There are so many hotel booking sites out there. Which one do you use? You’ve got the little gnome pushing you one way, you’ve got that little owl acting all uppity and pushing you to use his way, and then there’s that really friendly, hip guy pushing another way.
Well, don’t worry, we’re here to break them all down. Well, not really all of them, there are literally hundreds of them! We’re just going to do the top ones so that the next time that you need to get a hotel you’ll know just where to go. Travel tip: make a burner email at the email provider of your choice and have all travel deals sent there.
Cheat Sheet
Booking.com
This one is first alphabetically, besides the Airbnb one, it’s also first because it’s my go to website when booking hotels. They consistently offer the lowest prices, they price match (to be fair, most sites do), and once you book twice you qualify to be a Booking.com Genius which gives you a bigger discount. They have a very comprehensive search engine with a lot of options. The only time that I don’t use Booking is when I’m packaging a hotel with a flight or I’m booking a major hotel that I have points with.
Orbitz
I have a friend who is a walking, talking billboard for Orbitz. I would rank them just after Booking.com. They have competitive pricing plus they have promo codes that you can use to save an extra 10%. Orbitz also has a branded credit card that gives you points as you spend so you can save money on your trips. They also give you Orbucks each time you book through them, which comes in handy for saving money on future bookings.
Expedia
I’ve found some good package deals on Expedia and they also have member pricing if you sign up for their email list. It’s a decent all around travel planner and you should definitely use it for price comparisons, especially if you’re looking for a flight + hotel package.
Hotels.com
The appropriately named Hotels.com is probably the most famous hotel booking site. They offer a couple of perks that can save you a lot of money. After you book ten nights, together or seperately, you get one night free! The also have Secret prices, but you need to be member to receive those. I know some people who love Hotels.com and use them all the time.
Travelocity
Travelocity features travel codes and hotel sales that can save you money on hotels. What I really like about Travelocity is their “Travel for Good” program. If you need a hotel when you’re going to do volunteer work for one of their chosen charities, they’ll discount the hotel, which is nice. Check out there website for more details.
Airbnb
What a better way to spend a vacation than in someone else’s house so you can go through all their stuff? Actually, most homes on Airbnb are permanently set up as vacation rentals. But that’s even better. Why take the family to a cramped hotel room when you can get a whole house? You can bring Grandma and Grandpa along with you’re annoying Uncle Bob, the family prankster.
HomeAway
HomeAway is pretty much the same hotel booking site as Airbnb. It’s the rebranded VRBO which offers homes for vacation rentals. If you’re looking for something bigger than a hotel room, look here. They have different listings than Airbnb so be sure to check them out.
Kayak, Tripadvisor, Trivago
I put all three of these in the same category because they all do pretty much the same thing. They’re great for searching multiple sites at the same time so you can see what prices are on all the hotel booking travel sites. When you click on the price that you want it will take you to that travel site and you book through them.
What I like about all three of these is that you can see all the reviews that you can handle. Remember, always take reviews with a grain of salt as not all reviewers are equal. That one guy complaining about about the lack of a concierge service in a Motel 6, yeah, disregard his review.
So after checking out all the websites, you say, “Hey, all these websites look the same!”. Well, there’s a reason for that. There are two parent companies that own most of these sites so that’s why they all look the same and the prices are so similar.
Use them all, or find one that you like and use it. If you can’t find a particular property that you’re looking for, look on one of the other sites as not all properties are on all sites.
Need to fly to your destination? Be sure to check out our post and make sure that you don’t overpay for your flight. Read all about it here.
