Do you ever feel overwhelmed when making hotel accommodations? Maybe the ones listed in the travel book are all sold out, or the place your cousin told you about has since closed, or you’re traveling somewhere new and you’re not sure which neighborhoods are close to the sights you want to see. We have the solution: Booking.com! There are some times when we still book directly with hotels to use points or to get a special group rate (like for a wedding), but otherwise, you’ll find us on Booking.com. Why? There are so many reasons why!
1. Free cancelation – Nearly all the hotels on Booking.com offer free cancelation, and they all clearly illustrate the window for canceling. This is probably the top reason we use Booking.com for the majority of our accommodation bookings. This free cancelation option allows us to ensure we have something booked, but gives us the flexibility to change our plans if needed. It also means that if a hotel drops in price between your initial booking and your stay, you can cancel and rebook at the lower rate. I did this for our stay at The Godfrey in Boston and saved $325.
2. Map view – The map view allows you to narrow in on a particular area of town you’d like to stay in and see all the available hotel options and prices.
3. Price matching – If you find the same property and accommodation type offered for a better price elsewhere, Booking.com will price match it. Be sure that the better rate is for the same travel period and has the same cancelation policy as your Booking.com rate before making a claim.
4. Genius Discount – Once you’ve made two bookings, you’ll become a Booking.com Genius, which earns you an extra discount on many bookings.
5. Extra savings – If your travel plans are flexible, or you’re booking last minute, you’ll likely find some great last-minute prices…prices that aren’t available by booking directly with the same hotels.
6. What you see is what you pay – Unlike most hotels (and Airbnb) which add taxes, fees, and other costs during the check-out process, with Booking.com the price listed is what you’ll pay…TOTAL.
7. Book now, pay later – …or pay now and get a discount. Most accommodations list two prices: one for booking now with free cancelation and paying at the hotel when you arrive, the other for paying now at a slight discount (these are the rates without free cancelation).
8. Find unique accommodations – Booking.com has helped us find some really interesting accommodations we wouldn’t have otherwise known about. Whether it’s a boutique hotel with beautiful decor, a container hotel nestled among snow-covered trees, or a modern log cabin in a national park, Booking.com encourages us to stay in unique surroundings which contribute to our travel experiences.
9. See hotel rates in local currency and home equivalent – When booking internationally, Booking.com displays prices in the local currency as well as an approximate rate in your home currency (note that the local currency rate is the one that’s fixed, your home currency rate will likely fluctuate between booking and your stay). So, while I know that this booking in Salzburg, Austria is approximately $300, I can also easily see the local rate is €263, making it easy for me to make a new calculation depending on the future exchange rate.
10. Filters – With 5 million listings, finding what you’re looking for can take a lot of time. Fortunately, Booking.com features a lot of filtering options, helping you to narrow down your options based on the factors important to you, whether it’s price, distance from city center, stars, rating, or something more unique.
We’ve never had a negative experience using Booking.com, but we always read the detailed reviews (not just the highlighted ones) and are careful to explore any fine print.
Have you ever used Booking.com?
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