How to find cheap hotel rooms. What sites are used and which avoided.
A hotel room is not the cheapest option to stay in a
strange place. There are options for interesting (from hostels and apartments
to tents and CouchSurfing). But the hotel is definitely comfortable: breakfast cook;
will be removed in the room, soft bed unmade and soap in the bathroom put. I
like blogging. For myself and all interested, I did some research: what sites
more convenient, cheaper, and more reliable to use to make your reservation.
The study done in May 2014, specifically to take separate
dates during the week and weekend. Cities: Paris, Prague, New York and Bangkok.
For the experiment, I took six reservation systems: Expedia, Hotels,Booking,
Hotwire, Priceline, and one completely new TravelPony. The minimum cost of a
double room for 1 night in hotels 2,3 and 4 stars is reflected in the tables.
If you are bored of the table, scroll and go directly to the analysis and
conclusions.
PARIS June 1-3 weekdays
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * € 34 € 39 €
41 € 49 € 72 -
3 * € 52 € 43 €
48 € 70 € 79 € 46
4 * € 78 € 65 €
74 102 € € 90 € 73
PARIS June 6-8 weekend
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * € 36 € 33 €
34 € 78 € 41 -
3 * € 44 € 41 €
45 € 84 € 42 € 46
4 * € 73 € 50 €
55 119 € € 66 € 57
PRAGUE June 1-3 weekdays
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * € 18 € 11 €
21 € 21 € 22 -
3 * € 22 € 15 €
17 € 25 € 28 € 54
4 * € 26 € 27 €
32 € 32 € 28 € 42
PRAGUE June 6-8 weekend
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * € 20 € 13 €
25 € 26 € 25 -
3 * € 20 € 24 €
29 € 25 € 29 € 53
4 * € 28 € 36 €
44 € 44 € 32 € 55
NEW YORK June 1-3 weekdays
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * $ 75 $ 79 $
78 $ 119 $ 79 -
3 * $ 128 $ 79 $
94 $ 87 $ 100 $ 73
4 * $ 201 $ 190 $
222 $ 157 $ 156 $ 123
NEW YORK June 6-8 weekend
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * $ 75 $ 84
$ 99 $ 178 $ 75 -
3 * $ 140 $ 119 $
125 $ 149 $ 98 $ 82
4 * $ 199 $ 199 $
232 $ 198 $ 163 $ 128
BANGKOK June 1-3 weekdays
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * $ 7 $ 10 $
13 $ 13 - -
3 * $ 13 $ 14 $
17 $ 16 $ 24 -
4 * $ 25 $ 34 $
31 $ 25 $ 53 $ 49
BANGKOK June 6-8 weekend
Priceline Expedia Hotels Booking Hotwire TravelPony
2 * $ 7 $ 10 $
13 $ 12 - -
3 * $ 13 $ 15 $
17 $ 15 $ 24 -
4 * $ 25 $ 34 $
31 $ 25 $ 54 $ 49
That it became interesting?
Getting to experiment, I was expecting a lot from
Bookingand believed that Expedia will overtake all cost. Hotwire that will be
the cheapest, but a beginner cannot TravelPony compete with huge monsters
market.
All expectations were wrong.
TravelPony udelal all in America and stated their claims in
Europe. Not the best interface, but look for his development.
Priceline - place, faster server. Only one price is too high
and 11 wins in the lowest category! Championship result.
Expedia - fast server, comfortable settings and 8 best
extrema in the price. Single worst performance.
Hotels - to grant the same hotels as Expedia, the cost of
5-15% higher. The assets of the four worst results, none better.
Booking- Sharp fluctuations relative to the average prices
of other search engines, it is cheaper, then suddenly twice as expensive. 2 of
the best and worst results 9. The worst performance among all.
Hotwire - a few suggestions, but very clearly, the location
of the hotel in the city map directly into the grid prices. One the best score
and 7 the worst.
Agoda - indispensable in Asia. Unfortunately not the most
user-friendly interface: you cannot select a number on the cost (no filter
prices), it is impossible to rank the hotels at a cost. Originally I wanted to
include it in the table, but refused to look through thousands of hotels that
have chosen a better price. Find hotel cost in the big city - a little problem
on the eighth pulls Herculean task.
Another three sites
Before moving on to the issues of reservations turn to
metapoiskovikam. HotelsCombined connects thousands of sites hotels and hostels,
but the actual request has shown that they are not as beneficial as would seem
- $ 134 room at 3 *, against the same hotel at Expedia for 91 $. Often, they do
not show more than two proposals. All dull.
Recommend avoiding Trivago, they regularly overestimate
rating hotels. Very often, 4 * hotel on their website is actually three or even
two-star hotel. They also propose to consider Hostel in New York four-star
(there are no hostels 4 *). Do not use them if you do not want to pay 4 * and
dwell in the two stars.
Finally, let's talk about Tingo , is a website that returns
the money if the price of your room at the hotel falls after the order - a
great way to not have to worry about changes. Before booking, I would have
checked out the price of your hotel on this site to make sure that it is higher
than the price of other search sites. If the price is less than or equal,
should be ordered to Tingo, your order will be cheap and immune to price
changes.
How to make advantageous Reservations at
The choice of accommodation more above their competition,
airlines than the competition, and price fluctuations are negligible. It is not
necessary to spend hours searching for hotels and for days to track the price
as people do with tickets.
I would spend a maximum of thirty minutes to make your
reservation. Often booking, you yourself will find that the differences between
the different sites do not justify the many hours of searching. Do not waste
life trying to save a buck or two. Moreover, the major booking sites have their
own loyalty program, and if you consistently use one website, it is necessary
to stay with him, even if it is not the cheapest option.
For me, the search of cheap hotels as follows:
Start with Priceline, Expedia, or your favorite booking
system. (If you want to stay in Asia, use Agoda, this is the best site in the
region.)
Check back a couple of sites mentioned here.
Selecting a hotel, check the price on the website of the
hotel itself.
Make a cross-check with the Tingo.
Book a room.
Travels safely expect - you have booked the most convenient
number.
Once again I remind you that the hotel is warm and dry, but
there are more interesting features: hostels, apartments for rent, camping and
CouchSurfing.
