Hotel Reservations
HOTEL RESERVATION
Today, with the web, you can reserve all international standard hotels worldwide, and most of the hotels in major cities in developed countries.
In 2011 this page said the Booking.com app covered nearly 100,000 hotels in around 80 countries. Booking.com now reports more than 28 million listings, over 6.6 million of them homes and apartments rather than hotels, and more than 70 million reviews from verified guests.
For advice and comments directly from guests, Tripadvisor is still the big one. It passed a billion reviews and opinions in 2022.
Booking for a long trip
A round-the-world trip is the wrong place to book every night in advance. Plans change, you'll like some places more than you expected, and a bus will break down somewhere. A few habits help:
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Book the first night or two in each new country, especially when you land late or tired, and leave the rest open.
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Pay a little more for a rate you can cancel. Booking.com says many of its bookings can be cancelled free of charge. A non-refundable room three weeks ahead is a bet that nothing on your trip will change.
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Read the recent reviews, not the average score. A hotel that was good in 2019 may have new owners.
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Check the hotel's own website before you book. It sometimes has a better rate or a free breakfast the booking sites don't show.
For your budget, mix it up. A good hotel after a week of night buses is money well spent, and hostels, guesthouses and home stays cover the rest. See Hostels around the World, Homestay & Home Exchanges and Hospitality Exchange. BootsnAll's guide to hostels and hotels for round-the-world travellers compares the two.
Tags: trip advisor, hotel booking, hotel reservation, hotels RTW, iphone travel app
Planning a round-the-world trip? AirTreks has built multi-stop itineraries since 1987. See sample routes or ask a specialist.