How do you choose a hotel?

[aikman]

I find choosing a hotel to be the least pleasant in planning holidays. Not so bad in smaller towns or where you have very specific requirements but quite difficult in big cities where there are literally hundreds of hotels to choose from. I like to find good value where I can so it takes me a while to find the right balance of price, location and perceived quality. I end up having to read a lot of tripadvisor reviews which is time consuming. I also usually check most of the hotel booking websites multiple times since prices and availability vary and each site usually have their own % or $ off promotion codes at any given time. There's also private rentals, secret hotel deals, bidding (eg. priceline) and hotel loyalty programs to consider and complicate things even more. Do you have any strategies on how you go about choosing hotels to make the process easier?

 

[RooFlyer]

I have the same issues as you.

My first preference is for an Accor hotel, as that's the brand I have status on. However I don't stay with them unless both the location (within the city) and price is right. They are also relatively thin on the ground in many places I go to (eg Canada), so I tend to look at Fairmont there. I gave up on strict 'loyalty' to any hotel chain long ago, as I never got to the very top status and it was a false economy.

Novotel or Radisson standard hotel is OK for me in western type cities.

For cities unknown to me, I use Trip Advisor both the see reviews (which I take with a lot of salt, and 'filter' with respect to the reviewer's origin and number of reviews on TR) and the map of hotel locations. This gives a good overview of what's where and the range of prices. I usually try to stay either close to attractions (ie the 'Old town' in eastern Europe) and/or close to transport in big cities. In remote places, or third-world type countries I go for the best hotel available.

I also ask my Travel Agent for any personal recommendations; the agent sends an e-mail round the office (about 15 agents) and there's quite deep knowledge there. They are also a Virtuoso agent, so can get me get discounts and perks on some top line places. I don't use hotel booking aggregator web sites.

Edit: And of course I look at Trip Reports on AFF - some of the best tips and insights are to be found there .

 

[Ausbt]

1 Price / value equation - must fit into the corporate budget. I'll pay personally over budget on occasion, when I'm trying to meet criteria 2 & 3 below
2 Gym - needs to have a decent facilities. Precor equipment of a decent standard like Hilton HSW as an example
3 Breakfast - a good brekkie will sway me

 

[Alanslegal]

I also find it time consuming but it can be highly worth it if you a great rate. For example staying at the St Regis New York was pretty cool, where I had breakfast in bed, my shoes shined and my shirts pressed by my butler and it cost me nothing

I prefer to stay at a certain hotel group. I look at Tripadvisor for the candid photos because it shows a realistic vision of the hotel (rather than the professional ones that makes any room look amazing). I then use the hotels' Best Rate Guarantee to better the rate; I have had several comments about my low rates but keep those comments coming because it just confirms how good the rate is.

If my hotel group is not in that city, I start off with Tripadvisor and I sort them in ranking order - high to low, and start from there. I have a budget in mind too, so I find the first highly rated hotel in my price range, and go through the whole process. I look at the rates directly, if they have one I will look at the Best Rate Guarantee policy (I have used several BRG programs successfully over the years including SPG, Hilton, Marriott, Swissotel).

There are several sites that I use to search (hotelpricefinder, hotelscombined etc), and there are some specific websites (cheaptickets) that I use as there are promo codes running throughout the year.

I also compare with opaque sites (priceline, hotwire) and use betterbidding to help identify the property.

And to top it off, I do use airBNB as well.

 

[Buzzard]

I don't currently have the opportunity for much overseas travel.
Within Australia I stay loyal to Hilton first then Rydges. That said I won't pay "over the top" to stay at either but so far have been happy with the rates found.

When I book a room I always make sure it is refundable. This allows me to keep an eye on prices as sometimes closer to the date you will find a drop. At other times I have seen the price double or more.

Depending upon your circumstances always compare Govt., AAA and Senior Rate offers.
With Hilton I have found there is no consistency as to which rate is best so you need to check all that are available to you.

 

[dmitri]

My strategy is to let my wife choose (not my idea, all hers) due to an incident on our very first OS trip where I picked what seemed like a good spot in Hammersmith. Long story short, toilet paper blocking holes in the bathroom roof sealed my hotel planning fate for ever.

 

[coco50]

I find choosing a hotel to be the least pleasant in planning holidays. Not so bad in smaller towns or where you have very specific requirements but quite difficult in big cities where there are literally hundreds of hotels to choose from. I like to find good value where I can so it takes me a while to find the right balance of price, location and perceived quality. I end up having to read a lot of tripadvisor reviews which is time consuming. I also usually check most of the hotel booking websites multiple times since prices and availability vary and each site usually have their own % or $ off promotion codes at any given time. There's also private rentals, secret hotel deals, bidding (eg. priceline) and hotel loyalty programs to consider and complicate things even more. Do you have any strategies on how you go about choosing hotels to make the process easier?

I never look at Tripadvisor reviews - many of them are setups. In large cities I like to be near the CBD and close to transport. My minimum standard of hotel is 4* - regardless of the cost. My TA is good at finding properties that meet my criteria. The only loyalty programs I belong to are SPG and Accor. Where there are Accor properties I will book there - usually myself rather than TA

 

[clazman]

I use Trip advisor maps to see hotels in the area I want to stay, then skim through the reviews and then direct to the hotel website and if happy book directly

 

[JohnK]

It's never easy choosing hotel unless you have stayed there before.

My first rule of thumb is room rate <AUD100/night unless chasing points in some hotel loyalty program. Thankfully I can achieve that most of the time.

 

[OATEK]

I use Tripadvisor and Booking.com to review the Hotels in a particular city, as cross-checking the reviews usually weeds out the obvious setups/trolls etc. I always aim to book directly with the hotel where possible.

 

[sausagefingers]

I always start with personal recommendations, from family, friends, work colleagues first via asking a question on Facebook etc.
then I use Trip advisor and trawl through reviews which my wife and I do together in our home office, its part of the holiday planning that we enjoy so much.
finding nice hotels in great locations for a good price. We can spend hours showing each other hotels we've found and comparing our finds in a shared spreadsheet.

We use a point system of 1-3 based on price/location/trip Advisor reviews/extras like breakfast and free parking
Then once everything is compiled we come up with our top three picks for each destination we're travelling too and then she just chooses where we go cause whats the point in arguing right?

 

[Spongbob]

We generally look at (1) location, (2) reviews, and (3) price. Many hotels fall into the same price bracket, so (1) and (2) are the main criteria.

 

[amaroo]

Location
Brand

 

[Haplo]

I would choose the cheapest room while at the same time taking into consideration at hotels where I have stats.

 

[NZflygirl]

I have to admit I'm just turning my attention to figuring out hotels this yr.....and probably next! Im a slow learner
i do very much like google maps. You get the location of hotels, you see how far it is from transport as the blue buses or train stations are obvious, then you can click on the hotels as they have their own icons and up comes prices, pictures and reviews

In large cities of course there are motels/hotels for Africa but you should settle on an area to stay. New city, always Google worst districts or unsafe parts although you're unlikely to find a Hilton in Compton.

Staying further out is probably cheaper but then may require a car rental which is expensive or if you have a car then staying central stinks as you get charged an arm and a leg for parking! I try to use public transport if central and look for hotel shuttles too and will only book the car for the days needed to avoid parking costs and it's cheaper than picking up from the airport although dropping off to airport is no extra AFAIK and saves you the fare back to the airport. If short trips I've found sometimes a taxi is cheaper than renting a car.

Anyway, after location sorted I'll try to stay with a hotel I have signed up with as you may as well collect points for future free or reduced nights. These hotels are recognisable on google maps anyway and I have the apps to log in and get an idea of the direct prices. I think the main chains eg Hilton, SPG, etc are ok so I'm not fussed about reviews. Accor I have to admit I've not been a fan of Mercure in NZ and Oz but had a good experience in Paris. Still liveable though. Remaining hotels seem ok though. I'm not loyal enough to go for major top status and I think the benefits aren't really worth it like they are with flying. So it's really the points arm of the loyalty programs that interests me most.

If I'm going away from hotel chains then I like hotels.com because I want to aim for free nights so I also look for price and order high to low then go down to my budget range. Hotels.com also provides maps for location. If it's work related I'm likely to book through hotels.com, if personal then I'll check the price directly with hotel as sometimes it's cheaper and I'll forego collecting nights with hotels.com.

After location and price I mostly go by the pics but if I'm going to an island or rural/remote/small town then I'll look at reviews.
Actually I tend to hunt or book the more expensive rooms on the trip (as my +1 would never splurge) and I leave the places I care less about eg "transit hotels = 1 night stays" to him but he has to run them past me first. That way he gets to look through reviews which I find time consuming and he doesn't get to balk at the other places I book but has to still go halves in paying for

What I need to refine is getting the best deal and looking into these BRG or learning to book Flexi and checking for deals that come up to swap to as there aren't always promos on when you do your initial search. I think this is where trivago and hotels combined etc come in. Looks like I should also be making enquiries with a travel agent if they have any cheaper deals. But this adds another layer of time consumed. But I will take significant savings over points any day.

I Think if I weren't considering hotel chains then hotels.com trivago would be front line websites and yes, require more review reading. Location, price, pics, extras eg parking, breakfast etc are still my priorities and in that order. I think my partner said sites like Agoda were better for Asia. I don't know which sites are better for which regions but.....there's only so many websites I can be bothered checking!! I think I would choose a few hotels then check the other sites for comparison pricing on those chosen hotels.

Maybe in a couple yrs time when I'm done with accommodation I can go onto car programs. Meantime I've signed up with them all

 

[OzEire]

One factor for me is very hard to know before booking...What is it with hotels never having a real queen or king bed? They always seem to be two single beds pushed together. Okay so it's not the most important thing in a hotel room, and I get that hotels want to have flexibility to use their rooms for twin stays, but every now and then it would be nice to stay in a room with a real bed. Couldn't they have some rooms that aren't twin bedded?

And it's hardly confined to cheap hotels as I've seen this in luxury properties as well. Am I alone wanting a good night's rest without the faux Queensize and it's mid-mattress ridge ?

 

[AnnaB]

I usually start with Tripadvisor. Sort hotels using rating hight to low, look at location, what is nearby. Pick a few that looks good within a certain price range.
Than I look closer at reviews. Not the good ones, but the ones with one or two stars. What are their complaints, are there any value to it, is certain issues coming back over and over, are they within a certain time frame, like when opening up etc. Some have been taken off the table immediately even though they rate 5 star.
Then look at realistic photos, not the ones provided by management but by tourists as they give a true picture.

If I dont really know where to go in a city I might go to Tripadvisor forum and ask a question and so far I have been given some fantastic recommendations. Still fantastic hotels but often a bit in the background.

We usually stay loyal to certain hotels or chains. Depending on where we go, we do have our favourites. I love The Langham and if they are available I do tend to look at their options but sometimes its not viable. Otherwise I usually go with SPG or Marriott as they normally have hotels where we go.

I then start to try and find better deals and prices through other booking sites, clear out the cookies and browser history on my laptop to see if I can get even better prices. Then I go to the hotel directly and get them to price match and get the points as well.

Important to me is a good bed and great breakfast. Location to suit what I am doing. And preferably a room that is quiet! Not one where I can hear the neighbours going to the toilet or people walking in the hallways. There are several hotels I just loved but I wouldnt stay again as they are just so noisy.

 

[Ausbt]

i do very much like google maps.

Taking a street-view 'tour' is highly helpful. If you see a plethora of Tattoo shops and 99 cent stores, it's usually an indicator (of where you can finally get your sleeve finished off and score some cheap toilet rolls ). Good for scoping out nearby eating options too, I generally dislike eating in hotels as it's pretty boring.

I'm out and about in the US right now and passing through some lesser-known places. Looking foward to Northern Michigan, looks like some interesting places and particulary since I'm a skier, some little known resorts (skiing's over but still interesting to check them out).

 

[coco50]

One factor for me is very hard to know before booking...What is it with hotels never having a real queen or king bed? They always seem to be two single beds pushed together. Okay so it's not the most important thing in a hotel room, and I get that hotels want to have flexibility to use their rooms for twin stays, but every now and then it would be nice to stay in a room with a real bed. Couldn't they have some rooms that aren't twin bedded?

And it's hardly confined to cheap hotels as I've seen this in luxury properties as well. Am I alone wanting a good night's rest without the faux Queensize and it's mid-mattress ridge ?

This is one thing that really irks me about hotels. And I disagree with you on the point about importance. To me the bed is really important. With these faux king size beds, I usually end up in the crack, pretty close to the floor.