Booking Accommodation: Hotels, Rentals and Hostels

Accommodation is usually the largest single cost of a trip, and the one with the widest price variation for essentially the same thing. A little method here saves more than most other travel tactics combined.

Compare the true total

Headline nightly rates are close to meaningless. Before comparing anything, work out the total you will actually pay:

• Cleaning fees on rentals, which are fixed and therefore punishing on short stays.
• Service fees charged by booking platforms.
• Resort fees and local tourist taxes, often payable on arrival and sometimes in cash.
• Breakfast, and whether it is worth the price.
• Parking, which in city hotels can be substantial.
• Wifi, still charged by some hotels.

A rental that looks cheaper per night frequently loses to a hotel once a fixed cleaning fee is spread across two or three nights. The reverse is true for a week-long family stay.

Check direct before booking

Find the property on a comparison site, then check the hotel’s own website. Many chains price-match or beat platforms for direct bookings, and often add perks — free breakfast, room upgrades, later checkout, flexible cancellation.

For independent properties, phoning and asking for their best rate genuinely works, particularly for longer stays or off-season.

Direct booking also makes life easier if something goes wrong. Resolving a problem through a third-party platform is slower.

Choosing the type

Hotels

Best for short city stays, solo travellers and couples. Predictable, serviced, central. Budget chains are excellent value booked early on non-refundable rates.

Rentals and apartments

Best for families, groups and longer stays. A kitchen and a washing machine reduce the daily spend considerably. Watch cleaning fees on short stays, and check what the host expects of you on departure — some ask for a long checkout routine on top of a large cleaning fee.

Hostels

Much changed. Many now offer private rooms with ensuites at well under hotel prices, in central locations, with kitchens. Worth checking even if a dormitory is not for you.

Aparthotels

A middle ground: hotel service with a kitchenette. Often good value for stays of several nights.

Bed and breakfast and guesthouses

Frequently cheaper than hotels in the UK and Ireland, with breakfast included and better local knowledge.

Timing

• Book early for peak periods. School holidays and major events only go up.
• Off-peak, late deals exist where properties would otherwise sit empty. This is a gamble, not a strategy.
• Midweek is cheaper in leisure destinations; weekends are cheaper in business cities. Cities that empty on Friday afternoon are excellent value for weekend breaks.
• Rebook if the price falls. If you booked a free-cancellation rate, check the price again nearer the date and rebook if it has dropped.

Free things worth using

• Loyalty schemes. Free to join, and members frequently get lower rates, free wifi and late checkout even without accumulating points. Join before booking.
• Cashback sites, which often pay well on accommodation.
• Employer benefits portals and union schemes, which regularly include hotel discounts.
• Collect-ten-nights schemes run by some booking platforms.

Read the reviews properly

Sort by most recent — a property can change hands or decline. Read the middling reviews rather than the extremes; they are usually the most honest. Look for recurring complaints rather than one-off grumbles, and pay attention to anything about cleanliness, noise or how the host handled a problem.

For rentals, check the host’s other listings and how long they have been operating.

Protecting the booking

• Pay by credit card where the total is over £100 for Section 75 protection.
• Never pay by bank transfer to a host you have not met, and be suspicious of any request to move off-platform to pay.
• Screenshot the listing, including what was included, in case the property differs on arrival.
• Check the cancellation terms before paying, and weigh a slightly higher flexible rate against a cheap non-refundable one if plans could change.

On arrival

If the room or property is materially not as advertised, raise it immediately with the property and, if booked through one, the platform. Take photographs. Complaints made on the spot are resolved far more often than ones raised after you get home.