Ten tips for choosing your travel accommodation

Choosing your accommodation when traveling can be quite overwhelming considering all the choices out there. You want your trip to be great, and your accommodation will play a huge role in that. I am a fan of planning accommodation far ahead, down to the tiniest details to ensure that myself and the people I travel with get the most out of our trip. The tips below work well for both hotels and AirBnB:s and I can promise you that you will make better choices by following these tips.

• Start looking early. The earlier you start, the more you will have to choose from.
• If you haven’t already, pin the things you want to do, eat and see on your trip using Google Maps ( see full instructions here). Your goal is to stay as close to these activities as possible, without compromising on any of your other priorities. We all have our own preferences and vacation goals, so I’m not going to list all of mine, but make sure that you don’t compromise on the reasons that made you want to book the trip in the first place.
• Use a price comparison database such as Trivago, to see which booking site that offers the best deals. Choose which amenities you cannot live without on your trip, and filter accordingly. Then, choose that site, and make a quick google search of the site itself to check whether it is reputable (unless you already know that from prior experience)

• Look carefully at the location of the hotel and see how well the location and pictures match up if you search for the hotel on Google Maps. Choose your location wisely. The ”great hotel deal” can usually be in a remote location and the money you save on the hotel could go straight to increased transportation expenses instead.
• Use Google Maps to get to know the neighbourhood and whether it is in line with what you want. For me, it is important to have at least a few shops and restaurants within walking distance. If I have that, I won’t be forced to eat too many meals at the hotel, and I will also not have to pay for a taxi or take a bus every time I don’t want to eat at the hotel. It makes everything easier.

• This might not work for most Airbnb:s but check what TripAdvisor has to say about the hotel you’re considering. They have tons of helpful information about the hotel itself and the surroundings.

• To keep track of your options and compare them, write them down along with the categories you want to compare. Choose categories that you value, and see which hotel ends up ticking off the most important boxes for the lowest price. I use Microsoft Excel for this purpose, but a pen and paper works great too.

• After you have chosen a hotel, and ensured that it is the best one for you and your preferences, use google to search for discounts on it, or other offers. I always compare the rate I have gotten elsewhere to the rate at Hotels.com, as their prices are competitive and I’ve had many good experiences using this site before.

• Some sites, including Hotels.com have student discounts. Therefore, if you know a student well enough to ask for a code, you’ll save 10 % on your booking. When booking my hotel in Dubrovnik, I was offered a regular room at Booking.com, and a room with a balcony at Hotels.com for the same price thanks to the 10 % discount that I could use at Hotels.com.

• Take your time and don’t make hasty last minute decisions. If you are a spontaneous backpacker, well go ahead and make all the last minute decisions you want. However, if you are a bit more comfortable and value your accommodation a lot, make sure to do your research. This process might be time consuming, but it is worth it. When booking trips, my family always ask me to choose the accommodation, as they know I’ll do a lot of research and find something great.

Bonus tip: Don’t stretch your budget too far. I’m well aware of the feeling when you’re in a place for a limited time and you want to make the most of it. And that’s okay. You’ve probably chosen your destination partially because of seeing (and saving) stunning hotels and locations on Instagram and you want to have that experience. While your money gets you a lot further in Thailand than Bora Bora or the Maldives, you will still have to compromise. One of my usual tricks is to go for a cocktail or Afternoon tea at one of the top-luxury hotels that you’ve dreamed of visiting. No one will say anything about you spending time at the hotel as long as you’re paying, and you’ll get to see a lot of it despite not sleeping there.

What are your tips when making accommodation arrangements? Let me know in the comments!