Booking a hotel may seem simple, but a few overlooked details could turn your trip into a frustrating experience. It is important to check for the hotel’s location, room amenities, hidden charges, and available discounts. This ensures that you don’t get surprises at the last moment when you arrive at the hotel. It gives you the peace of mind and significantly improves your overall trip.
Whether you’re on a vacation or travelling for a work meeting, missing an important detail can lead to frustration upon arrival. In this blog, we will look at things you must check before confirming your hotel booking.
Hotel Location & Accessibility
A hotel’s location is a major deciding factor in your overall travel experience. Make sure the property is close to all the places you plan to visit. This could be a tourist attraction, restaurants, shopping malls, and an airport.
Sometimes people book hotels without checking how far they are from the airport. This leads to unnecessary waste of time and ruins the vibe. For some people, having quick access to public transport is necessary, as it is often affordable. Checking for this is not required, as it is a personal preference. Most people today prefer cab booking apps such as Uber, Lyft, and Bolt.
Main Highlights:
- Check the neighbourhood and the immediate surroundings.
- Look for the nearest train stations, bus stops, or subway stations.
- Try booking hotels and flights together for the most value.
- Always check for available hotel offers for affordable prices.
Available Amenities
Sometimes, the hotel listings can be misleading. Therefore, make sure to check all available amenities for your room type. One can skip checking basic things like free Wi-Fi, thinking that it is a standard amenity. Many properties, resorts, and certain international chains still charge you for getting internet access.
Essential facilities like AC, breakfast, quality room service, and daily housekeeping make your stay worthwhile. Services like swimming pools and spas won’t be that important if you are travelling for work and will be out most of the time.
Main Highlights:
- Many hotels enforce strict device limits for free Wi-Fi
- Some hotels close their pool for maintenance during the off-season.
- It is common for hotels to restrict gym hours.
- Swimming pools and Spas make it easy to enjoy longer stays.
Verified User Reviews
From all available reviews on the booking page, try looking for the latest ones to find important details. A hotel that had great reviews in the past may not reflect its current service. Hence, it is important to check for the latest verified reviews. You can also look for recurring comments to find patterns in complaints. If multiple guests mention the same issue, then it could be a genuine concern. These could be slow room service and poor maintenance.
Main Highlights:
- Look for a large number of reviews on the booking site.
- Try searching reviews, making the same complaints.
- Reviews from past guests can reveal important details such as the room condition and noise levels.
- Try avoiding hotels with fewer than 4-star reviews.
Cancellation & Refund Policies
Sometimes, the travel plans can change unexpectedly due to personal, financial, or health reasons. Hence, it is important to read the cancellation and refund policy on the booking platform. The ‘Free Cancellation up to 24 Hours Before’ can seem confusing when you are booking a hotel across different time zones. To avoid this, always rely on the hotel’s local time zone.
Make sure you check the pet policy if you are travelling with your pet. Many hotels do not allow pets except for service animals.
Main Highlights:
- Pay attention to details such as cancellation deadline & refund eligibility.
- Some hotels may offer free cancellations.
- Additional charges can be applied if you modify your reservation.
Available Offers
Checking for available discounts and offers before booking can help reduce your overall travel expenses. Finding these offers manually can take a lot of time. This is where the discount aggregator platforms, such as CouponzGuru, come in. You can find all available hotel booking offers for booking platforms in one place, as well as for other product categories. Booking platforms often work with discount platforms to provide exclusive deals.
Main Highlights:
- Finding the latest offers can reduce your travel expenses.
- Compare prices across different booking platforms to find the best price.
- Check for seasonal discounts offered by hotels and booking apps.
- Sometimes hotels provide exclusive perks on booking directly.
Available Facilities & Services
The facilities and services included in your booking allow you to enjoy your stay, especially when you are on vacation. It is important to check whether the hotel provides services that match your travel needs.
The services, such as the pool and sauna, aren’t popular among people who are travelling for work. This is because they aren’t in their room most of their time. All they need is a place to stay with basic services like airport transfers, laundry services, quality room service, and 24-hour front desk support.
Main Highlights:
- EV Charging Infrastructure: Check for charging infrastructure if you plan to rent an EV during your stay.
- Laundry services are important for travelling families. It helps them pack fewer outfits.
- Airport transfers: Some hotels offer free airport transfers, while others charge extra.
Special Needs
It is recommended that you don’t solely rely on the hotel listing. The best way to go about this is to confirm that the hotel can provide special facilities. This includes wheelchairs, wheelchair accessible rooms, and accessible bathrooms. All you have to do is contact the property directly if you have any particular needs.
Main Highlights:
- Confirm availability for roll-in showers in your room.
- Dietary safety: Make sure to inform the staff if you have any life-threatening allergies.
- Ask for photographic evidence: request snapshots of a specific room number.
Check-in & Check-out
Make sure you understand the check-in and check-out policies before booking the hotel. You can also check whether a hotel has early check-in and late checkout. Early check-in and late checkout allow you to modify your arrival and departure times. This is very beneficial during an unexpected change in your travel schedule.
Main Highlights:
- Some hotels charge early check-in fees, while others don’t.
- Ensure that the check-in and check-out times align with your travel schedule.
- Review any additional fees for timing adjustments.
Ending Thoughts
Taking a few extra minutes to check these details helps you get a better value for money. Some of the hotel facilities, such as the pool, are popular among people who are on vacation. On the other hand, facilities like laundry services, airport transfers, and free Wi-Fi are essential services that everyone uses. Make sure to use this article as a checklist the next time you travel.
