Booking sites for budget hotels
If you're one of those who really want to experience being more than a traveller and stay in places that not only get you into the culture of the place; a regular, run-of-the-mill hotel may not be the best place to stay.
A few days ago, we reviewed regular hotel booking sites but what if the regular hotel isn’t what you’re looking for?
Many of us like to travel but staying at a hotel can not only be expensive, it’s also a limiting way of really experiencing the place that you’re traveling in.
If you’re one of those who really want to experience being more than a traveller and stay in places that not only get you into the culture of the place; a regular, run-of-the-mill hotel may not be the best place to stay.
How about trying one of these instead?
Rent a place
Instead of staying at a hotel, you can actually opt to stay at actual apartments or rooms that are being rented out to travellers by locals.
Some of the options may be expensive, but all sites dedicated to this know that you’re looking for one within your budget and some of the choices can be a lot cheaper than a hotel.
Plus point, as these are most likely homes or apartments – you’re living where other locals live and you’ll get a first-hand look at how they live.
Airbnb
Airbnb is one of the most popular rental stays available on the internet with its wide network and affordable rental rates.
You can find tips on how to use the website for both traveling and hosting on the front page.
The site can also breakdown the cities and districts you want to stay through neighbourhoods.
They even give characteristics and attractions to the neighbourhoods so you can see if staying there would appeal to you, and then you can find places to stay in that neighbourhood.
All prices can be set in the currency of your choice and you can set a minimum or maximum price.
You can even select whether you want to rent an entire place, a private room or share a room with another traveller.
Other ways of sorting your selections include amenities, property type, host language, and maybe keywords such as beach, romantic, transit, etc.
Upon clicking on your selection, you can read up on the full description of the place you chose, the amenities and house rules involved. How many bedrooms, bathrooms, minimum stay, cleaning fee, etc. are all also listed.
You can find out more about the host and contact them directly. Reviews of the place can be found at the very bottom of the page.
Booking through Airbnb can be relatively simple online, but it is known for having some rather bad service when it comes to the payment and actual locations.
As Airbnb is unable to check on all the rooms, apartment or houses being rented out, there are cases of bad hosts or owners with bad house upkeep or are never around.
Airbnb also holds on to the service fees even if the transaction between you and the host fails to go through and if you do not make a timely report on your complaints, you may never get your refund.
Summary
Pros: Easy to use, prices can be reasonable, able to learn more about different neighbourhoods, detailed lodging.
Cons: Refunds are a pain to get, no promise of good quality from the hosts, reviews may be biased.
Travelmob
Travelmob is known to be Asia’s answer to Airbnb as it also offers travellers a stay at rented areas.
The site offers travel tips for both the host and the guests to consider which includes advice on insurance as well as cleaning fees. All prices mentioned can be changed due to currency exchange.
Upon selecting your location, you’ll get a list of places which has its own tags at the bottom.
If you want to look for a specific tag, you can check out the “I’m interested in” box available on the left where you can choose something like nightlife, romantic or scenic.
You can specify your type of lodging, your price range and/or the kind of amenities you want. You can see the choices available either as a list, with photos or on the map.
When you’ve selected a place, the layout is similar to that of Airbnb but you can also easily access the calendar of that place to see if the date you wish to book is available or not.
There are also amenities, house rules and other details available.
As Travelmob is generally new there aren’t many reviews on the site or feedback for you to read through.
So far the few reviews available have been positive with booking being simple and easy with most of the hidden costs are manageable.
Summary
Pros: Simple to use, more options on your selection available, quick access to the calendar to make a booking.
Cons: Not enough reviews on the site, hidden costs that aren’t visible even to those hosting.
Here are some simple tips to remember when booking from sites like Airbnb and Travelmob.
Always contact the host before making your booking to get a good feel of your host’s response time and how they answer your queries.
Never book unless you know your host is ready to accept your payment. A delay may mean you risk losing money in terms of service fee if the transaction isn’t done in a timely manner.
There will always be extra charges and hidden fees involved so be sure to keep that in mind before placing your booking.
Cancellation fee rules vary, so be sure to read up and inform yourself on how to cancel should such an occasion arise.
If booking goes well and you got a great host, it’s good to give them a little gift of gratitude either in terms of buying them dinner or getting them a souvenir from your home country.
Stay in a hostel
If living in a rented property feels a bit too risky for you and you want to stay in a place with proper reception and is cheap, then you’re looking for a hostel.
It’s a simple place to stay and you get to meet other travellers too! There are a number of hostel sites available online so we review two of them below.
Hostels
You can find guides of different cities as well as a listing of great value hostels and popular hostel destinations available on the first page.
You can choose the currency of your choice on the top of the page, and if you want to book as a big group, the option is also available.
From the city you’ve chosen, you can narrow down your choices via availability from the date you’ve chosen, the price, ratings from other reviewers, distance and even property type.
There are more ways to narrow down your choices on the left. Prices shown can include both dorms and private rooms.
The site then displays the room types, prices as well as the overall ratings from other reviewers.
You can also check out facilities and policies, map and directions of the hostel, and they will state how much the down payment and deposit would be upon selecting a room.
They will also state if they prefer to receive their money in cash and in the currency of their choice.
While Hostels claim there are no booking fees, there is a service fee involved.
But other than that, as most hostels preferably receive payment upfront when you arrive, there is little else to worry about other than that.
Summary
Pros: Useful, simple site to use.
Cons: Not enough reviews, doesn’t list some of the better hostels available, charges a small service fee.
Hostelbookers
It’s been recommended by backpackers as one of the better sites to go to due to their wider selections of hostels, but there was an issue of prices being available in selected currencies.
That’s still quite a number of currencies available, but as an example we could not see the prices in Ringgit on Hostelbookers, which means you don’t know exactly how much you’re paying when you factor conversion. However, at the end of the day conversion may depend on your money exchange or credit card company depending on how you’re paying so this isn’t a big detraction.
Hostelbookers list has featured properties on the top of its list when you select a city to go to. You can filter your choices via price range, rating, room type, property type and even district. Shared and private prices are also available, and you can even get a map view of the available hostels listed.
The list of rooms available can be more detailed such as if it’s by gender or mixed, and states if breakfast is included.
When you click on “View room details” you not only get the room type, facilities and such, pictures of how the room will look is also available.
There may be pop-ups on the side stating the recent booking in the hostel, and you can find out more facilities and what’s included on the left as well as reviews.
Booking is simple with a mention of the down-payment and deposit that you need. Hostelbookers is also known to be the cheapest as it does not charge any other service or booking fees.
Summary
Pros: No extra service fees, very detailed information on hostels available, map viewing.
Cons: Prices not available in all currencies, the list and information can seem a bit too cluttered.
Do some CouchSurfing
If you’re feeling a little more adventurous and are up to the challenge, do check out Couchsurfing, where you can stay in a stranger’s house for free and some hosts are happy to take you around. Of course, it’s always best to get to know your possible host and check out the recommendation and references available as there are risks when you entrust your safety to someone you’re unfamiliar with. While it’s a great adventure and it will save you a lot of money in a way, be sure to read Couchsurfing’s safety tips and take precaution when taking this route. It’s also a nice gesture to ‘reward’ your host by buying a meal or a gift as you are staying in their house for free.
Whatever your choices are, be sure to do your research and take the necessary precautions when making a booking through these sites. However you choose to spend your holiday and where you stay, be sure to make it worth your money, time and most importantly, your experience!
This was brought you by Michelle Brohier from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, personal loans and home loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.
No comments:
Post a Comment