Booking hotels

[Boomer 33202]

I travel quite a bit, go to Toronto 3-4 times a year for a ball game. Anyway, I generally get a pretty good deal using either Priceline or Hotwire. I had seen Jessica Lee recommend a service called Flipkey, so thought I'd give it a try this time. Bottom line, got a nice condo in Liberty Village nicer than any of the hotels I'd got before for similar price.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

It's very similar to Airbnb.

[Guest K***e D****ls]

If you're traveling alone and it's a personal trip, it's great. To incorporate this world can lead to no good. The person renting is usually not renting it out thinking 'this kind' of activity is going on in it. There was a big thing in NYC recently where the owner (it was through Airbnb) found proof (the business card of the working lady- one thing I've NEVER understood, condoms, etc) and went to the police and Airbnb, and it went to the press.

 

Obviously in the states, it's a straight-up legal issue. But here, it's just as much an issue because it can lead to problems for the person who's place it is (incall operations lead to traffic, unimpressed neighbors, possible legal issues). As someone who has investment property, I wouldn't want my place used for this activity.

 

But like I said, for personal travel, it can be a great deal.

[cinelli 22184]

Went on US road trip with some friends, we booked our own rooms but stayed at the same hotels.

Although Expedia claims to have the best prices I paid $20-40 dollars more for the same rooms...same hotel, same floor, same night. Not impressed. They went through an AGENT! I thought those days were over.

And Expedia bombarded me with spam for months afterward.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

Try using Kayak. It's basically a search engine for all the travel sites. It will search multiple travel sites (expedia, travelocity,...etc) for the best rate.

[roamingguy 300292]

I lost faith after the one time I used one of those booking sites. When I went down east for my father's funeral, I booked using one of those sites. Going through the booking, they had a "special", for a certain lower price, charged on my credit card, they would then pick the available hotel from three different 3 Star hotels, the Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn Express or Quality Inn. Well they picked the Quality Inn. I was locked in, already charged on my card, no backing out, no changes.

Well Quality Inn, the name is a lie. Sleeping in my truck would have been preferable. Bed soft, washroom is actually two rooms. A sink in the closet.

Toilet and tub across the entry hall from the closet. Toilet close to the wall. Where do they put the toilet paper holder, wall opposite...no, instead right beside the toilet, so it jams into your hip when sitting down.

This was no three star hotel. A one and half star maybe, and only because one star is given for free

I'm pretty good at picking my own hotels, and when an expert traveller's opinions is given, I listen. I also give back my experience when asked for

But had I picked my own hotel for down east I would never have gone to the Quality Inn and it would have been worth the extra expense for a comfortable hotel

A rambling

 

RG

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

Booking a Hotel can be hit and miss. On a business trip two years ago to a certain Northern Ontario city I booked a chain hotel off a booking site and ignored the comments of previous patrons. I should have followed up on their comments. The room was dated,the non smoking room on the second floor was above a smoking room that vented out to the outside where it was sucked into my room and of course I am allergic to smoke and the room smelt just like someone was smoking in it.My guest for the evening commented she could smell smoke too.I survived the night in that room but now I stay at a quality hotel chain like the Delta or Sheraton. I do read the comments about people say more though. Now I know about the hell I used to put my assitant through going through this stuff.

[Genevieve Marceau 68000]

I solely use the services of Magellan Travel Luxury. It's however only for luxury hotels in the major cities. The offer a very personalised service, free upgrades, complimentary perks, you can cancel 24 hours prior to your arrival, you don't need to purchase the package in advance, and their prices are very competitive compare to Trivago and TripAdvisor.

 

You can also find amazing deals on Jetsetter.

 

I would not rent a Airbnb location for incalls...When I am on a tour, I appreciate the hotel services at the tip of your finger: room service, room cleaning, concierge, taxi, etc.

[fortunateone 156618]

Booking a Hotel can be hit and miss. On a business trip two years ago to a certain Northern Ontario city I booked a chain hotel off a booking site and ignored the comments of previous patrons. I should have followed up on their comments. The room was dated,the non smoking room on the second floor was above a smoking room that vented out to the outside where it was sucked into my room and of course I am allergic to smoke and the room smelt just like someone was smoking in it.My guest for the evening commented she could smell smoke too.I survived the night in that room but now I stay at a quality hotel chain like the Delta or Sheraton. I do read the comments about people say more though. Now I know about the hell I used to put my assitant through going through this stuff.

 

 

I have for foreign travel checked out the reviews on tripadvisor, i think it is. They allow customer photos of the rooms. There is nothing as revealing as guest photos of the rooms lol

 

also, had good luck when I am searching using Expedia, because of the reviews and ratings.

 

What I do not like, is to reserve a room, you have to pay for the room. If anything goes wrong, and it is less than 24 hours, oh well. I booked a Hong Kong hotel (NOT CHEAP) and the person I booked it for didn't like the room (FUSSY) and so changed hotels, and of course in HK even if you book via a china travel site (ctrip) I couldn't get the $$ back.

 

Mainland china, on ctrip, most of the hotels you can get a reservation without paying in full, and just pay at the hotel, but at least the room is booked for you.