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Booking discount hotels
Of all the little pieces which make up the sum of your holiday, accommodation is always one of the most important. A good discount hotel, hostel or bed and breakfast can radically enhance even the most disappointing of holidays; and the converse is also true - a half finished hotel, poor service, a nearby building site or images of the accommodation strangely different to that found in the brochure… all this can put a blight on even the most well planned holiday.
So, unless turning up at the foreign airport on a whim and choosing your hotel during the taxi ride through the main city boulevard is your thing, planning is key when booking discount hotels. And in the first place planning takes knowledge … and that’s where we come in!
Check your sources
The first rule is to check your sources. If you have an up to date guide book, this is a good place to start. Guide books’ lists are by no means exhaustive, but they are at least independent and written by experienced travellers, who have seen a hotel or two.
However, guide books, by their very nature can have only a limited space for listings, so if you are looking for a comprehensive list, better go else where…
So if the guide book is not to hand, then what?
Discount hotels own websites will naturally give a positive spin on their offerings but unless backed up by another source, it maybe best to take these with a pinch of salt. On the other hand, what more will the website tell you? A good quality website, with good information might tell you a lot about the quality of the hotel itself. And they are usually better stocked with photos and other useful pieces of information too…
For safety’s sake, hotel chains are useful. From the grandest St. Regis to the more basic Hotel Ibis these chains come in all different shapes and sizes and will usually have set procedures to appease every traveller. You know (to a point) that you will get decent service, clean rooms and efficiently run discount hotels. You can book online with ease too. (Just make sure you are not in the hotel right out by the airport if you are booking a city break!)
AAA rating
The star rating is another useful guide. These are often dished out on a country by country basis and may have been tainted by the arrival of 6 and 7 star hotels, which seems to defeat the point a bit. However, broadly speaking, the AAA rating scheme is a good way of grading a hotel.
It is worth noting that even these change from country to country. A French 2 star hotel is usually more than a match for an English 3 star hotel in both price and comfort.
Finally come good old internet sites. Many booking sites arrange by price and star rating first, so simply type your maximum price in, the dates you want and see what comes up. Simplicity itself.
Reviews
For a more objective response, try the ones with an added message board or rating system. These can often be lopsided- many write reviews only if they have some fury to vent or have particular praise to give. However, if you have time, common complaints on a message board which crop up time and time again might give an inkling as to the real situation in the hotel….
Finding the right discount hotels is never an exact science, but if you make the effort before you leave the benefits will be realised upon arrival… and take away that one potentially ruinous factor from your holiday. Happy hunting!