Looking for an easy way to book hotels
 

Hello! Normally I travel around places couch surfing or staying at hostels. But I want to plan a nice trip with my parents that doesn't require backpacking. Does anyone know a fast and easy way to book hotels online? I need some recommendations for sites where I can book hotels at my convenience for several upcoming trips.

Thanks!!

I just find the hotels at which I want to stay and book on their web sites.

If you book at popular motel chains such as Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express, you can usually cancel a reservation from between 24 to 48 hours before arrival.

Keep careful records of your reservations and cancellations.

Tripadvisor.com is a good site for getting travelers' reviews of hotels in the places you will visit on your trip.

Good advice from happytrailstoyou.

If you want to get some idea of what hotels are available in the places you are going, you can take a look at some of the hotel booking sites (e.g. hotels.com, orbitz, expedia, etc.). But, like happytrailstoyou, I would suggest going to the individual hotel's website to actually book as you will probably get cancellation policies and equal or better rates. (In fact, many hotels will let you cancel up to 6pm on the day of your arrival.)

Print up your reservations and take them with you when you check-in, in case there is any confusion over rates, etc.

Finally, I like to look for properties that include some sort of free breakfast. Some hotels have better breakfast offerings than others, but sometimes just a little juice, coffee and muffin is enough to get me going in the morning and you can always eat a more substantial meal later.

Same as both above, I always book with the hotel directly. I feel I have the most control that way. I research using Trip Advisor, Fodor's, Expedia, searching the internet. When I find the place I want, I email them directly. And then book with either by calling their front desk, or online at their website (often you can find internet specials).

everyone has given you great advice.
I usually use expedia.com and I do check direct but most of the times, not all is the third party is cheaper..if the hotel is higher, I ask if they will match expedia's price.
Seems like Tuesday night on airline/travel websites..hotels and airlines give out the cheap deals.
I like the layout of expedia to see photos, travelers opinions.
Good luck.

I usually look them up on Expedia - especially the location, like the map on that website, you can also sort by price and read reviews.

After that I check Trip Advisor for reviews and some other websites to compare prices. Never used Priceline.

What everyone has said and be sure when you cal, you call the property directly, not the 800 number for the chain. The location itself will give you better information on what they have/do/what you can find in the area and are sometimes willing to give you a better price or room upgrade that the chain does not know about.

I like to book directly on hotels' web site because that way I can receive copies of my reservations via e-mail, print them out, and have them in hand when I check in. Similarly, if I cancel a reservation, I can request and receive a copy of my cancellation. In this way I have avoided misunderstandings that sometimes occurred years ago before it was possible to book on line.

I go one step further, before I book on the hotel's website I email in a few specific questions, and hope for a human to reply. I can usually find someone to 'chat' back & forth with me ("what is your quietest room", "may I request the highest floor of the hotel within my price category", "do you have laundry facilities", etc. etc. Then I ask them if I should book thru them, or the website, or call the front desk. I can't prove it is related to my method, but I've often gotten room upgrades when I arrive.

We have found Holiday Inn Express to be the most reliable of the inexpensive chains, and next in line would be La Quinta. You can book through the websites of both. One warning, if you opt for the lowest price offered for HIE through Priority Club, you cannot cancel and get a refund.

I have learned to research hotels through AARP/expedia and view ratings by guests. Out of a 5.0, I will not stay in one rated under 4.0. I also use freetrip.com to find hotels along the way so I can plan where to stay based on the mileage I want to drive.

This has worked very well on annual trips to areas where my ships reunion is being held and places to visit afterwards.

I agree with ronkala about Holiday Inn Express--it is the most improved of our national chains. The new hotels in this chain are especially appealing.

Hampton Inn runs a close second, but the standard of accommodation and service is no longer as consistent as the standards to which Holiday Inn Express now aspires.

Best Western is often the best place to stay in smaller towns. They are usually good but less consistent in what they offer compared to Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn. Some are much better that HIE and HI while others are inferior.

In the June, 2010, issue of a national consumer magazine, these moderately priced motels received ratings of 80 or higher: Drury Inn, Wingate, Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Comfort Suites.

These Budget hotels received low ratings from readers of the magazine: Super 8, Motel 6, Days Inn, Econo Lodge, and Travelodge.

HTTY

PS You may find a copy of the June, 2010, <i>Consumer Reports</i> in your local library. The article on pages 16-20 includes suggestions for booking motel rooms.

It also depends the TYPE of trip we're talking about. I would use a different approach (and care a LOT more about which hotel I choose) for a two week stay at the beach in Hawaii or Mexico, than I would for a place to sleep 1 night to get off the highway on a roadtrip in the mainland U.S.

Thanks for all the advice folks, I really appreciate it! I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Virginia once and I liked it, but I really enjoyed my stay at La Quinta in Memphis, TN. But I didn't book those rooms myself, which is why I'm looking for recommendations. I usually do a lot of backpacking and roadtripping, but this time around I want nice and relaxed trips where I get to stay in great hotels withing putting a hole in my wallet.

I've been looking around on sites like hotels.com because I like to compare ratings and prices all on one page, but I also want to make sure I get good customer service if I happen to make last minute changes. I've heard nightmare stories from friends about trying to cancel reservations or make changes over the phone...

Have any of you heard about HotelRooms365.com? An acquaintance of mine suggested it to me and I checked it out and it seems very easy to use. The prices look great too. Has anyone booked through them before? What about Hotels.com and Hotwire.com?

I never use 3rd party/discount sites to book hotel reservations. There was an article in Budget Travel awhile ago called "Confessions of a Front Desk Clerk" in which the author stated that hotels do not like 3rd party bookings because they don't make much money off of them. The writer states "As a result, guests who reserve directly with the hotel receive far better service. When things go wrong--we've run out of rooms with king-size beds, or the hotel is overbooked because some guests extended their stay--the manager's first question is, "Do we have any Internet reservations?" The folks who reserve through discount sites are at the bottom of the food chain." I also don't use these sites because they often have stricter cancellation policies/fees than the actual hotel. I think that you can always do as well, if not better, by actually booking online or by calling the hotel directly. And don't forget to use any discounts you or your parents are eligible for--AARP, AAA, state or federal government employee, etc.

Just came back from a 17 day "road trip" to New England. We do this annually and love it. Most wouldn't like it but we like to drive and see things along the way.

I checked out hotels on tripadvisor and then called the hotel directly. They emailed confirmation of my reservation. Some even emailed a reminder. Then they emailed to thank us for staying with them.

We happened to stay 4 nights at different Homewood Suites. They have a good breakfast and also a light dinner. They even served free beer and wine with the meal. One night we had ravioli, salad, breaksticks etc. We had Italian hamburgers, tortellini (sp?) and one night bratwurst. Our room had 2 bedrooms, small kitchen living room with fireplace, 3 TVs, 2 bathrooms and for 4 adults the price was between $150 and $170.

Nope. No experience with any of those. I will not book hotel rooms thru 3rd party websites. Only with the hotel themselves.

Yes, we also have had good experiences at Homewood Suites (a Hilton brand) in Chicago, Scottsdale, Palm Desert, and San Diego (though we didn't like the location of the San Diego property).

Residence Inn can also be good. It was a great deal in Durango, but a disappointment in Beverly Hills.

HTTY

On our recent trip (I had to book 10 hotels for 16 days) I used Expedia, hotels.com, the hotel directly.. If you book with Expedia and hotels.com you have to pay upfront.. if you book direct you don't.. some places (Bellagio) asked for 50% payment as deposit...

It all varied, sometimes the hotel site had internet specials... other times I booked hotels.com because they had the price guarantee that if the price dropped I would get the difference, even though I guess that didn't happen...

Good luck!

btw. I did use trip Advisor to get their ranking as well...

The Howard Johnson was the cheapest brand, and the best hotel was Fairfield Inn by Marriott...