Us Brits love nothing more than the excitement of booking a good holiday with our friends or as a family – but how do you know if you’re really getting a good deal?
More and more people are looking to book their holidays themselves these days, rather than using a travel agent. So it’s important that you know what you’re looking for and are able to easily weigh up the pros and cons of hotels so that you can be sure you’re going to be staying in a nice hotel that is good value for money.
But where are you supposed to start?! Here are some of our top things to look out for.
Check the Location
Ok, so a hotel may look and sound amazing from the outset – but if it’s in the middle of nowhere – then is there really any point?
If you’re booking an all-inclusive resort through TUI for example, and don’t plan on leaving the hotel, then it’s generally not much of an issue. But always check first as you may find that it’s a long distance away from the airport.
However, most of the time when you go on holiday it’s because you want to go out and explore and see something new! So even if the hotel you find may seem like a bargain, you may have to fork loads of cash out while you’re there either on a hire car or taxis if you’re not within walking distance to the main attractions.
Read the Reviews
Out of all the points we mention, reviews have to be the best tell-telling sign to know whether you’re really getting a good deal on your hotel or not.
Sure, we all have different tastes and what may be a positive or a negative to one person may not be the same for you. But if there are numerous reviews to read through then you can generally get a good overall gist of what a hotel is really like.
TripAdvisor is one of the best places to find unbiased and honest reviews. So treat that like your holy grail before booking any trip! That being said, it is always important to remember to take some reviews you read with a pinch of salt and to read as many as you can as we all have very different tastes and opinions.
Look Through the Pictures
As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words!
You can read all the reviews and descriptions of a hotel in the world – but pictures are one of the best ways to get a true feel of what a hotel is like.
It’s the easiest way to see if the hotel rooms are to your taste, how big the pool is, what amenities the hotel has, and even how close you are to things like the beach. You can usually find plenty of pictures on the hotel website such as Radisson Hotels, on review sites, or you could even look up social media accounts of the hotel to see images in real-time.
Use Price Comparison Sites
Like with anything, price comparison sites are a brilliant way to make sure you’re getting a good deal on your purchase.
Sites like Expeida will quickly compare deals for the hotel you’re looking at from various booking websites and travel agents so you can easily see that the price you’ve seen is the best you can currently get it for.
We’d suggest always taking a look at one of these websites first, and if you decide that you’re not in a position to book right away then sign up and you may be able to receive alerts if the deal you’ve seen has a price drop.
Check Other Accommodation
A hotel is generally the first type of accommodation that anyone thinks of when planning their next city break or summer holiday.
But a hotel isn’t always the cheapest option or the best deal. If you’re looking to go self-catering then be sure to check out other types of accommodations such as Away Resorts first for apartments, villas, or holiday homes and compare the value of money for that option compared to the hotel.
You may find that staying in an apartment somewhere could actually be cheaper. Or a villa may cost you a little more, but you may decide that the space you would have there would actually give you better value for money.
Consider Flexibility
Last but not least, it’s always good to consider how flexible your hotel deal is before committing to anything.
As we’ve noticed particularly over the last couple of years, you really don’t ever know for sure what’s going to happen in the future and there are always things that you can’t pre-empt.
Booking a hotel with a flexible cancellation policy such as Travelodge can make the deal so much more appealing and could save you a lot of money should you need to cancel or change the dates of your trip.
