Holiday Planning Proves Tricky This Time of Year
Are you planning a trip? Winter holidays are around the corner and travelling is already on the minds of many of us, right? After being cooped up inside our houses for almost two years (thanks to Covid), now all that many of us want is to just be able to explore different destinations and locations with our own pace.
Whether you are planning a solo or a family trip, here we have shared a few travel tips for you to keep in mind to make your vacation safe, fun, affordable and also exciting! Check them out.
This is the first and the foremost thing to do to avoid a hotel nightmare. All you need to do is to scour the internet well and go through hotel ratings and reviews. This is one of the best things about the internet, as you can learn well about a hotel through genuine hotel reviews from users.
You ask how will this help? Well, comparing hotel reviews will not just give you a clear picture of what you are getting into, but you can also shortlist your favourite hotel pick based on the overall ratings. The higher the rating, the better it is!
Check Hotel Ratings and Reviews
Well, don’t blindly trust what you see on the internet. You may think this is a contradictory statement; however hotel ratings and reviews are fine, but in most cases, the images uploaded on the website are not exactly the whole truth.
The online pictures on hotel websites are meant to attract customers, hence what we suggest is that you can directly get in touch with the manager and ask him to provide you with the images taken on mobile phone or by any customer who had stayed there before.
Unless it is a 5-star hotel of repute, do not fall for glossy pictures online.
Check The Hotel Amenities
Amenities are important part of the travel checklist. Every hotel website has their amenities listed, so ensure to check them out well in advance.
Note that something as simple as hot water or TV or something as important as WiFi may be missing from your hotel amenities, and you need to know that before go ahead with the booking to avoid any kind of disappointment.
If you are a wanderlust by heart then you would already know how important this one is! If you have made hotel reservation far from all the city attractions, then of course you are in trouble.
Remember that travelling also costs money, and if you are away from the things to need to see or do, then you’d end up spending more on just conveyance. Thumb rule – always book hotels in popular areas, places that have adequate security.
Please note it is always best to get breakfast included with your hotel stay and this you must ensure while making your reservation. While many hotels include breakfast with your stay, there are some that do not.
Hence, it is advisable to always enquire about this well in advance and you can also ask about veg and non-veg food options, based on your requirements, so that you know what you are getting into!
Best Tips for Hotel Booking
Turns out there’s a sweet spot for booking hotels cheaply. Contrary to what you might expect, a recent Nerdwallet study concludes that it’s cheaper to book a hotel 15 days before your stay—not months before, as is the conventional wisdom. However, there are trade-offs to consider, not least of which is ensuring that the hotel room will still be available when you try to book.
Rooms booked 15 days in advance are about 13% cheaper
Nerdwallet studied hotel rates worldwide between 2019 to 2021 and found that the average rate when the hotel room booked 4 months in advance was $233. This was higher when compared to the average rate of $203 when the room was booked 15 days in advance—a difference of 13%.
The study looked at other variables, too. In terms of luxury, the average savings was much higher for high-end hotels, as rooms were 21.6% cheaper when booked 15 days in advance.
That effect was dampened for mid- to lower-range hotels, however, as they were only 9.4% and 5.5% cheaper, respectively (which makes sense, since they have fewer frills to offer).
As for international versus domestic hotels, there wasn’t much difference between properties in North America (12.7% savings) compared to all other countries (13.5% savings).
Lowest Hotel Price Ever
Should you be booking all your hotels 15 days in advance, then?
Not necessarily. You might get a cheaper rate hotel by booking 15 days later, but that comes with an increased risk of a hotel being unavailable when you need it, especially during a peak travel period (e.g., hotels can fill up fast when there’s a convention in town).
Plus, you’ll likely have other bookings to change or cancel if your hotel doesn’t work out, like for airfare, car rentals, and vacation days.
And considering all the planning and unknowns that come with international travel, you might be happy paying for a room that’s been reserved well in advance.
On the other hand, if you have maximum flexibility about when you travel, then hotel booking 15 days in advance to get a cheaper price makes more sense.
As Nerdwallet points out, many hotels also offer free cancellations, up to 48 or 72 hours in advance, which means that you could book ahead, cancel with 15 days remaining (if the posted rate is actually lower), and then book that hotel again (although, again, there’s a slight risk that the hotel room won’t be available)—especially for luxury hotels.
That said, the 13% discount is an average, so the actual savings will likely vary and possibly not be worth the hassle.