https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787633291002003456
It is admittedly a process :D It's a process I enjoy but not everyone will, so take it with a grain of salt -- sometimes just finding somewhere you like and booking it without worrying about cost is easier.
[[MORE]]
So, I do use AirBNB quite a bit, but I also use Google Maps and an app called HotelTonight. Basically when I know I'm going to be traveling somewhere, I open Google Maps and search for hotels in the area, just to get an idea of pricing. You do have to be careful with this because Google Maps often shows you an artificially cheap price on rooms -- it's looking for the lowest rate, which is usually not offered by the hotel but by a third-party website. These can be legit, I've used them, but they frequently mean you're getting the shittiest room and the poorest service and often they will nickel-and-dime you in the process. They also sometimes don't tell you that there are INSANE "resort" fees attached to the room -- a per-night fee that's added on last, like a room tax, in order to keep the visible price low.
Enter HotelTonight -- it's meant for booking last-minute stays but it also has comprehensive data on the hotel as well as reviews, and it will tell you in one of the "about this hotel" sections if there are resort fees. Sometimes the resort fee isn't too bad -- sometimes it's like $80/night for no visible benefit, which is ludicrous, but sometimes it's like $20/night and means you get a free ("free") breakfast. I've booked hotel rooms through HotelTonight so I know it's legit, and it's legit enough that it's not always the crappiest room. The reviews help too -- sometimes a hotel room seems too good to be true and the reviews will be like "This is so cheap because it's actually a hostel, don't be fooled, it's over a very loud bar and there are bedbugs."
So, often I'll look at Google Maps and/or HotelTonight to get an idea of what a hotel room would cost, but usually I end up booking through AirBNB because I have specific needs/desires, and AirBNB has robust filters. Usually when I'm traveling I want a place where I can cancel within a reasonable window if plans fall through, I want to self check-in, I want the whole place to myself, I want at least a microwave and fridge, I want AC in summer and if I'm traveling more than a few days I want a washing machine. I can build a filter with all of those wants on AirBNB, and then I can review my options. Will I pay a little more? Yeah, sometimes, but if you're booking way out in advance often there are pretty good deals. I've stayed in some really small places and some sketchy neighborhoods but I've never felt genuinely unsafe, because I look at the photos and read the host blurbs and I don't mind a little weirdness. And sometimes I get super lucky, like finding a place in Rovaniemi with a built-in private sauna, or staying in a place in Rome last time that had a weird-ass front door but for $100/night was legit a suite in a boutique luxury hotel that normally would have cost me thousands.
Of course mileage on this varies a little; I'm a physically able adult and told I'm slightly intimidating, so I feel safe in situations others might not. If I were younger or looked more vulnerable or had certain disabilities I would have different concerns. And AirBNB is, sad to say, fucking garbage about disability -- nobody is required to tell you if there's stairs or other accessibility issues, and a lot of people don't mark their rooms "step free" even if they are, or the rooms are step free except for 2-3 steps up to the front door, so the step-free filter is basically useless. Sometimes you're left like, looking at windows in the photos to see what floor you'll be on, or you have to message the host to find out (and of course in Europe the numbering is different, so "first" floor is the 2nd floor, "2nd floor" is actually the third floor, etc). It's reached a point where even if I'm traveling alone as a fully abled person, I won't book certain units because they're visibly not accessible but don't say so, and that's bullshit. When I'm booking for my parents, a step-free single-level lodging is a necessity, and now I'm starting to look at booking for a partner with limited mobility, I default to either hotels or apartments in high-rise buildings that obviously have elevators.
So yeah, my basic process is to check out the average cost using Google Maps and HotelTonight, use AirBNB to see if I can get comparable lodgings for cheaper (or better lodgings for a comparable price), and only ever book if I'm highly confident I'll be actually traveling, or if I can cancel the booking later if plans fall through. But it means that I'm often paying a reasonable amount to stay somewhere both convenient and interesting, and in the past 2-3 years I haven't stayed anywhere I felt unsafe or regretted booking. As long as you read the fine print, keep alert, and make sure you check the photos, you should be good. :)
https://copperbadge.tumblr.com/post/787633291002003456
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
vincentbriggsrss_feed) wrote2025-06-29 12:09 pm
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
