Which is better: booking or hotels? Pitfalls of self-booking tours and how to avoid them

20.10.2023

10 tips for those who want to book a cheap hotel room. How to find the best price and special offers? What system do you use to make a reservation? Book in advance or search on the spot? All the answers are in this review.

Friends, we have formulated 10 basic principles for finding hotels at the lowest cost. Study these rules and take them into account when planning your vacation! They will help you save money.

In this post I share tips on how to book hotels most profitably on one's own- This is information for those who organize their own trips. If you prefer to relax on a voucher, then study my advice, .

1. Compare prices and save!

You can book a room in the same hotel at different prices. The thing is that different booking systems offer different prices (the reason is different agreements with hotels and the size of the commission). How to find the best price? Luckily, it's very simple!

There are special services that compare prices among all the most popular booking systems (such as Booking, Agoda, Ostrovok, Ozone, etc.) and determine where you can book a hotel for the cheapest. The difference in cost for the same number can be significant: 20%, 30% or more. Why overpay? We'll compare prices in a minute and find the best deal! In addition, each system has its own database of hotels: some are not in one, some are not in the other.

When I'm preparing for my next trip, my usual pattern of searching for a hotel always starts with looking at options on price comparison services. This is the first and most important thing to do when searching for and booking accommodation!

Example differences in price for a room in the same hotel in different booking systems:

2. Take advantage of promotions and great offers

"Profitable proposition" is one of the filters that can be used on Roomguru. By checking the box next to it, we will see all the current promotions that allow you to book a hotel with a significant discount.

For example, a good hotel in the center of Prague can be booked for 4,000 rubles instead of 5,800 rubles. And renting a villa in a luxury five-star resort in Phuket costs only 5,200 rubles instead of 8,000 rubles!

3. Choose the optimal dates

The cost of booking a room at the same hotel on Monday and Saturday can vary greatly. As a rule, hotel prices are higher on weekends and holidays. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to move the dates of your trip and hotel stay and this allows you to save money, take advantage of it.

You can also book a hotel at a lower cost during the low tourist season (it is different for each destination). For example, prices for rooms in April and May are almost half as low as in March - we took advantage of this and it was great.

4. Book your hotel online

Is it cheaper to look for a hotel locally, without making an online reservation? More often than not, no.

You will be surprised (I am also surprised by this fact), but in 90% of cases, booking the same room in the same hotel using an online service will be cheaper than at the reception desk! The difference is not too big, but still noticeable - usually 10-20%.

There are other downsides to finding housing locally. You have to waste time and effort (with a suitcase, in the heat or rain, looking for a hotel or guest house is a dubious pleasure). There is also a risk of getting a pig in a poke: you come and look, the room seems to be suitable, and then it turns out that in the evening it is very noisy or the Internet does not work. If you book a room in advance, online, after looking at reviews from other tourists, such threats are minimized.

I look for hotels locally only when I’m traveling to a real wilderness, where hotels are simply not represented on the Internet or in online booking systems. This is what I did when traveling around and. There was no other way out.

5. Book your hotel in advance

The sooner you book a hotel, the higher your chances of finding the best hotel, the best room and the best price. Don’t neglect this rule, don’t be lazy and don’t procrastinate! This is especially true for popular destinations and peak dates. For example, at the height of the season it is quite difficult to book a good hotel at an adequate price in Turkey, Sochi, Crimea, Prague, Paris, Cuba, Cyprus, etc. More than once I have stepped on this rake, holding out on booking until the last minute - I had to overpay and stay in mediocre hotels.

6. Find a place where hotels are cheaper

The cost of hotel rooms depends not only on the star rating, brand, but also on location.

As a rule, hotels in the very center of the city are the most expensive (although there are exceptions). If you need to save money, why not check into a hotel a few kilometers from the center, and get to attractions and places of interest by public transport or on foot? For me, it’s even more interesting - you can see the residential areas of the city, and not just the combed and glossy center.

Also, to save money, you can book a hotel even (attention!) in another city. An example from my personal experience: while preparing for a trip to, we reserved a hotel room Ibis!} in the suburbs of the capital - Zaandam. The room cost half as much as in hotels in the very center. The hotel itself is modern, clean, beautiful and comfortable. We spent only 10 minutes on foot and 7 minutes on the train to get to the center of Amsterdam. So we got more comfort at a lower price - beauty!

Moreover, you can shift the location in this way when choosing a hotel not only for the sake of savings, but also for pleasure and comfort. If the financial issue is not acute, then, in my opinion, it is better to spend the same amount on staying in a good hotel of a higher level and with excellent reviews a couple of kilometers from the center, than to check into a mediocre hotel in the very center with inflated prices.

7. Choose the best option for the company

If you are traveling with your family, friends or another group of people, then look at different types of accommodation to find the best option in terms of comfort and price.

For example, if two married couples are going on vacation, then do not rush to follow the obvious path and book two separate hotel rooms. Check out alternative options - maybe you can rent a house, villa, or apartment with several separate rooms for the same or less money.

Is it difficult to choose the best hotel? Check out ours for popular cities and resorts: , , .

8. Use the All Airlines card

(Photo © Hotel Internazionale Ischia / Flickr.com / Licensed CC BY-SA 2.0)

9. Is it cheaper to live in a hostel?

If you're traveling alone, then yes, you'll save money - it's always cheaper than booking a whole room.

If you are traveling as a couple, family or with friends, then staying in a hostel is rarely financially justifiable. Often, booking a separate room is no more expensive (sometimes even a little cheaper) than two places in a hostel. At the same time, you will get much more comfort.

10. Should I book the hotel directly?

If the hotel has contact information, you can book the hotel directly. But this doesn't make much sense.

Firstly, when booking a hotel on Booking and other systems, you get a defender of your interests in the person of this service. You will have a document (reservation) confirming your reservation and all its conditions, including the final amount. And if suddenly the hotel administration offers you another, worse room, you simply call (even just threatening to do so) to the service where you made the reservation, and the hotel will be required to fulfill its obligations.
Secondly, booking systems and services for finding cheap hotels allow you to compare many hotels, find out reviews about them and thereby choose the best one.
Thirdly, very often a hotel offers tourists who contact it directly booking rooms at an inflated price. When a hotel places its ad in booking systems, it tries to reduce the cost as much as possible due to great competition. After all, booking services offer dozens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of hotels in one city - you need to stand out and make the client the best offer.

Introductory image source: © PortoBay Trade / Flickr.com / Licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

So summer is already approaching, and the crisis is flaring up more and more. This means you need to look for ways to economically organize your summer vacation. And one of the most effective is saving on accommodation. You can, of course, stay in a tent instead of staying in a hotel, but this type of vacation is still not suitable for everyone. Still, there are ways to save on cost, but not on quality. Today, private apartments have become very popular. Some rent out their housing from time to time, receiving a small extra income, while others are engaged in providing housing for rent professionally. Modern technologies and booking systems make it possible today to book accommodation without the fear of losing money or getting something completely different from what was planned. Although in any case, some simple rules of caution should be followed. And we will talk about them, among other things, in this article.

Let's start with domestically produced services.

Apartment

kvartirka.su is a fairly old project. Focused on rental housing in Russia and neighboring countries. You can rent housing using this site even from the most remote corners of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. There are a total of 457 cities on the list.

In the “About Us” section you can find comprehensive information about the company, including bank details and telephone number. However, the phone number is clearly listed for an office in Chelyabinsk, there is no 24-hour support number, which indirectly indicates its absence.

There is no information on the site about the work scheme, the relationship between the owner and the guest during booking and check-in. But there is a section in which the resource administration disclaims any responsibility for both the quality of housing and payments. In other words, the Apartment service is exclusively a paid advertisement board on the subject of short-term housing rentals.

Conclusions: a wide range of accommodation options, including small towns and villages. There is no customer support; the accuracy of the information provided by landlords is not verified by the site administration.

Sutochno.ru

CYANOGEN

CIAN is one of the oldest and most popular real estate sites on the RuNet. In the first couple of years, the resource was focused on posting advertisements for the sale of apartments, offices, cottages and other real estate. Recently, the scope of the portal’s activities has expanded significantly and now there is also a section dedicated to daily rental housing. CIAN is also a bulletin board, but their moderation allows us to weed out unscrupulous homeowners. The program is being implemented through the “We work honestly” program. In order to place an advertisement for renting out premises to a traveler, the owner must go through an identification procedure. To pass it, you must provide the service with your passport details and a certificate of ownership of your apartment, house or cottage. Of course, this method of verification does not provide any guarantees against scammers, but it still makes the procedure for daily rental housing much more transparent and reliable.

Conclusions: a large selection of daily rental options, increased reliability if the landlord participates in the “We work honestly” program. At the same time, if problems arise with the owners, you should not count on the help of the service.

TVIL

Despite the name, this is a domestic service specializing in booking apartments in the southern resort cities of Russia. Crimea, Sochi, Gelendzhik, Yeysk are represented here. At the time of writing, the Tvil database includes 2382 objects in the Black and Azov Seas.

The service works according to a scheme where a commission is charged to the owner of the object, while the guest is guaranteed that the description of the object corresponds to the actual condition and declared services. The rules and description of the service indicate that each object is checked by Tvil employees. This is a solid plus, since moderation of each object is a fairly large and complex task.

Payment is also made through the service, and the guest receives a voucher that confirms the reservation and payment for accommodation.

Conclusions: one of the few Russian services that not only provides information about the accommodation facility, but also provides guarantees for checking the description and guarantees upon payment. A good choice for booking the private sector at the resorts of the Black and Azov Seas.

Only-apartments

European apartment booking service Only-apartments. The name speaks for itself - no hostels or hotels. Aimed at tourists looking for accommodation in Europe. Therefore, it will not be possible to find accommodation here in Russia, Asia or America. But the choice in European countries is very large.

The scheme of work is simple and clear: choose housing, pay an advance, and the rest upon arrival. We booked apartments using this service when we went to Barcelona. By the way, the developers of the service are from Spain and at first the search only worked in this country. But even now the choice of apartments in Spain is perhaps the most interesting. The service does not charge a booking fee.

The service declares careful moderation of objects and round-the-clock customer support.

Conclusions: a good choice for those looking for apartments in Europe, especially Spain. Accordingly, the disadvantage is that the Only-apartaments service cannot be used as a universal booking service. Discount promotions are held regularly - the user is sent a letter with a promo code.

Booking

The world's largest booking service for everything you can book: hotels, hostels, guest houses, apartments and villas. On booking There is perhaps all types of accommodation: 918,536 holiday homes and apartments, in 125,863 destinations in 229 countries. However, the other side of the coin of the enormous choice will be the increased risk of booking something that is not exactly what is seen in the photo. A large number of clients also creates some difficulties in the work of the support service; sometimes it takes a long time to get through. However, a large selection and, probably, the lowest prices (often lower than booking directly) make this service one of the most attractive not only when searching for hotels, but also in the segment of apartments and other types of private sector.

Conclusions: booking is one of those services that you cannot do without in the modern world. This is something of a standard. Even if I book accommodation on some other resource, I always check with booking, because it may turn out that the same property will be much cheaper here. In addition, there is a huge database of reviews, which is also a significant plus.

There are many hotel booking sites on the Internet. Which service is better? What is the best website to look for a place to stay while traveling? Experienced travelers have already made their choice and know the answer - .

There are many online hotel booking services in the world. This is largely misleading. In fact, there are only two major online hotel booking services left in the world. Over the past years (or decades), all the most successful booking services have been purchased by two global giants: Booking Holdings incorporated and Expedia Group.

Booking Holdings owns, among other services, Agoda.com, Priceline.com.
Expedia Group owns Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia.com and others.

As a result of these mergers, search technologies are shared among partner sites. So while there are seemingly dozens of hotel booking sites, it really comes down to just two major global players.

Many sites simply use the technical capabilities provided by these companies.

Attention. Hotels in Crimea. (BookingCom and HotelsCom are temporarily not operating in Crimea.)

The BookingCom company is now the world leader in searching and booking places to stay. On the site you can find and book not only hotels, but also hostels, apartments (a competitor to Airbnb), and cottages.
Hotels.com also provides a convenient and reliable booking service, but it is less popular in Europe. (Be careful. The site may show the cost of accommodation excluding taxes, which will be added later.)

The cheapest price is not always the best. Reliability and safety are even more important for tourists than price. BookingCom provides good customer support. If problems arise, hotels often prefer to resolve issues on their own, without waiting for the client to contact BookingCom.

Payment. In most cases, you pay for your stay at the hotel. Almost everywhere you can use cash or card. Sometimes hotels ask you to pay for your stay in advance, offering a small discount. In this case, it is unlikely that you can cancel the reservation without losing money if necessary. In addition, you need to be sure that this is not a fraudulent site.

Compare prices on different sites

Still want to compare prices on different online booking sites? Convenient online services have also been created for this.

The World Travel Award annually monitors the situation and compares various services useful for tourists. The winner in the category "Best Site for Comparing Hotel Prices" has been repeatedly won by HotelsCombined (aka RoomGuru). By the way, HotelsCombined recently became part of Booking Holdings, which also indicates the high quality of service.

We also recommend paying attention to the Hotellook service. This service sometimes allows you to book rooms in resort hotels (,) at prices lower than the official hotel prices (but usually not during the peak tourist season).

It should be noted that after comparing prices, most people book on the BookingCom website.

Be careful and careful:

Some booking sites also have this trick. They do not show the cost of the room, but the cost of living for one person. (Multiply by two if there are two of you.)
Sometimes (not often, very rarely) there are fake hotel websites that ask you to pay for your stay right away, but then your money disappears.

Hotel booking apps

For smartphone lovers. You can book a hotel (and buy plane tickets) using your smartphone. Install the application for mobile devices for greater convenience when preparing for travel. All applications are tested, reliable and safe.
Download: for iPhone or for Android.

You will also find it useful: applications for searching for flights and purchasing air tickets - for iPhone and for Android.

Book on the hotel website

If you regularly use the services of hotels of the same chain, then you are better off booking directly on the website of this hotel chain. You can probably get some benefits in this case as a regular customer.

Be careful. In recent years, there have been publications on the Internet about increasing cases of fraud when booking hotels. Criminals create a fake hotel website and steal money from tourists when booking.

The basis of a good holiday is a place to stay - a hotel, apartment or house with a friendly host, convenient location and a high level of comfort. Travel agencies, of course, can help, but they always inflate prices and do not have such a database as booking sites. Each tourist can independently find the best place for his trip, be it staying in a huge hotel or a small hostel. Modern sites are divided into booking systems (for example, Booking) and accommodation search services (RoomGuru), which allow you to compare prices and choose a place anywhere in the world.

We reviewed all popular sites and selected options with the best search, detailed descriptions of each position, a huge database and interesting offers. These companies protect the interests of their clients by checking homeowners and not forcing them to make 100% prepayment. Successful booking of a hotel or apartment ends with an e-mail, which can be used to obtain a visa.

All 10 ranking positions earned their place here due to the site's reputation as a reliable site. The choice depends on personal preferences: some people like a large number of filters, others prefer that the system itself selects the best versions. However, the number of positions in the databases differs, and a search on several sites is guaranteed to return the most suitable option.

The best hotel and hotel booking sites

5 Agoda

Advantageous offers for regular customers
Website: agoda.com
Rating (based on reviews): 4.4

The Agoda website, which earned a place in the top thanks to its bonus program, opens the ranking of the best hotels for searching. Each client accumulates points, which they gradually exchange for rubles. The most active users can pay for housing in full with accumulated bonuses. A unique feature is the best price guarantee: if a tourist finds a hotel cheaper than Agoda, the site will refund the difference in price. The main thing is to have time to contact the company manager within 24 hours after booking. The site presents hotels in most countries of the world, but the main destination is South Asia - this is where the most discounts and the most favorable living conditions are.

On the main page there are 2 interesting categories: new products and review. If everything is clear with the first section, then the second is unique: the more time the client spends on the site, the more accurately he determines preferences and from them creates a list of suitable housing. Despite the interesting features, Agoda has a big disadvantage: prices are shown excluding additional fees and commissions. This is written in fine print in the terms of use, but for most tourists a sharp increase in price will be an unpleasant surprise.

4 Hotellook

The most convenient price comparison system
Website: hotellook.ru
Rating (based on reviews): 4.6

Hotellook, which is responsible for the popular Russian Aviasales (ticket sales service), fell just short of the top three. Like RoomGuru, this site analyzes offers on different sites and brings the most profitable offers to the top. The main purpose of the service is to find the cheapest accommodation in a good hotel. We were attracted by the user-friendly interface and a huge number of filters. A distinctive feature is the calendar - days of low prices (green) and high prices (red) are highlighted in a separate category. The main page of the site presents the biggest discounts and popular destinations. The service does not charge users; the commission is paid by hotel owners.

Hotellook cooperates with the TravelPayouts service, offering a refund of 4-5% of the booking amount. This discount does not cancel the site's offer, so this is where the cheapest rooms sometimes appear. In addition, the site does not hide the name of the booking system where he found suitable accommodation. Users identified the process of finding the right hotel as a disadvantage: the filter limits the number of people, so a large group will not be able to occupy a room at the same time. When you change the currency, the site resets all criteria and you have to start over.

3 Hotels

Developed discount system
Website: hotels.com
Rating (based on reviews): 4.7

Hotels earned a place in the top three thanks to the ability to pay in full for the room before check-in, while retaining the right to cancel your check-in free of charge and return all the money. This function is important for tourists who have not yet received a visa. The booking document will serve as additional evidence in favor of the applicant, and if the trip fails, the site will return the amount to the card. Not to mention that a fully paid hotel allows you to carry less money with you. A unique feature of the service is a flexible system of discounts: 8% for booking in the application and 10% for coupons. Hotels sends the latest information to its regular customers by email. If the coupon has expired, you can always ask for a new one; the administration will accommodate you halfway.

An interesting “trick” of the site are profitable offers to popular cities and countries. Hotels with the lowest prices are included in a separate category. Hotels also had some disadvantages: when booking, it is important to carefully read the terms and conditions and uncheck the prepayment box. Users complain about the entire amount being written off from the card immediately after choosing a number, but the site does nothing, since the client himself signed the terms. The support service does not respond immediately, sometimes you have to wait several hours.

2 RoomGuru

Unlike the leader in the rating, which offers one price for housing, RoomGuru compares prices on 26 sites and displays the results in ascending order. The service differs from all others in that it offers the current cost of a hotel room and highlights the price difference. Search on the site is carried out according to the main criteria: name of the country, region, star rating or city. Thanks to a convenient calendar, the date of check-in and check-out is determined. When all the parameters are filled in, the system will analyze the offers and provide the best options. The site has a large number of additional characteristics that can be used to customize an accurate search.

When choosing positions for the rating, we noticed that RoomGuru immediately shows the location of the hotel relative to important places in the city, for example, the train station, center, beach. This function will greatly help tourists who come for a couple of days to see the main attractions. The site saves search history and takes into account user preferences in the future. The home page shows popular destinations and the number of hotels in that country/region. Despite the convenience of the service, we were able to find some disadvantages: RoomGuru’s database is not as large as that of the leader in the rating, so some hotels simply do not exist.

1 Booking

Booking requires no introduction, so its appearance in first place in the ranking is not surprising. The company operates in 230 countries and offers more than 300 million housing options. The owner uploads photographs and characteristics of the premises to the website, then sets a limit on the number of people who can book a date. For example, he has the right to accept those guests who have already worked with Booking. Users are shown only those options that match their description. There are a huge number of filters: in addition to the standard hotel criteria, you can specify the budget, additional amenities, star rating, on-site entertainment, discounts, the possibility of late check-in, and this is not the entire list.

A distinctive feature of the site is the ability to pay for services upon check-in, and housing can be found 24 hours before arrival. Users are not charged a booking fee and are often allowed to cancel their stay without penalty. The site’s hotline operates around the clock and protects the interests of clients at any stage of the trip. Booking remembers the characteristics entered by the user and gradually adjusts the search to his needs. Of course, even this site has its drawbacks: the rules state that the service is not responsible for fines for late check-in and other consequences if something goes wrong.

The best booking sites for private owners

5 Daily

The largest selection of apartments in Russia
Website: sutochno.ru
Rating (based on reviews): 4.4

Unlike other sites in the ranking, Sutochno mainly offers apartments in Russia and is the best among similar services. On the main page there are categories with popular destinations and types of recreation, indicating the number of available accommodations. The site obliges you to pay 50% before check-in, the client pays the rest upon check-in. Guests are exempt from paying fees and the owner cannot add hidden fees. Cleaning and safekeeping of residents' belongings are free bonuses. A unique feature of the site is the ability to leave a request for the selection of premises for individual needs (sign in a letter). In a couple of hours, the site will review your wishes and send you a personal rating.

Although the service prioritizes travel within Russia, it accepts orders from rental companies from 48 countries. Many European countries and such distant destinations as Cuba and the Dominican Republic are represented. Of course, the offers in these countries are much smaller than those of other sites. Daily guarantees the safety of check-in, and if the owner or tourist cancels the reservation, the prepayment is returned. However, he leaves a commission, which is 25% of the cost if canceled in less than 60 days. The cancellation rules are the biggest drawback that we found; they were also highlighted by users in reviews.

4 9 Flats

At first glance, 9 Flats is no different from other systems, but once you start looking for apartments, the uniqueness of the site becomes obvious. The system offers a huge variety of filters, including such minor ones as the number of baths, towels and heating methods. In addition to apartments, the site offers excursions and attractions nearby. 9 Flats has established communication between the owner and the tourist; you can find out in advance the best bars, cafes and restaurants in the area.

The unique functions of the site are revealed after registration. You can add the options you like to favorites and compare them based on their main characteristics. In one click, search results will be sorted by distance to the selected attraction or customer reviews. The cost per day is set by the owner, so sometimes prices vary for different dates. Each apartment has a calendar that shows the cheapest and most expensive periods. Users consider mandatory registration before booking as a disadvantage. This comes with a major downside: 9 Flats takes a fee from both the tenant and the landlord. Everyone pays 15%, which is the largest amount among the sites presented.

3 HomeAway

The best site for short-term apartment rentals
Website: homeaway.ru
Rating (based on reviews): 4.8

HomeAway was created by the well-known Expedia - one of the largest travel management systems for European tourists. Unlike the main site, which is not translated into Russian, HomeAway is optimized for domestic tourists and offers the best prices for short-term stays. It calculates daily rental housing, but limits users in choosing apartments for the long term. An interesting “trick” is the ability to find out the cost of accommodation along with excursions, travel by car (which is also available on HomeAway) and tickets. Upon entering the main page of the site, the similarity with Airbnb immediately catches your eye. That's why HomeAway came third and not second - it borrowed the best ideas from a competitor and added quite a bit of its own to a proven system.

The search is implemented according to the usual scheme: you need to enter how many people are going and where they are going, and the site will select suitable options. However, HomeAway is far from perfect: it cannot offer as many filters as the leaders in the rating. There are much fewer categories on the site, housing is divided into popular destinations, but there is no local top. There are no bonus programs, discounts or any incentives for regular customers.

2 Airbnb

The largest selection of apartments
Website: airbnb.ru
Rating (based on reviews): 4.9

An honorable second place was taken by the Airbnb website due to its huge selection of apartments, divided into 2 types - which are booked instantly and require confirmation of the owner. Users recommend always contacting private owners and discussing check-in dates. The website details what is included in the price. For example, sometimes they ask you to pay extra for cleaning, but give a discount for a long stay. An interesting feature is the “Airbnb Plus” section, which contains the best offers - the owners of these apartments received ratings of 4.8 on all points.

On the main page of the site, accommodation is presented in popular categories, for example, “Business trip”, “For families” and many others. Just below are excursions organized by landlords. Airbnb guarantees the security of customer funds and solves problems while traveling anywhere in the world. They check owners during registration and block those who receive complaints. Of course, there are some downsides: this site is one of the few that forces customers to make an advance payment. Not only the lessor, but also the user pays a service fee.

1 Interhome

The best security guarantee
Website: interhome.ru
Rating (based on reviews): 4.9

The leader among the best private booking sites is Interhome, which not only offers a huge number of accommodation options around the world, but also protects the data and rights of its clients. The price already includes insurance, including reimbursement of treatment costs and difficulties caused during check-in. The site does not oblige you to pay for housing in full in advance, but does not prohibit it either. In the second case, the client will receive a voucher with prices and terms, which he can use to obtain a visa. The company says it follows star rating guidelines to ensure that properties meet user expectations. Interhome does not offer any special discounts or bonus programs, but it can find the cheapest offer.

On the main page there is a category “Ideas for your holiday”, in which items are collected by type of trip: family, beach, cheap or luxury. The “Last Minute” section deserves attention, where luxury accommodation is presented at decent discounts. For the most part, clients speak positively about Interhome, with only one minus: unfavorable cancellation conditions. The site reserves the right to withhold up to 100% of the funds if the tourist changes his decision within 2 days. The minimum commission is 10%, which is paid by everyone who changes their mind.

How and where to look for the best deals

Where is it cheaper to book hotels? Where the prices are lower... What is the question - that is the answer. There are more than a dozen booking sites, and it cannot be said that on any one (or two, three) of them the prices are lower than on all the others. In fact, the question “Where is it cheaper?” boils down to the question “How to find the lowest price?” It would seem that there is nothing complicated here. You just need to compare prices on all booking sites and choose the best offer. But there are a lot of hotel booking sites. Therefore, it would be nice to arm yourself with some kind of tool to make the search task easier. And there are such tools.

We are talking about the so-called hotel metasearch sites (more about the essence of metasearch). These include, in particular:

In our opinion, the most interesting from the above list is RoomGuru.ru (more about it), but other sites are also worthy of attention.

How to use metasearch sites to book hotels at low prices?

You set the search parameters: direction, dates, required number of guests and rooms.
The search engine processes your request by analyzing data from leading hotel booking sites and compiles a list of hotels indicating the lowest prices found.
You choose the hotel that best suits your needs.
Having chosen a hotel, you go to the booking site that offers the most attractive price.
You book a hotel.

It's quite simple. However, the choice is often not as easy to make as it may seem. Let's repeat. It can hardly be said that, for example, it is cheaper to book hotels on www.hotels.com than, say, on www.booking.com, or vice versa. Depending on dates, destinations and many other factors, the best offer can be found with almost equal probability on any of the existing sites.

Let us also note the following point. Price is definitely an important factor. But besides the booking cost, you need to pay attention to other things.

Secondly, you should understand that often the cheapest does not mean the best. The location of the hotel, the list of services provided, customer reviews, and much more are important. In this regard, it is worth paying attention to a number of parameters that are convenient to use in order to isolate from the entire set of hotels only those that meet your needs.

Third, before booking a hotel, try to research the city you are planning to travel to as best you can. This will help you understand what you need and what a low price is for you personally. To this end, you can use our recommendations for choosing hotels in popular tourist cities around the world.

In addition, it makes sense to look for all sorts of thematic websites and travel forums, read about countries, cities, attractions, etc. All this will be useful to you in the process of searching for a hotel and will help to significantly improve the quality of the final choice, so to speak.