Updated: 10/15/2018 | October 15th, 2018
As much as I love hostels and other forms of cheap accommodation, there is something nice about the luxuriousness of a hotel: the clean room, comfy bed, desk, iron, strong shower, and bottled soap for the taking (errr…I mean borrowing). They are quiet, relaxing, and a respite from the world.
But luxury comes at a price. Hotels certainly aren’t cheap, and I hate spending money on a room I am only going to be in for a few hours. After all, it’s just a place to sleep (and take soap). It’s why I mostly avoid hotels — I don’t think they are a good use of money. I would much rather stay in a hostel or Airbnb, which cost less, have more social interaction, and don’t make you feel as removed from the destination you’re staying at. I always feel hotels are so isolating like a concrete bubble keeping out the place you’re visiting.
But there are times when a hotel can’t be avoided. Hostels aren’t everywhere, booking a last minute hotel room is easier than finding an Airbnb host, and sometimes you just really need a nice bed and shower. Plus, I have a ton of points so free is worth the isolation.
A few years ago, I was traveling to conferences and other work-related events a lot and staying in a bunch of hotels. I decided to see if I could find the best hotel booking site on the web. I picked a bunch cities and searched six booking websites — Expedia, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Hotwire, Priceline, and TravelPony — in 2-, 3-, and 4-star categories.
The conclusion? Well, there wasn’t really a great conclusion.
The overall numbers showed that some sites were stronger in certain regions or for certain classes of hotel. TravelPony was the winner in the US and for higher-class hotels, and Expedia dominated London and Paris, while Priceline was great for 2-star hotels and Hotwire for 3-star hotels. The big loser? Booking.com.
But that was in 2014, and booking websites and options have changed a lot since then. The only constant in travel is that nothing is constant — and a booking website is as only good as its inventory, which, as someone who now owns a hostel that’s not listed in every booking engine, I can tell you varies widely.
So I decided to do another search to try to find the best site to book a hotel in 2018. This time I searched Expedia, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Agoda, and Priceline for prices in London, New York, Paris, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, and Berlin. I searched on July 3rd for space later that week and then one month later during the weekday and weekend (prices and availability change on the weekend).
The Best Hotel Booking Website
The results of all that?
Well, the complete opposite of the previous results. Back in 2014, Booking.com was terrible, TravelPony showed promise, and Agoda was only good in Asia.
This time the best hotel booking website was Booking.com. Though it didn’t return the largest number of total places, Booking.com returned the largest number of cheap places – and that’s the most important thing. I found the best deals and largest variety in all the destinations I searched for on Booking. For example, in my September search in Paris, it listed over 2,300 results, including 250 2 star listings and 750 star listings (and it told me the place was over 60% booked when I searched). Agoda still had the best results in Asia (it returned 2,900 results in Bangkok compared to 2,500 for Booking) but had definitely expanded their listings around the world – it roughly tied Booking in Paris, Buenos Aires, and Sydney for overall listings, though they had fewer budget listings than Booking.
The second best hotel booking website was Agoda, which had a lot of results, though it’s strong suit is still in Asia.
And all those other major hotel booking sites? Well, Orbitz and Travelocity are part of Expedia and use the same database, and while they turned back a large number of results, they tilted more to the higher end of the price spectrum. And websites like Priceline and Hotwire have top-notch blind booking and bidding options that can get you a very cheap hotel (in the star category and area you want). Sometimes prices are up to 40% off. The downside? You don’t get to know the name of the hotel you’re staying in until after you have paid.
There are a lot of hotel booking websites and I’ve tried many over the last few years as I’ve started to book hotels more and more, but this test just proved what I already thought:
The best hotel booking website is Booking.com and Agoda is the second best hotel booking websits on the web. They the cheapest prices over and over again. If you search these two companies, you’ll always find the best hotel bargains in the 1, 2m or 3 star category.
Note: Years ago, I said to skip Trivago because I found it misleading: when you went to the other sites to compare results, the hotel classes and prices were different. I found the same thing this time. I clicked over to their cheapest deals, then did the search on the website they took me to only to find out that the place Trivago listed wasn’t even in the same class I wanted — and there were better options on the redirected website. In short, I would still skip Trivago.
How to book cheap hotels
Besides using the right hotel booking sites, there are some hacks you can use to score the cheapest room rate possible for your next trip:
Contact the hotel websites directly – If you’re booking a big-name, global-brand hotel (think Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc.), book directly with that hotel. They often have the best deals on their website, but if you find a better deal elsewhere, they’ll match it. The big benefit to direct bookings at these global hotel chains is that you only earn loyalty points and status when you book directly, so if you love points, don’t book their rooms elsewhere.
Bargain – Want a better deal? Call up a hotel and ask for one. Sometimes they can give you better rates, especially if it’s during mid-week on some non-peak time of the year.
Use loyalty reward programs – The best way to stay for cheap is to stay for free. Collect points with the big chains by using their branded credit cards, shopping portals, and other travel hacking methods.
Use discount rates like AAA or AARP – If you are part of the AARP or AAA you can get special rates that are cheaper. Fun fact: Anyone can join the AARP. I’m a member. They have amazing travel benefits (including deals on hotels and British Airways flights). It’s well worth the membership.
Get discounted gift cards – You can book major hotel chains with hotel gift cards. Check out a website like Giftcardgranny.com for discounted gift cards and use it to book your hotel. (Gift card purchases also count toward point earnings and status.)
Buy someone else’s reservation with Roomer – Often people can’t go on a trip and can’t cancel the reservation, so rather than lose the money, hotels put these rooms on Roomer, where they sell it at a discount to earn some money back. I’ve never used this website, but I’ve heard decent things about it. It’s worth a try.
Just follow the steps above to get a cheap hotel by using my favorite (and what have been shown to be the best) hotel booking websites listed here so you get a good deal and enjoy your trip quicker.
No fuss, no muss!
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time. You can book your hostel – if you want that instead – with Hostelworld as they have the most comprehensive inventory.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!
Mike
Thank you for all this helpful research! I usually do a quick search and book the one that’s the cheapest, if of course I’m not staying with friends or family. This will come in handy as I book a few more trips before heading to Spain for the year.
rick be
2014? I’m looking for a room in Malta & there’s nothing cheap near where I wanna be-so I’m going for Airbnb for the first time.
lee
than you for addressing places to stay that do not offer shared rooms…
if trip pony is as competitive as this research shows, I shall have to try if on my next long term adventure. thanks
Rachel
shame travelpony isn’t in India yet. That research must have taken you forever! Thanks for doing all that. I don’t use hotels often but one day that may change and I’ll be able to look back at this.
James
Thanks for the info. Finding a hotel is always a pain so it’s good to know where to look!
Lauren Meshkin
SO helpful. I need to send this to a few of my friends. I’ve used Priceline in the past, especially their bidding feature and have been happy 90% of the time. However, I’m a big fan of airbnb lately. I haven’t heard of TravelPony so I’ll definitely be checking that out. Thanks for sharing, Matt!
Happy travels 🙂
Stew Wilner
So, where does that leave a service such as Kayak which shows multiple sites (including Expedia, booking, etc.)?
NailaJ
It’s worth noting that all of these websites leave cookies which then boost prices on subsequent searches on that page and other travel website pages. In other words, if they know you’re looking to book in Seattle from May 5-7, those prices will increase as you keep checking. Your best bet is to browse in a private/incognito browser, or clear your cookies & restart every time.
Nik
I have been through all the above and now find the cheapest way for hotels is putting the dates into tripadvisor and they act as a search engine and bring up rates from 5/6 of your usual sites such as hotels.com etc. make sure you click “more” and see all the quotes as the cheapest rate doesnt always come up on the main price section.
Trent
Great article!
Another point that needs to be looked at with these sites is how the booking and processing happens.. As an example, expedia takes your money then pays the hotel, booking.com on the other hand only takes the booking, the hotel charged you direct. Where this comes into play is if you need to change a booking, with expedia you call there call centre which is off shore, with expedia you call the hotel direct. In 2012 we were stuck in NYC when hurrican sandy hit, our next destinations were LA and Vegas. Our LA booking was through booking.com, we contacted the hotel direct and made a date change, all up 2-3 minutes, Vegas booking was expedia, we contacted them direct and spent over an hour try to change the booking before hanging up in frustration, contacted the hotel direct and was told must make alteration through expedia. Again contacted expedia, after another hour on the phone managed to get a refund then rebooked through booking.com
Ultimately booking direct avoids issues, booking.com seems to be the closest (that I’ve used) to direct.
Leisa
I noticed you didn’t mention the Hotels.com price match. Maybe they don’t offer this in all areas. I often search through Trivago and then book with hotels.com, price-matching if necessary. I prefer them because I get free nights as part of the rewards.
But I have had issues with them (and their mother company Expedia) in taking a ridiculously long to issue refunds. In fact I am still waiting (3 months later) for Expedia to refund me for a flight cancelled by the airline. And I warn anyone that their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
Katei
Very helpful Matt! I hadn’t even heard of TravelPony but I will definitely check it out. I am based in Sydney, Australia so not sure what the best site would be for hotels here, let me know if you have any insight
NomadicMatt
Wotif is pretty good (besides the ones listed).
Alain
First thing I look on a travelling website is not the price but the possibility to pay in full with paypal so I don’t have to give my credit card number to anyone and avoid the possibly of being scammed.
Kathryn
I haven’t found Agoda that cheap for travel in Asia (but I’ve only travelled in Japan recently). I’ve checked their rates and found the rates are the same on the hotel sites.
I’ve travelled extensively in Japan got the best rates by booking in Japanese on a local site (usually Rakuten). It’s not so much that the prices are cheaper if you compare the same rooms, but the Japanese only site has a lot of smaller hotels that probably don’t think it’s worth their while looking outside the local market. Not sure if that’s the same for other countries.
NomadicMatt
They are great in Southeast Asia. Sites like Rakuten are better in Japan for the reason you mentioned.
Brooke
This is a really detailed and useful post! Unfortunately, I think the rates differ greatly here in Asia. Expedia and Booking.com tend to give better rates for 3- and 4- star hotels, while the 5-star hotels and resorts are usually best booked through sample sale sites (a la Jetsetter).
I have to agree that metasearch sites like Trivago are unreliable; I don’t trust them at all to find the lowest rates and don’t even spend time on them. However, there’s one major site you didn’t cover: what about TripAdvisor prices (from Expedia, Hotels.com, Agoda etc.)?
Thanks for the heads-up on Tingo!
Paul Thomas
I agree with your point about calling the hotel direct, especially if it’s a late booking. Often a one to one negotiation makes the deal ! Paul
NomadicMatt
It’s amazing more people don’t do it!
Phil
Nice rundown Matt! I agree that Agoda wins hands-down across Asia. I use them almost exclusively in that part of the world and the point on cookies…..you have to beat them at their own game. Sometimes I get better rates on Agoda using their APP on my phone than using their website on my laptop.
Jenny P
Great research, Matt. One thing you didn’t mention was the Welcome Rewards program for Hotels.com. I use it most of the time on the sole fact that I get a free hotel stay after booking 10 nights with them (actually, the average price of the 10 hotels can be put towards a future stay). This means that, if you travel and stay in hotels fairly frequently, you’re actually “saving” 10% on each booking. With this in mind, Hotels.com seems to wins over the other standard ones (expedia, booking) most of the time.
NomadicMatt
All the sites listed here have their own loyalty programs and it’s important that you pick the one that is right for you. I mention that towards the end of the article. I know a lot of people who prefer Expedia’s program. It comes own to personal preference.
Gwen
Having spent about 6 months in various cheap hotels across Europe recently, my experience was that the fastest way to trace the best deal was to use Trivago.com, and then doublecheck their prices, as the best deals shown often do not exist.
Though Booking.com is often more expensive, at least it is reliable (prices and ratings), never any surprise, unlike with quite a few others like Expedia.com where upon showing up all of a sudden the hotel is not having Wifi, or is charging extra for this or that, or the room is hmmm very different from the photos…
In Germany, hrs.de is sometimes the better one, and isn’t listed in Trivago.com.
In Asia, I also usually found the best deals and choice with Agoda.
NomadicMatt
“as the best deals shown often do not exist.” <---- That seems to say that Trivago isn't that reliable.
Kerry
I know there are a lot of sites to check, but how come you left out tripadvisor? That is my absolute go-to because they give you a price comparison for a number of the hotel booking sites and the reviews give you the truth about the hotel. I always check the reviews on tripadvisor, regardless of the site I’m booking with, and have never been surprised by a hotel.
NomadicMatt
I stayed away from a lot of the meta-search sites because I wanted to compare the booking sites directly. Tripadvisor owns a lot of the companies it recommends. In fact, most of these websites are owned by one or two big companies.
In regards to reviews, be careful. Hotels pay for positive reviews there!
Claire Hawkins
Thanks for this, Matt. I am a travel research junkie and comparison shop all the time. Two thoughts: While I use TripAdvisor to get referrals and things, and I look at the prices they offer, I really find Kayak.com to be the best for hotels. They have an option to get the final price rather than just the room price, so they build into the amount the taxes, “resort fees” and all the other little nasties that destroy a budget. It lets me compare apples to apples.
Secondly, for those times that you want to splurge, Marriott.com has a lowest price guarantee on their website; find it lower within 24 hours anywhere else and they give you the lower price + 25% off, even if the difference is just $1. I have stayed in 4 star hotels for under $80 and 3 stars for $55 in this way; Marriott has a huge range of chains and I can almost always find a lower price for at least one of their hotels if I’m headed to an urban area. And make sure you are a Marriott member…it doesn’t take too long to earn free nights at their lower level hotels (but skip their cc–it’s a loser for the annual fee).
NomadicMatt
Kayak meta-searches everyone. They can be pretty good but they search most of the sites I listed above which is why I didn’t include them. I wanted to go right to the source. But they can be a good starting point!
Irene
Thanks Matt. I am planning a big trip for next year 6-8 months mostly Africa and Middle East. I thought about using AirBnb but now I will definitively using your recommandations. If you find a website more useful specifically in Africa and Middle East can you let me know, please. Don’t listen negative people. Your work is great and useful for a lot of travelers.
NomadicMatt
Airbnb is very good but they aren’t hotels so they fall into a different category of accommodation. They are usually cheaper than hotels but I don’t know how widespread their listings are in those regions of the world.
Julio Moreno
Hey Matt,
Usually I just read your posts on my phone, but thought I had something useful to add this time :).
First, Hotels.com.
1) They do offer deals for last minute hotels. I consistently find this when I am a week from a trip and looking for final accommodations. While you are right that you shouldn’t wait, when you are just looking last minute, I suggest this site.
2) Their reward program isn’t bad. Sites like Agoda have a very vague “points system” where you don’t know exactly what you will get. Hotels is simple, buy 10 night, 1 free (average price of the previous 10).
3) The bad stuff: They charge a ridiculous mark up on check out. They have “fees AND taxes” which add about 12% on top of the price you see on the search. While this is usually small and worth it for cheaper hotels, it would definitely become a problem when the difference between two sites is small. It is also not counted towards the rewards.
4) Customer service. If you have any question, you can call them 24 hours a day and they respond quickly.
5) As of last year, Hotels.com now includes HOSTELS. While I love hostels, I find this misleading because sometimes, you think you are getting a room, but it is really a shared bed. However, sometimes, hostels do rent the room at a set price, even if it has many beds. This was my experience in Japan, and had to call hotels.com to verify (the hotel only spoke Japanese).
6) It is often cheaper for 2 people. I often travel with my gf, and for two people, it is surprisingly cheaper to stay in a hotel than 2 beds in a hostel. While I do look at hostels first, I end up in hotels more than half of the time.
Other stuff:
I know from the past that you really like Agoda, but I find it one of the worst sites for booking. I am not trying to be a naysayer, and have often said “let’s give them another chance” but end up frustrated.
1) The #1 worst thing is that you can’t search by price. It is the only booking website that limits your ability to do this.
2) Searching by “stars” isn’t the same. While logic would suggest that the lower the star rating the cheaper (and Agoda really wants to sell this point), this is not often true. You miss out on deals because of this. For example, there could be a 3 star hotel at $40 on a discount, but if most 1 star hotels are in the $50 range, you might not scroll that far down. While you may think this is rare, it actually consistently happens if you search on hotels.com.
3) They deceive on pricing and discounts. Sometimes, you think you are getting a great deal with Agoda because “it used to be 200 but now, 80!” which is not true. Sometimes, I’ve had no choice because of availability and not knowing better “Asia” sites, but hotels have constantly told me that they have never had a room so high. It is a flat out lie to fool you into thinking you are saving money. This happened to me in Kenting, Taiwan and have since cross referenced from time to time to confirm the practice is widespread.
Another consideration:
For Asia, asiarooms.com is pretty good. They often have many rooms in Asia, are consistently cheaper than agoda, and as far as I know, do not deceive. While some people say they don’t care about the company as long as it’s cheaper, personally, I don’t like giving business to cheats.
Thanks for the suggestions on other sites, I will definitely check them out.
Tony
I often use hotels.com. Sometimes I book a room right from the hotel lobby using my smartphone app.
Here’s my #1 tip. Always, and I mean ALWAYS read the reviews. I’ve seen hotels that have amazing pictures that turned out to be rancid. Likewise, you can’t always rely on a brand. I’ve seen motel 6’s that are amazing, and others that are a last resort to not sleeping in your vehicle. Likewise, a 3rd floor smoking room at the Red Roof in Tulsa isn’t nearly as nice as the 2nd floor remodeled non-smoking rooms. And a Red Roof I stayed at in Houston was my worst experience ever, while my friend stayed at a Red Roof Inn in the same city and said it was better than the Holday Inn Express’s that he had stayed at for much more. Sometimes, the “price” just isn’t worth it. Having a good night’s sleep is worth a few extra bucks for the next listing, so read the reviews.
Tip #2: Always look to see if they charge for parking, and likewise, Wi-Fi in the room. The difference in price between your top 2 hotels can often be made up with just these 2 surcharges.
NomadicMatt
It’s always important to read the reviews and amenities before you book. You definitely don’t want to be blindsided when you check-in!
Deia
Hi Matt, this is the most thorough comparison of hotel sites I’ve seen! Great work! 🙂 I’m curious about your search results for HotelsCombined. I’ve found their price comparison to be fair in the past. Did you compare the prices on both websites (HotelsCombined & Expedia) after all the fees are added? Because HotelsCombined includes fees in their prices and Expedia doesn’t.
NomadicMatt
HotelsCombined is a good meta-search site but it didn’t show as many listings as they promised. Personally, I wasn’t blown away by them or the prices they uncovered. They mostly showed the booking sites I listed.
Flugeule
Hi and thanx for such a good research and the article. I have never heard of Tingo and I will try it out soon! I also wanted to ask what you think of apps like Hotel Tonight? I know it is only a last minute booking app, but think when you try to find cheap hotels it is a very good resource. I always book my flights an hotel seperate, so when I arrived at my destination I check the rates and wait till around 6pm and then I book a cheap room.
NomadicMatt
Hotel Tonight turns out some pretty good results. It’s definitely a winner in my book.
Tony Page
Hi Matt,
I’ve stayed in quite a lot of hotels from dead cockroach to decadent (usually the five star ones were when I was working!), and I’ve found that while on one occasion one site had the lowest price for a particular hotel, for another hotel on a different occasion it was less competitive. I’m not clear whether you were comparing the same hotel on all the sites, but I think that’s got to be a given, just going on the star or any other rating really isn’t enough.
Another point: if you’re just looking for the cheapest gig, that’s one thing, but most people have other factors which feed into their choice too, like location, character, etc. Personally, I zero in on a few possibles, then check the main sites for prices on those hotels. I was surprised that Booking.com didn’t come out better in your survey, but then I don’t know much about the US, only Europe and Asia. Venere is pretty good for Italy, especially (full and frank disclosure: we use both on our site!).
BTW, as this is my first comment on your blog, may I say that you’ve got pretty solid content on your site compared to most travel blogs I read (I like your straightforward videos, too). More strength to your arm!
NomadicMatt
People definitely take a lot of different things into consideration when they book a hotel. There’s no doubt about it. But that’s all subjective – this was just to see which site consistently returned the cheapest results.
Kay
Wow! Thank you Matt for sharing all of your research for free. I don’t travel much but I’m starting to do more of late. I travel alone and I feel so overwhelmed and stressed out when making my travel arrangements. I feel like I have the word “Newbie” stamped on my forehead! I’m in the process of planning a trip to Ashville NC and Miami. I will definitely be following your steps and websites mentioned. Thanks again!! I’m going to buy your book about how to travel for free in the near future! Happy travels!
Wendy
I just want to say you can go wrong with Tingo. Forget rest easy or peace of mind. Let’s say you book the standard room for $100 then the deluxe is advertised at $90 and as the Tingo website says tingo gets you the lowest price and then makes sure you keep getting the lowest price – yay right your gonna pay less – wrong! You will be stuck in a worse room at a higher price no upgrade and no refund for you because it’s a different room type and believe me there’s a lot of room types and a lot of fine print. The room you booked may mysteriously never get cheaper as Tingo advertises rooms with all sorts of names at lower prices but never rooms by the name of the ones they’ve already sold. Be very very careful. Tingo can be a very bad experience.
NomadicMatt
I agree! Hence why I didn’t mention them in the article! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Michael Mohammed
That’s interesting. It’s exactly the same thing I found out this year. I’ve been doing a lot of travel this year to both Asia and Europe and found that Agoda and Booking.com is exactly how you found them: Agoda best for Asia, Booking best for Europe (also had good results with it for South America).
Elizabeth Nubel
Thanks for the interesting post! Finding cheaper hotels is definitely something that I search for during my travels. I want to stay somewhere nice (i’m not a hostel girl!) but I don’t want to spend a lot. Booking.com is my favorite site at the moment as well.
Debbie Johnson
Thanks for the info Matt! I have a blog also called One Star Wanderlust. I try to give cheap travel tips, so your post fits right in with my blog. May I repost it on my site? I also have found booking.com to be quite good and cheap.
Jack
Really great article and super useful. You mention Expedia but not ebookers? I find the ebookers is great because of their rewards scheme and if you make multiple separate bookings for one holiday you can use the points early from the last towards the next booking. Would be interesting to see if they are the same price as Expedia as they are the same company.
Nakisha William
Most of the time of my travel, I booked the hotels seat by the third party websites. But after whole reading, I know that the best way to find hotel seat by less price.
But it is possible all the time, because when I will go in a place where there is no way to find the hotel.
Thanks for your practical tips.
Serhat
Great tips about finding the most reasonable and convenient hotel room. Thank you for sharing.
AHMED IJAZ
Great post! I’ve recently found out that an app/website called Zen Rooms have the same properties listed on Agoda (Hotels in South-east Asian countries), but Zen Rooms don’t state/mention the actual property name, instead they mention it as “Zen Room (House number),(Road name)”. Unless we search Google maps, we will not be able to find both names under the same address. But, the magic is that Zen Rooms let’s you book the same properties listed on Agoda sometimes 50% cheaper than the published rates on Agoda.
Nina
I must say Booking. com is my favorite website, it’s easy to use and have million options to find perfect accommodations. Although they have great prices it is better to contact hotel directly, they are little bit cheaper. I never use Airbnb but I know a lot of people who use it often and they are delighted ??
Pilot Mark
Interesting post. Its always great to know when you’re travelling that you’ve got the best deal; and with so many different websites its easy to be tricked. Airbnb is a great option for meeting locals and sometimes more eccentric accommodation, although depending upon the location, going to a resort often proves a fantastic way to relax and spoil yourself.
Anabelle
Thank you for your great articles. I have a small travel blog as well and always look to you for inspiration. Thank you!
Sam
Airbnb is great but I always seen to have issues when I travel with my husband we can never seem to find a decent place or in a decent area that allows 2 people!
Bonnie J
Hi Matt,
Loved this article. I’ve had great luck with Hotwire. True, it’s a blind system… BUT they give you examples of which chains constitute a two star, three star hotel, etc. , and I love that I can pick the area/neighborhood, especially when we’ve gone to NYC.
Secondly, we have found that hotel loyalty programs have saved us a boatload of money. For ANYONE who travels for work, trust me, it’s well worth it. My husband travels periodically for business and stays in Marriott properties using their VISA (which I also use). We keep careful watch over our points, and on our trip to Italy stayed FREE at a Courtyard type property in Florence near the train station and in Venice at the Marriott resort there on a private island (they had free shuttles to San Marco every 30 minutes). We take whatever they have available for our points. Some are basic and just nice, and others are over the top luxurious like the one in Venice. But we always know we’ll stay in a clean and safe place with a decent breakfast and reliable advice from the staff. It’s available, so why not?
Nick Harding
Matt. Your comparisons of different sites is truly valuable but what I couldnt find is how to find the email address etc of individual hotels. One can read travel guides (Lonely Planet, Rough guide etc) and find an hotel recommended but if you google the hotel, the results are swamped by middle men such as booking.com and so on. So how does one manage to contact an hotel direct?
Nick
Izy Berry
I was just about to ask why you thought Booking was bad! Then I continued reading lol. I’ve also tried calling the hotel directly and that’s been quite helpful getting cheaper rates.
Evie Jones
This is a really insightful post, especially since my fiance and I are always booking dozens of hotels when we go traveling. I hope you don’t mind me asking but I’ve actually been looking for some places to visit on our honeymoon as I’m getting married next year. I’ve been looking at this Luxury Brand website called berkeleytravel.co.uk and they specialise in luxury hotels. Have you any notion on them or worked with them before? I’d love to know before we book as I’m always excited for a second opinion. They promise luxury accommodations and exotic trips away with a luxury element. Thanks for sharing this blog post, I’m definitely telling the hubby we have to try different hotel bookings in future.
Herbal
I used tripadvisor.com to read up on “housing” reviews Taipei, Taiwan and Hualien, Taiwan. For Taipei, I used another site to book an bnb.
For Hualien, I used booking.com to find a hotel which offered a room with two king sized beds for us family of five: 3 kids and two adults. Other sites like expedia, orbitz, agoda, etc. did not offer as many room options as bookng.com.
They had single, double, and queen beds but for some reason their listings did not rooms with two king beds.
Price wise, I don’t think booking.com was any cheaper, but they had the room configuration we wanted. They also offer two prices for your room: a cheaper non refundable reservation and a more expensive refundable reservation.
Our refundable room was probably $30 (USD) more than the non refundable rate. BOOKING.com came through for us.
Iulian
I always use Agoda or Booking but I saw that you can find good accomodation using google and writing accomodation in…. and you will receive more prices from more sites.
Thanks for the article Matt. You are the best
Bella
I am an avid user of travel clubs. There is a bunch out there. The one that has worked the best so far was Wholesale Hotels Group.
Keith
Agree, that’s not bad… I only use the $5 plan because I don’t travel much but that has worked for me so far…
Liz
I’m not always a huge fan of Booking.com but a few times I’ve cancelled my non-refundable booking through it at last minute (fully expecting to still have to pay) and have never been charged. Had this a couple of times with hostels in Europe and a few times at guest houses in Asia.
Megan M.
Totally share your views on expensive hotels. Being a sort of active traveller, I need a roof only for a night. So I always have to search for the cheapest options available. Many friends of mine agitate me to try Couchsurfing. Free accommodation sounds attractive but at the same time I don’t want to risk staying with strangers, you never know what to expect. What is your opinion on this service?
Ridley Fitzgerald
Thanks for the tips for booking hotels. We want to try and travel more, and saving money on hotels is important for us. I’ll definitely have to try some of the sites you mentioned here, like Booking.com or something.
Tim
Don’t forget about using a Corporate Discount Code to get a good deal on a room, when staying at a major chain. You have to be an employee, vendor or customer of the firm with the code and it can save you 25% or more off the room rates
Doug T
Your brief statement about rewards programs simply said to accumulate points with the big hotel chains. Unless you travel constantly for work, it will take years to have enough to use that way.
You didn’t mention Hotels.com (that I noticed) and we use them exclusively. While I can probably find slightly cheaper rates if I use multiple services, I think the Hotels.com Rewards Program is wonderful.
For every 10 nights you stay at ANY participating hotel, you get 1 Free night to use at ANY participating hotel. The value of the Free night is based on the average price of those 10 stays.
Additionally, over the last 10 years when I have had the need to use their customer support they have gone above and beyond not just to make sure my problem was resolved but to make sure I was happy with the resolution.