How to book a hotel online?

We have already written a lot about how to book airline tickets online and described various schemes to help save on tickets; now it's time for hotels.

Where can you book a hotel online?

 . You can book a hotel online on the hotel's own website or on a booking system's website. Hotel booking systems can be global, allowing you to book hotels worldwide (for example, booking.com or hrs.com), and regional, featuring hotels only in a specific region (asiatravel.com), country (www.sawadee.com - hotel booking in Thailand), or city. Any booking system is an intermediary between you and the hotel; they do not charge you any fees for their services and earn from the commission paid to them by the hotel.

How to book a hotel independently?

 . The hotel booking procedure is best illustrated with a specific example. We decided to show you how to book a hotel on one of the most popular websites - booking.com. In the "Location/Hotel name" field, you can enter a city

country name

and even the name of a landmark, for example, Stonehenge in Great Britain:

Next, select the check-in dates for the hotel. Pay attention to the arrival and departure dates indicated on your airline ticket.

After that, select the number of people and rooms. If there are 3 of you and two rooms, Booking will offer you one double room and one single room (or a double room for one person). If there are more of you, an additional menu will open where you can choose how many people will be in each room:

After entering all the data, click the "Search" button and you will get several hundred hotel offers. It is very difficult to choose from such a variety, and sorting and filters come to our aid.

  On booking.com, we can sort hotels by the following criteria:

Recommended. Recommendations are based on positive reviews from previous hotel guests and booking.com's opinion. Hotels recommended by Booking are marked with a special icon . This sorting is set by default.

Stars. Hotels can be sorted by star rating from 5 to 1 or, conversely, from 1 to 5 stars. In the left menu, you can specify a specific category and type of hotel, as well as amenities in the hotel or room, such as Wi-Fi or a swimming pool in the hotel.

Distance. If you selected a city in the search form, the system will show you all hotels located in the city center on the first pages. If you want to stay in a specific location, specify it in the form on the left.

 We decided to look for a hotel near the Eiffel Tower. For convenience, you can view the search results on a map.

Price. Sorting is carried out according to the following criteria:

• • 1 guest (including beds in shared rooms) - suitable if you are considering accommodation not only in hotels but also in hostels, where there can be 4-10 or more beds in one room.
  • 1 guest (single rooms) - if you are looking for an inexpensive or, conversely, the most expensive single room.
  • 2 guests (double and twin rooms) - most often, sorting is done by this criterion. The system will show you prices for double rooms in ascending order.
  • 3 guests (triple rooms)

If your goal is not to find the cheapest option, but to stay within a certain budget, then refine your search data in the left menu:

Guest review score. Sorting can be done by all reviews, or by groups:

• • Groups of friends
  • Young couples
  • Mature couples
  • Families with young children
  • Families with older children
  • Solo travelers

In this case, only hotels with at least five reviews will be considered. Additionally, you can sort hotels by theme, such as castles, shopping, SPA, etc., although here it's more about the purpose of the trip than the theme.

There is also a separate filter for hotel chains for bonus program participants:

By clicking on the name of a hotel you like, you will go to a page with its detailed description.

What to pay attention to when choosing a hotel?

.  Firstly, pay attention to the cancellation policy, especially if you are not 100% sure of your plans. Rooms with free cancellation are usually more expensive.

Please note that the phrase FREE cancellation does not mean that if you do not check in, you will not be charged any penalty. Most often, the penalty is not charged only if you cancel your booking no later than 1 day (sometimes 7 days) before check-in. Otherwise, you will have to pay a penalty of 100% of the cost of the 1st night's stay. To clarify the conditions, click on the icon

. If the conditions state "Non-refundable", then upon cancellation or no-show, you will lose the entire cost (for all booked nights of stay). When canceling a booking, there's another nuance: 1 day before check-in or 24 hours is counted according to the hotel's local time. This is especially relevant if you have booked a hotel in Asia or America.

For example, we have a hotel booking in Tokyo; if we don't cancel it before 00:00 on January 20th, we will be charged the cost of the first night's stay. The time difference between Moscow and Tokyo is 5 hours, meaning when it's 00:00 on January 20th in Japan, it will still be 19:00 on January 19th in Moscow.

Secondly, pay attention to the currency. You pay the hotel in local currency, for example, in Europe, it's Euros. If you set dollars or rubles during the search, the amount will be approximate, depending on the current exchange rate. If your card is in rubles and the hotel's currency is euros, the conversion will occur at your bank's internal exchange rate, which may cause the amount on your statement to differ from what is shown on the website. The currency can be changed in the top menu:

Don't forget to familiarize yourself with the information in the "House Rules" section. Pay attention to the check-in and check-out times. Most often, you can check in after 14:00-15:00 and check out by 12:00, but there are exceptions. For example, in many budget hotels, check-out is at 10:00 AM.

Additionally, familiarize yourself with the services included in the price, such as breakfast or internet. In many countries, a city tax is levied on each hotel guest; it is not included in the accommodation cost and is paid separately. If everything suits us, we select the required number of rooms and click "Book". On the next page, you need to enter your first and last name, as well as your email address.

In "Special requests", you can write that you need an extra bed for a child or any other services.

For example, you can inform the hotel that you are on your honeymoon; many hotels decorate the room for this occasion and offer a small compliment (a fruit basket, etc.).

By clicking the "Continue" button, you will proceed to the payment page:

You will need a bank card to book a hotel. Many people wonder, can you book a hotel on Booking.com without a card? Yes, you can, but only a limited number of hotels. There are very few of them, and it will take quite a lot of time to find one. If you don't have your own card, you can book a hotel using someone else's. In this case, on the previous page, in the "Special requests" field, write that the booking will be made with someone else's card, and its owner has given permission to use the card; also remember to specify the cardholder's name.

How does payment work?

 . Booking does not charge money from your card, but as a guarantee, the hotel may pre-authorize a certain amount to ensure that there are funds on the card. The blocked amount depends on the hotel; it could be the cost of the 1st night's stay, a certain percentage of the total amount, for example, 20%, or a symbolic $0.01 for card verification. If there were no funds on the card at the time of pre-authorization, the system will try again. Typically, there is little time between two attempts, and if the funds are still not pre-authorized, booking.com will send you an email with content similar to the following:

Dear .....! 

 We have received a message from the hotel ........... The credit card details you provided are invalid. 

What to do:

Click here to change your credit card details: MyBooking

 You can also contact the hotel ........... for more information. 

Important! Please do this within 24 hours to ensure that the hotel does not attempt to charge your card or cancel your booking.

Your booking at this hotel is considered valid until you receive an email notification of its cancellation.

The hotel may charge a fee:

- For no-show - For late cancellation - As an advance payment

All payments are processed by the hotel.

We will be happy to answer your questions 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

 Booking.com

 In most cases, the money will be charged 1 day before check-in (for the first night), and the remaining amount upon check-in at the hotel. You can pay the remaining amount using the card you specified on the website, or with cash or another card. It is not uncommon for Booking to offer a much lower price than the hotel. Many people worry, will the hotel charge its own prices? You don't need to worry about this; you will be charged exactly the amount indicated in the booking confirmation from the website.  What is required when checking into a hotel? When you arrive at the hotel, you will need to present the passports of all guests to the administrator. Sometimes, a printout of the booking confirmation from the website is required, so don't forget to bring it with you. Some hotels may require a small deposit, in case you use the minibar or break something in the room. What to do if the room does not match what was booked on the website? Unpleasant situations do occur. For any problems or discrepancies, go to the reception with your Booking printout and point out what in your room does not match what was stated on the website. If the hotel does not take action, write to booking.com support; usually, all problems are resolved quite quickly.

Is a booking from booking.com suitable for obtaining a visa?

In most cases, yes. Some embassies also ask for a fax from the hotel. To get it, you need to write or call the hotel directly (not booking.com), preferably providing a sample letter so they don't get anything wrong. Pay attention to the correct spelling of dates and the surnames of all guests staying at the hotel. If full payment for accommodation is required to obtain a visa, then again, contact the hotel directly (details are on the Booking confirmation) and ask them to charge for the entire period of stay.