Are you planning an overseas vacation? You ought to plan a lot of things ahead starting from learning about the climate for packing things, insurance documentation, visa documents and so on. However, the most important thing to deal with is accommodation. Choosing a local hotel could be overwhelming with all the marketing gimmicks and review sites on the internet. When it comes to choosing a hotel in an overseas location, the questions are numerous. We talked with a few avid world travelers and have compiled a few steps to help you choose the right hotel.
Table of Contents
Filter and sort
There is no shortcut to this step. You ought to sort the hotels based on your price range and filter out undesirable ones. In some cases, hotels, which are a little lower or higher to your price range might be a better fit for you. So, keep an open mind when it comes to budget. There are numerous sites on the internet, which provides a listing of hotels in any area, sorted with price, availability, amenities, distance from the airport and so on. This makes your work easier but, do not blindly choose the one from the top of the list. You ought to do your filtering, manually.
Personalized suitability
Are you flying with a pet? You ought to choose a hotel, which is open for guests to stay with pets. Are you traveling with kids, make sure that the hotels you filter or kid-friendly. In some countries, most of the hotels would be smoking-free. If you are a chain smoker, you might have to take pains in finding a smoker-friendly hotel or choose any e-cigarettes. Smoking-free hotels are open for an e-cigarette. If you have any physical needs like a wheelchair or others, you should talk to the hotel to know whether they have accessibility for such custom requests.
Amenities and facilities
You do not have to choose hotels with all the amenities and facilities in the dictionary. If you are not planning to have a swimming time with family, you do not have to look around for an open-air swimming pool. Make a list of the basic amenities you are looking for. Remember that safety and hygiene are very essential than a couple of luxury pampering facilities. Do not blindly believe every amenity given on the website. If a facility is of grave importance to you, talk to the front office of the hotel and ask whether they have the facility on the premises. For instance, if you are looking for a hotel with a vegan restaurant, talk to the representative to know whether the restaurant is functioning or not.
Vicinity of attractions
It is better to choose a hotel, which is in the center of the city. This will help you save a considerable amount of money and time during traveling to tourist attractions. In some cases, tourists prefer choosing hotels overlooking any tourist attractions for a grand view. If you are visiting the destination to take part in an event or for business-related work, it is better to choose hotels closer to the airport.
Read hotel reviews
By the end of this step, you would have shortlisted a couple of hotels. To weed out the bad ones, it is best to look at customer reviews. Do not just believe reviews posted on the hotel website. Choose third party review sites to learn about the hotel. Do not avoid a hotel just because it has one or two negative reviews. Choose hotels with better customer satisfaction. Learn how they have handled the bad reviews and how they rectified a problem. Good hotel management should be able to deal with a last-minute crisis with a smile.
Pre-booking options
It is best to book hotels before you start your vacation. It is not wise to do everything at the eleventh hour. In today’s technological world, almost all hotels are open for pre-booking. However, it is better to avoid any hotel, which does not permit pre-booking.
Airport shuttle
You are about to land in an alien country. Instead of finding a cab from the airport after bargaining for cost and reaching the hotel without confusing the address, it is best to choose hotels with an airport shuttle. Hauling big luggage through public transportation routes could be even more daunting.
Parking availability
Do you know that hiring a car for a couple of days for sightseeing is more economic than choosing transportation at every single destination? If you are planning to hire a car for your stay, make sure that your hotel provides parking availabilities. In most cases, the hotel would charge a fee for rental cars to stay overnight. In such cases, learn about the charges too.
Complimentary breakfast
Do you know that you could save a considerable amount in your travel budget if you choose hotels with complimentary breakfast? You can find this information on the hotel website and do not forget to confirm it with the front office of the hotel before booking.
Check-in and check-out timing
If you are leaving the hotel by 5 pm to board the flight and if the hotel check-out time is 4 pm, you would end up paying in addition to a half-day stay for just 60 minutes. Thus, ask about the check-in and check-out timing and choose hotels, which are suitable for your flight timings.
Check out travel forums
Check travel forums to learn about other travelers’ experiences in the given destination. This will help you choose the right area for finding hotels or even the names of good hotels in each destination. Peer traveler experience is far more personal than just tagline and other marketing gimmicks.
If the first hotel you find looks perfect, do not try to save time and book it. Check out two or three hotels and compare them in terms of amenities, distance, location, cost, and others. Take your time and make an informed decision. It would take a considerable amount of time to choose a hotel so, start hotel hunting as soon as you plan your vacation.
