How to choose the right hotel for your vacation
sergiy
January 31, 2022
The choice of hotels is great. And everything seems good (if you believe the ads and descriptions presented on the sites of reservation systems). But at the same time, not all hotels will suit you in reality, if you do not pay attention to some points. This article outlines the basic rules of choosing a hotel, following which to some extent, you can (hopefully) choose a decent and inexpensive hotel (or any other option for living) that will meet all your requirements and expectations.All the issues discussed below are passed through the prism of the personal and rich experience of the author of the note, who lived during his travels in more than a hundred hotels (as well as apartments, houses, motels, hostels, guest houses, campsites, etc.) in 30 European countries.There were sometimes, of course, not very good options, but here's how to avoid them, and I'll try to tell including. The information below implies that the pre-selection of accommodation options has already been carried out, that is, the obviously unsuitable options have been discarded with the help of filters, the remaining ones are sorted by price, and you begin to consider them in detail.
These are the basic rules. The first seven points should always be considered when choosing a hotel. The remaining four points (from the 8th to the 12th) - if necessary and if desired. For example, if you do not travel by car, what difference does it make whether the hotel has parking or not? Below is a complete description of the information provided on the standard hotel page in the reservation system, with explanations.
User reviews (ie people who have stayed at this hotel) are, along with the average rating of the hotel, the most important piece of information to be analyzed when making a decision: book or search for more. In the general description of the hotel from "Booking" (which goes just below the photos of the hotel), you will not find any criticism of the hotel - there is always everything good and wonderful, because in fact, the hotel description is advertising.
But the reviews are written by real people who lived in this hotel. And they write "as is", not as seen by the owner of the hotel or the booking system (which is also interested in you staying in this hotel, because the system receives commissions for it).
In the process of this review, you just need to open the page of each hotel and evaluate each option in the order of location on the page of the hotels already selected according to the required criteria. With the right use of filters (ie with proper pre-selection), a suitable hotel is usually on the first page.
Hotel selection rules For convenience, the hotel selection rules are formed in a separate list, and below is a breakdown of its items. Which moments are important to you and which are not very - this decision is up to you. When choosing a specific object for a holiday, you should pay special attention to the following points:
1.Evaluation of the accommodation by other users - the longer you are going to live on the object, the higher should be its evaluation.2.Reviews of other users about this object - are subject to mandatory study (you need to read at least a couple of dozen).
3.Options of rooms available to the object, which is included in the price of the room (VAT, city tax, etc.), Options for payment of the object (cash only, or you can pay by card, payment through "Booking", etc.).
4.The possibility of free cancellation, as well as the terms and conditions of cancellation.
5.The possibility of free cancellation, as well as the terms and conditions of cancellation. 7.Booking conditions (fee for non-arrival at the hotel and other points).
8.Arrival and departure times, possible conditions (restrictions) for early arrival or late departure. 9.Conditions (possibilities) of accommodation on the object with children - the availability of free extra beds, conditions (and fees) for their provision, etc.
10.Availability of parking, as well as the location of the object in terms of convenience of access to it by car - when traveling by car.
11.The location of the object relative to other elements of infrastructure (proximity to the center, public transport stops, supermarkets, etc.) - to taste. 12.What language do the hotel staff speak - if you know a foreign language well, it is advisable that the staff speaks it too. In principle, in the vast majority of hotels, English "steers".
Hotel rating and reviews - why and how to read them
Hotel user rating (or hotel user rating) is the most important parameter for choosing a hotel: pay attention to it when choosing a hotel - it is always necessary. In general, it is necessary to choose hotels with a rating of "8.0" and above on a ten-point scale (or 4.0 on a five-point scale), although, in some cases, you can choose a hotel with a rating of "7+ ».
You, too, in turn will be asked to leave your feedback on the object of accommodation (after eviction you will receive an e-mail with an invitation to evaluate the hotel and leave feedback on it). Try to use this opportunity, and cross out lines of five or six about the object - help others with the choice. The link in the letter will be valid for a month, so you can leave a review about the hotel after returning home from vacation (in a quiet environment).