve used Hotwire a couple times. I wasn’t crazy about the hotel I got, but it was just fine, and I did save a bundle. Generally, however, I prefer to choose my hotel.
