Accommodation reservation
Booking accommodation is not a rocket science. There are many websites available where you can secure quality accommodation. But what should you watch out for?
When to book accommodation
Whenever I plan a trip, I first look for flight tickets and then check the prices of accommodation in the destination on the dates I want to fly there. And that's before I buy anything. Why?
It's simple. It may happen that I get super cheap flights to some great place, but the accommodation will be worse. It won't be available in the places I would imagine, or it will cost a fortune. And then those great flights are for you know what...
So, simple advice. Don't buy anything until you know everything.. Clicking and paying is then easy.
Where to book accommodation
There are countless websites on the internet that offer hotel reservations all over the world. But I personally use probably the most common ones – booking.com a airbnb.com. I have had good experiences with them, both with booking, payment and refunds when cancelling accommodation. And even though I had to deal with one refund due to cancellation by the hotel for a long time with Booking.com, Booking.com's customer service was finally able to resolve everything to my satisfaction.
In which location to book accommodation
Here too, I will add my own experience. I don't want to waste time unnecessarily driving and commuting and thus increase my costs. That's why, before I book accommodation, I find out what I want to see in a given location and where I want to go. I often mark those places directly in Google Maps and then I aim for accommodation near these places.
The advantage is that I often don't have to deal with public transport, I can get to the accommodation on foot, etc.
But it's also a good idea to try googling the location and see if it's in a dangerous neighborhood, a neighborhood full of drug addicts or homeless people.
What accommodation to choose
It just depends on, What comfort do you need?. Always think about how much time you will spend here. Personally, I literally only have accommodation for sleeping. That's why I don't bother with any luxury that I would pay extra for. I don't even care much whether the accommodation is with meals or without. Although the breakfasts are nice. If you are planning to explore the city/surroundings, then you probably won't run to the hotel for lunch, right?.
But what do I recommend?, read the reviews. And not just on the sites where you make a reservation. Find the hotel you've chosen on maps, TripAdvisor or anywhere else and check the latest reviews. Often, accommodation on booking sites looks good, but then you'll find all sorts of horrors in the reviews that will put you off.
Cancel reservation
Also, before booking, think about whether you might need to deal with reservation cancellation. Often, accommodation without the possibility of cancellation is cheaper, but often such a discount may not be worth it. It depends on you. You can also choose whether you need to pay for all or part of the accommodation when booking, or later, or only on site. Again, what suits you. I personally have no problem paying directly when booking. But every hotel is different and if I don't have to pay right away and only on site, it's definitely better for me.
When choosing a hotel, be careful about: hidden fees. For example, in New York you may come across a so-called resort fee, which is $25/day. Hotels located in lucrative locations (like Times Square) have started charging it. They secretly increase the price of accommodation without it being visible on booking sites. They want this payment on the spot. And also beware of refundable deposit, which they may also ask you to do in some places.
What worked for me
Finally, I have a few more tips that have helped me a lot in solving some situations.
Accommodation distribution
When I was in New York over Christmas and New Year and was looking for accommodation, there were only a few available on Booking for the entire 10 nights and the prices started well above 45,000 CZK. It wasn't much better on other sites and Airbnb was unusable - NY had just introduced a new law regulating Airbnb.
So I was looking for two accommodations, each for half the nights. And suddenly the offer was much wider. Moreover, the accommodation that was available from January 1st was much cheaper. I used an airbnb in New Jersey, which was only 8 minutes by bus from Manhattan, and then accommodation directly in Manhattan on 34th Street. And instead of 45,000 CZK, I paid around 24,000 CZK.
Correspondence screening
It also happened to me that the hotel cancelled my accommodation on Booking precisely because of the new law in New York. And thanks to the fact that my payment did not go through Booking and I paid through the hotel's payment gateway, which the hotel sent me in a private message. After the accommodation was cancelled by the hotel, they did not have much to do with refunding the money. Booking referred me to the hotel, the hotel referred me back to Booking. The hotel eventually stopped responding completely.
But I screened and saved all the conversations just to be safe. When the one-month refund deadline passed, I used all the screens to file a complaint with Booking.com (along with a threat to take the refund to the bank and request a cancellation of the payment). It was resolved within three days. Here's the lesson.
Don't pay for reservations outside of the site where you make the reservation
If you pay for accommodation in advance, pay directly through the portal where you make the reservation. So if you make a reservation on Booking, pay through Booking's payment gateway. This will prevent possible problems, such as those described above.