Choosing Accommodations

As any traveller knows, accommodation choice can make or break your experience and it's important to be choosy. 

1) Determine your budget 

Before embarking on your trip, it is important to determine your daily budget. Are you going to spend $50 a day, $100 a day, or $150 a day? A third of your daily budget can typically suffice for accommodations. The accommodation you choose can also save you money with included breakfasts, airport transfers, discounts off tours etc. 

2) Adjust your expectations 

When in Rome as the saying goes. If you are in rural India, understand that your expectations may need to be adjusted. Decide what is important to you before choosing a place to stay; my priorities are friendliness and cleanliness and the rest will follow. Other travellers might need a flawless wifi connection or a comfortable bed- the sooner you admit your priorities the easier time you will have choosing a place.

3) Accommodation Websites  

A) TripAdvisor 

This seems like a pretty basic point but this website has never lead me astray. It beats using any travel book because people have been there just the day before and standards of places listed in guidebooks like Lonely Planet can drop after they gain popularity. Keep in mind too that places listed in guidebooks may have less availability due to how many people rely on them. 

Using TripAdvisor is a breeze and the top ten places of any category will usually suffice for variety. Unless everyone is rating a place one star I wouldn't pay one bad review any attention (what kind of person rips into a family business because they forgot to put towels in the room or because they didn't like the cat?). 

B) HomeAway / VRBO

The business of renting out private accommodations has exploded and revolutionized where people can choose to stay. Websites like these typically offer cheaper options that mostly include kitchen and laundry services that allows for cost savings if you can prepare some of your own food. 

The drawback is that there is less of a professional responsibility so if a cancellation occurs there is not much recourse other than to get a refund. Another drawback is that if you rent a private place you may miss out on the guesthouse / hotel experience where there are people to advise you and welcome you to a new place. There is also the issue of trusting the listing so it is important to read the reviews carefully and to be vigilant before offering any financial information. 

C) AirBnB 

This website is similar to the above mentioned but it is my personal favourite because the website takes on most of the accountability. Airbnb acts as the overseer by taking your financial information and not passing on the money you owe until 24 hours after you have arrived in a suite so that you have time to contest the charge if you were mislead in any way.  It also verifies all parties using a telephone system and as a guest you are also reviewed which leads to a positive experience all round. 

I have had negative experiences with cancellations from both websites. With HomeAway I was cancelled on 24 hours before arriving to Hawaii and was virtually left on my own to find a place with that short of notice. With Airbnb I was cancelled on and contacted by the website who gave me a credit understanding that I would not find something adequate in my price range in such short notice. Amazing customer service! 

4) Determine Your Style

Guesthouse? Hostel? Hotel? Private residence? 

Hotels are great for reliability and amenities. If you are searching for a perfect wifi connection, provided blow dryers etc. then a hotel is your best option. A good hotel will be the most expensive option but travellers can feel secure in the services they will provide and the cleanliness of the suite. A cheap hotel is often a poor option and it would be better to seek out a guesthouse where there is a more personal touch. 

Guesthouses are my favourite option for traveling as they are often very homey, clean, have exceptionally friendly service, and usually provide outstanding home cooked breakfasts. Often entire families run the guesthouse and the experience can feel very authentic. Bells and whistles can be lacking but the price should reflect this. The main drawback is that it can be intimate and if the guesthouse owners are eccentric in a bad way it can make for an awkward situation and affect your stay. This has only happened to us once in our travels where our host was a racist, awful person and we couldn't wait to leave. 

Hostels are the most obvious budget option and have come along way in recent years. For couples there are often great private rooms with or without a shared bathroom that can be nicer than a guesthouse! The rules are often more relaxed so the vibe can be very fun and free. This is usually the best option for meeting other travellers and people staying in hostels often end up travelling together.

5) Booking 

Every traveller is different with the levels of spontaneity they enjoy and while others will never book in advance, some people will have everything booked and paid for in advance. I like to fall in the middle with always having three top options in mind written in my notes and either emailing ahead about whether there is a lot of availability or just showing up and hoping for the best. Rarely would we commit any money to a guesthouse and on the two occasions that we did, it failed miserably. 

There are times when booking in advance makes good sense like if you are arriving in Delhi at 3am or wanting to stay in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Ironically though, every time we committed money to a booking it failed miserably. We arrived at 1am to our hotel in Istanbul to discover that the man child running the front desk had conveniently "lost" our reservation but that we had to stay at a different hotel of HIS choice and pay him for the five nights immediately or he would charge our credit card pretending that we failed to show up. Talk about extortion! 

Other travelers use websites to book their accommodations (booking.com, expedia, kayak etc.) but I prefer to contact the establishment directly. In the above example of Istanbul we had used booking.com and they failed to provide any safeguard for our visa information and the pretend "cancellation." I like to make the human connection. 

6) Always confirm your reservation 

If you have booked a reservation, always confirm via email or phone the day before you arrive unless you are laid back if it doesn't work out (hence why it is good to have three options). 

We had booked a hotel with a deposit  in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of nights before flying home and since I had sent a deposit I assumed that the reservation was confirmed. Not so. We arrived at midnight with nowhere to stay and with no other options in mind, we ended up having to break our budget big time to stay somewhere decent. Thankfully I did get the deposit back with no hassle (again confirming to me never to commit money!). 

7) Negotiate 

Depending on the country you are visiting, it is often acceptable to negotiate the rate of the room although this is not as significant as other haggling. It may even be advisable to leave the establishment and see if they follow you with a better price or return after some time away. Check out a few places so you can judge the price better. 

8) Always Ask to See Another Room

I can't stress this point enough! Even if you see a room you are pleased with always ask to see at least one other room. Especially in countries like India the rooms will vary drastically and you will be kicking yourself if you go into a fellow traveller's room and find out that it is much nicer AND they are paying less money! Establishments are always going to try to get rid of their less desirable rooms first. 

In general, try to be relaxed regarding accommodations. One night in a shoddy place won't affect your entire trip and you can always look for something better the next day. Honestly there were times we had arranged something that wasn't to our liking and we would tell a white lie and leave to find something else. If you don't commit money you have much more control and freedom! 

Good luck and happy travels!