Answer These Questions Before Booking a Hotel

Are you in the process of searching for a hotel to book? It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you’ll come to find that you have many choices.

While it’s easy to make a final decision and go with it, you don’t want to get ahead of yourself. Instead, you need to answer a variety of critical questions before booking. These include the following:

•    Where can you get the best deal in regards to price? Many people assume they’ll secure the best price online, but this isn’t always the case. Try this: call the hotel and ask them if they can beat your best online price. This is particularly effective if you’ve been using services such as Expedia, as the hotel would rather have you book direct.
•    What is the cancellation policy? While you have every intention of following through with your stay, you never know what could come up at the last minute. For example, you may need to cancel a business trip when a client or prospect has a sudden change in schedule. It’s important to understand the cancellation policy, as this could be the difference between a full refund and losing all your money.
•    Is the price you’re quoted the final price you’ll pay? In other words, you need to look at the fine print. Does it include tax? How about hotel fees, such as those for parking? You don’t want to assume you’re getting a good deal, just to find out later on that there are a variety of fees that will add to your overall cost. Looking to earn rewards on hotel stays? Consider these hotel rewards credit cards.

These are three of the more important questions to address before booking a hotel. Many others may come to mind, and it’s essential that you answer each and every one before moving forward.

It can be a lot of fun to travel, but only if you take the time to book the right hotel at the right price.

Are you in the habit of answering these questions before booking a hotel? Do any others come to mind?