Website design By BotEap.comFinding and booking the perfect hotels for your next trip to Europe should be easy, right? After all, hasn’t the Internet made it easy to research and book with confidence?

Website design By BotEap.comYes and no. It’s never been easier to get information about hotels around the world, but it can also be easy to fall for the traps of hotel sellers, complicated websites and even other travelers.

Website design By BotEap.comHere are five tips that will make your hotel search more efficient and your trip more affordable.

Website design By BotEap.comTip #1: Be careful with online hotel reviews!

Website design By BotEap.comMany travel websites offer reader-submitted hotel reviews. While most of these reviews are probably legitimate, we always suggest approaching these reviews with a healthy dose of skepticism. You never know who is posting that review or why they are posting it.

Website design By BotEap.comFor example, many returning visitors only bother to write a review when they are MAD about something. They often blame a hotel for a frustrating experience that is not the hotel’s fault.

Website design By BotEap.comAlso, a hotel owner could “set fire” to a competitor’s hotel with a nasty anonymous review and get away undetected. On the contrary, hotel owners can give themselves glowing reviews. You never know who these reviews are coming from.

Website design By BotEap.comTip #2: Don’t confuse hotel “discounts” with good deals!

Website design By BotEap.comOn certain booking websites, you may be thrilled to find hotels available at deeply discounted rates, sometimes as much as 50% off! Be skeptical.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen hotels partner with certain websites, they have to compete with other hotels to get their attention. One way to get to the top of the list is to offer the biggest discount.

Website design By BotEap.comGuess what happens? Hotels first inflate their normal rates, then turn around and “cut” those prices to offer a “50% off” room. But no one would have ever paid that “normal” price! It’s a hoax, but that hotel is placed at the top of the list.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen you see claims for deep discounts, shop around and see what the reasonable rate is for the type of hotel you’re looking for and shop around.

Website design By BotEap.comTip #3: Unchain yourself!

Website design By BotEap.comWhen searching for smaller, independent hotels, you will often find hotels that are more interesting, better located and cheaper.

Website design By BotEap.comBig booking websites often prefer to deal with big chains as they are easier to register and manage. If you only search the big sites, you won’t even know the smaller hotels exist!

Website design By BotEap.comIn many old European cities, strict zoning laws prohibit modern construction in their historic centers. Because of this, the large (non-luxury) chain hotels tend to be on the outskirts of the city, while many smaller, cheaper hotels are located in older buildings right in the middle of the action.

Website design By BotEap.comSpend your time looking for independent hotels! Smaller European-focused websites, such as Venere.com, Booking.com, and EuroCheapo.com (which I edit), list smaller, non-chain, family-run hotels.

Website design By BotEap.comTip #4: Double check the hotel rate!

Website design By BotEap.comCall the hotel to check prices before booking online, as you may find a cheaper rate.

Website design By BotEap.comReservation websites charge the hotel a commission for reservations. To cover this, many hotels add an additional charge to your “online” room rate, thereby inflating the price.

Website design By BotEap.comTry to find the phone number of the hotel and check the prices! This can be quite difficult as most websites will not provide you with the hotel’s phone number. After all, they want you to book through them!

Website design By BotEap.comAnd don’t worry about not being able to speak the language! Almost all hotel receptionists in Europe can speak at least enough English to check prices for you.

Website design By BotEap.comTip #5: Beware of additional charges when booking.

Website design By BotEap.comWhile researching hotel prices, we often come across well-known booking websites that show a hotel price at first, but then reveal a much higher total price right when you’re ready to enter your credit card information. .

Website design By BotEap.comHow can they do this? Here are some of his favorite tricks:

Website design By BotEap.comThey wait until the last minute to reveal local taxes (which can be very high in Europe and are always part of the price).

Website design By BotEap.comAnother tactic is to add a “service fee”, even though they are already charging up to 10% commission to the hotel!

Website design By BotEap.comMore brazenly, they invent some business on a “security fee”. Profitability, anyone?

Website design By BotEap.comWe recommend booking only through booking websites that show all costs up front.

Website design By BotEap.comNext step: Book with confidence.

Website design By BotEap.comNow that we’ve spent time going over some of the tricks of the trade, you’re better equipped to do your research and book with confidence. And don’t forget to have fun! After all, you are going on a European adventure! Good trip!