Find and book a hotel: which providers are there?
Whether hotels or holiday apartments: online platforms can help you find what you’re looking for. But who offers what? Comparis explains.
12.08.2024
iStock/kamisoka
1. What accommodation options are there to choose from?
On most platforms, you can choose different types of accommodation. Some providers specialize in hotels, others focus on holiday apartments and holiday homes. Many platforms also offer several accommodation categories.
Hotel or holiday apartment: which is better?
Which solution is better depends on your needs and expectations. Those who want to avoid any cooking and cleaning during the holidays will probably be better served at a hotel. However, this solution is usually more expensive than a rented holiday apartment.
You need to clean a holiday apartment or holiday home no later than at the end of the rental period. But this allows you to save money on accommodation and meals. Another advantage is that with this solution, families with small children have to worry less about neighbours in rooms nextdoor.
2. Booking portal or comparison platform?
There are generally two types of hotel platform: booking portals such as Booking.com and dedicated comparison portals such as Trivago. Here’s how they differ:
The main advantage of booking portals is that they allow you to find and book accommodation directly. You can filter hotels and holiday apartments according to your criteria. Some booking platforms also offer additional services such as rental cars and flights.
Good to know: booking platforms sometimes engage in what is known as upselling. This means they try to sell you additional services to earn more money. Compare prices before you book such a deal.
Comparison portals search through the databases of different booking portals and display the different prices. Here you can see the prices of several booking portals at a glance. However, you can’t book any rooms via comparison portals. If you click on a link, you’ll be redirected to the corresponding booking portal.
3. Specialist or all-rounder: what’s the difference?
Many platforms focus entirely on their core business: hotels and other accommodation. As a rule, they don’t offer any other services besides the comparison function or the booking function. In other words, these providers are specialists. An example of a specialist is Reka.
All-rounders, on the other hand, offer other services in addition to the hotel search – such as comparing and booking flights and rental cars. When planning a trip, you can therefore compare multiple services on the same platform – and book directly there, depending on the provider. The advantage is that you often save money when you book several services as a package deal.
4. How to find a hotel that’s right for you
Many comparison and booking platforms have an extensive range of options.
These tips will help you maintain an overview and find the right accommodation for your holiday:
Pay attention to the sorting order. Some portals use their own sorting order by default. This may be influenced by payments, for example. You can usually adjust the sorting order – such as according to price, rating or distance from the city centre.
Use the filters available. This way, you exclude accommodation options that don’t meet your expectations. For example, if you want a hotel with at least three stars, you can specify this directly.
If your desired accommodation is fully booked on one platform, look on another platform. Availability information such as “no room available” often only refers to the respective portal.
Look at the reviews. Some platforms also show detailed reviews and ratings by different categories. It’s best to take a look at positive and negative reviews – and the justifications behind them. This will give you a better overall impression.
Check the services included. Some hotels offer low prices but charge an additional fee for some services. This may include Wi-Fi and the minibar in the room.
Found a hotel? Compare the price of the booking platform with the price shown on the hotel’s website. In some cases, hotels offer better conditions on their own websites.
Note: booking platforms display prices for rooms in different ways. With some platforms, the total price is displayed directly. Others display the price per night or per person.
Is the destination or hotel not so important to you? Some sites offer blind booking.
You can save money with this option. That’s because with blind booking, hotels can offer vacant rooms cheaply without damaging their image. Airlines can allocate individual seats in this way.
Blind booking with arrival
With a blind booking including arrival, you specify your travel period, departure airport and, depending on the portal, the desired type of holiday. You’ll only find out your destination after booking – sometimes not until you’re at the airport.
Blind booking a hotel
With a blind booking for a hotel, you specify the desired holiday destination. However, you will only find out which hotel you are going to after booking. Good to know: some booking portals will show you the reviews before you book.
This article was first published on 09.08.2024
