Things you need to know before you book a hotel onlineWritten by Chloe Lim
Continued from page 1
•Are there any extra inclusions such as breakfast, and, if so, is it a cooked or continental breakfast? •Do you understand what room type and bedding configuration you will be getting? •Is your reservation guaranteed? Will it be held for late arrival? •What is change, cancellation and refund policy if you need to change or cancel your booking? •Did credit card number you gave to internet booking service merely guarantee your room, or did they charge a deposit (or even full stay) at time you made your booking to credit card? •You may contact hotel directly 24 hours after you’ve made your online booking, to confirm that booking has appeared in their local computer system. You may also check with them to see if booking is same as you have made in terms of room type, room rate, dates, etc. •If you have any special needs or requirements or expectations, you should double check with hotel directly that these special service requests have been received by them and are understood and will be provided. •Most importantly, if you prepaid any amounts to internet website, confirm that you won't be billed again by hotel directly. Remember that most internet websites are completely independent of hotels they service, and could be located anywhere in world; once they get your money; there is no guarantee that they will pass it on to hotel in time for your stay. www.ratestogo.com (http://www.ratestogo.com) is a website that has answers to all these questions. Visit http://www.ratestogo.com/Hotels-Last-Minute/EN for last minute deals for over 5,500 global properties through a real time booking engine.
Author Bio Chloe Lim is a photographer and avid traveler. She travels extensively for work and family vacations. She is always on the lookout for bargain travel deals and discount luxury vacations. This article is courtesy of http://www.ratestogo.com, you may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.
| | Following Links to HawaiiWritten by Dave Davis
Continued from page 1
Where to stay... Well many areas have many styles of accommodation, from hotels to cozy bed and breakfasts, to condos to luxury resorts. Oahu's noted for its tourist hotels and condos in Waikiki to luxury spa resorts. Maui, Kauai and Hawaii have their fair share of luxury resorts and bed and breakfasts. Once you have your rough general itinerary, it's now time to search using appropriate terms, such as "hawaii vacation," "fun things to do in hawaii" and "hawaii airfare," etc. Line up 3 to 5 good sites for each topic--some sites will cover them all--and then start clicking. Explore each site to sort out better from good and keep your eyes open for any travel, accommodation or activity options you may have missed when composing your itinerary. Add these items to your list and keep clicking. After spending "quality" time with your long list, it's now time to decide which one(s) you feel most at ease with. These are ones you should use for planning and booking your vacation necessities. If unsure about a few, send off a question by email or phone. You can tell a lot about a company on how they respond, if they respond. Obviously, if some don't respond or respond inappropriately, drop them from your list... You don't need aggravation. Now, get serious about planning and booking your itinerary. If you have a problem offering your credit card via Net, many agents can accept same via telephone. Personally, given pre-planning above, I, have never had a problem and I've ordered thousands of dollars of stuff via Internet with no problems whatsoever. Given my life in general, I doubt that this has anything to do with luck. Once done, you'll have a great sense of accomplishment and very likely, a fantastic vacation in paradise. So, get clicking and planning and before you know it, you will have followed all your favorite links to Hawaii... Aloha!
Dave Davis is a long-time freelance writer and editor who loves to travel and learn about new destinations. His favorite: Hawaii. Go to http://www.TraveltoHawaiiReviewed.com to check out more resources and information of vacationing in Hawaii. Copyright 2005 – D3 Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
