Did you know booking a hotel room is an important step when traveling. Have you learned how to book a hotel room “good, cheap, and delicious”? Let’s add to your travel notebook some experiences in booking hotel rooms.
When traveling, besides preparing luggage and necessary documents, we cannot forget to book a hotel room. Because after a long journey, everyone needs a place to rest, eat to ensure health and energy for the next day’s activities. Nowadays, with the development of the tourism industry, the hotel system is becoming more diverse, from 2-star to 5-star, providing comfortable choices for everyone.
Booking a hotel room is an important step when traveling
However, the issue is not everyone knows how to choose and book a hotel room at a reasonable price and ensure quality, especially for first-time travelers.In today’s article, Cuong Du Lich will explore with you some tips for booking hotel rooms, focusing on 4-star and 2-star hotels, to see the differences in booking between these two types of hotels, right?
To help you visualize better, Cuong Du Lich will specifically mention the important criteria to consider when booking a hotel room, and then clarify the differences in these criteria between 4-star and 2-star hotels for a more detailed understanding. Let’s start now!
1. Location of the hotel
The first and quite important criterion to pay attention to when booking a hotel room is:
The location of the hotel greatly affects the perfection of your trip, booking a hotel room near your travel destination, in the city center is essential. It not only helps reduce transportation costs but also makes your movements easier and more convenient.
In addition, hotels located in the city center usually have better service quality, and the area’s security is also better compared to hotels in the suburbs, even though their prices may be cheaper, the quality is not guaranteed, security is not ensured, and transportation is more difficult.
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For example, if you travel to coastal cities like Da Nang, Nha Trang, you should choose hotels near the beach so that you can easily enjoy and admire the sea. In the case where the hotel you booked is too far from the beach, although its price is cheaper than those in the city center, the rooms are nice but do not serve the main purpose, then you should not book a room there, only when the beach hotels are fully booked will they redirect to areas further from the beach.
For 4-star and 2-star hotels, the first thing you need to pay attention to when booking a hotel room is to check the location of the hotel.
- Regarding the location of 4-star hotels, according to the standards of 4-star hotels, they are usually located in convenient transportation areas, easy to move between different areas, often in tourist areas, resorts, and city centers.
- Unlike 4-star hotels, 2-star hotels are usually located further from the city center, so when you decide to choose a room in these hotels, you should be prepared to have transportation or rent a taxi to travel to various entertainment spots in the city.
2. Booking Time
Another important factor to consider when booking a hotel room is the booking time.
Similar to the airline industry, hotels always offer great deals for customers who book early. The advice for you is to consider booking online early, around 60 days in advance is ideal to choose a cheap and good quality room. Moreover, this is the ideal time to receive promotions from reputable hotels.
If you travel during holidays, Tet, etc., then booking a month in advance is necessary if you do not want to disrupt the travel plans of the group or with family. This not only makes you more comfortable, have time to prepare for other work for the trip, but also helps you save money as prices may increase near holidays or worse, the rooms may be fully booked.
>>>See more: Top 15 most beautiful 3-star hotels in Da Lat
If you travel on normal days with low density, you have more time to research information about the hotel before booking a room. Instead of running around to find a satisfactory hotel, it is better to research a few hotels in advance.
Regarding this booking time issue, it is basically the same for 4-star and 2-star hotels. Because whether you are at a 4-star or 2-star hotel, booking a hotel room early is a priority. Booking early helps you avoid the situation of hotels being fully booked or not being able to choose a satisfactory room, and also helps you choose a room at a reasonable price, without worrying about doubling or tripling the price. Therefore, you need to plan your trip and book a 4-star or 2-star hotel room early to ensure your vacation is not interrupted.
3. How to Book a Hotel Room
Another note that Cuong Du Lich wants to share with you is about how to book a hotel room. With the current development of tourism, booking a hotel room is no longer difficult for everyone. The diversity of hotel booking methods makes it easier for you to book a room you desire.
Specifically, there are 2 popular ways to book a hotel room that people often use nowadays:
Booking a hotel room online:
Booking a hotel room online, also known as booking online, is a way to book a room through websites. With just a mobile device, computer, laptop, or iPad with an internet connection, you can book a room anytime, anywhere without the need to be physically present at the hotel.
Booking a hotel room online is a powerful tool for independent travelers because it is both convenient and quick, and it is easy to find relatively affordable prices. After booking a hotel room online, to secure the room, you usually have to pay a certain amount in advance. Currently, there are 2 payment methods for booking online: Online and in-person.
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For in-person payment, there are several options for you to choose from, including payment by Visa/Mastercard, Internet Banking, and E-wallet.
All of these methods have in common that you only need to sit at home, use the internet to pay for services. The advantage of this payment method is that it saves you a lot of time and you don’t have to go too far. You can easily find a suitable bank, or if you have your own bank account, you can easily make payments on your mobile device.
However, recently there have been many booking websites emerging, but this does not necessarily correlate with the quality of service. Some hotel booking websites only focus on the quantity of hotels in their system without paying attention to customer care. Therefore, you need to research carefully before booking a hotel room online.
And the advice for you is: if you book a hotel room domestically, it is best to book on reputable domestic websites rather than on foreign websites. Because when booking on Vietnamese booking sites, if any issues arise, you can easily contact, communicate, and negotiate.
Booking hotel rooms for direct payment:
Alongside the online hotel room booking method that Cuong Du Lich just mentioned above, booking hotel rooms for direct payment is more preferred by Vietnamese travelers. You can book hotel rooms directly when you check in at the hotel. However, this direct method does not have an advantage when you are looking for cheap hotel rooms, as flash sale times are limited, moving to the office to make payment takes time, causing delays and missing out on significant savings opportunities for your trip.
>>> Read more: Experience booking homestay rooms in Da Lat
Booking 4-star and 2-star hotel rooms can apply both booking methods above.
-Regarding booking hotel rooms through websites: it seems that 4-star hotels have more websites for booking rooms, currently there are many popular travel websites that support booking 4-star hotel rooms, such as booking.com, traveloka, vntrip, my tour.vn, bestprice… As for 2-star hotels, there are fewer options, according to Cuong Du Lich’s research, Ivivu is a website specialized in supporting booking mid-range 2 and 3-star hotel rooms that you can refer to.
4. Hotel room prices
Hotel room prices are something everyone should pay attention to when booking hotel rooms. Most travelers usually accept the hotel’s listed price. However, that listed price is only accurate for luxury and high-end hotels. If you are renting a room in mid-range hotels, budget hotels, or guesthouses, you can negotiate the price. Especially when traveling outside of holiday seasons, bargaining for room prices is very easy.
It is best to compare room prices from several travel companies because these companies receive a discount from hotels, so to attract customers, they often have special offers, discounts for travelers.
When comparing room prices between 4-star and 2-star hotels, there will definitely be a noticeable difference.
When you choose large-scale hotels like 4-star hotels, the prices will be quite high, starting at a minimum of 1 million VND / night for 2 people. As for lower-class hotels from 2 stars and below, room prices will decrease significantly, even 2 to 3 times lower, around 300,000 VND – 400,000 VND / night, which is why these types of hotels have always been a top priority for many travelers in recent years.
However, when choosing budget rooms like this, there will still be certain limitations such as having to walk further, away from the shopping center, the rooms may not be beautiful, even for budget guesthouses, mini hotels, living conditions deteriorate significantly, greatly affecting our sleep process such as weak air conditioning, weak water pressure, slow wifi… many other amenities are not guaranteed.
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Therefore, whether choosing a 4-star or 2-star hotel, a tip that Cuong Du Lich wants to share with you is to carefully consider the room rates at the hotel you are planning to book, you can refer to popular booking websites nowadays such as traveloka, vntrip, booking.com… Don’t wait until you have completed all the procedures to realize that you have been unexpectedly overcharged and lost money for no reason.
5. Hotel amenities
When booking a hotel room, paying attention to the hotel amenities you are about to visit is also very important. Don’t let the dazzling lights blind you. When renting a hotel room, you need spacious, airy, clean, and convenient facilities, not just light. That’s why you need to carefully inspect the room to have the most accurate assessment. Also, you should not fully trust the advertising photos on unclear websites. Be cautious of scams. Read reviews about the hotel you want to rent.
When booking directly or through a website, ask about the accompanying services. This will clarify any doubts you have and also confirm your rights. Additionally, ask for detailed information such as the distance from the hotel to the entertainment venues at the tourist destination, dining options, in-room services, whether additional services are charged separately and their prices, find out about the pre-ordered food and drinks in the room before renting.
Typically, 4-star hotels will have amenities such as: rooms, restaurants, bars, outdoor swimming pools, private beaches, wifi, parking lots, fitness centers, meeting rooms, laundry services, airport shuttle services, childcare services…
If the 4-star hotel meets your needs and provides the highest standards, from restaurants to various entertainment services as mentioned above, then when you visit 2-star hotels, you may not find the same level of services. Although there may not be as many entertainment options as in 4-star hotels, 2-star hotels still offer the best amenities such as free wifi, airport shuttle services, free parking, 24-hour reception, laundry services…
6. Check hotel reviews
Before deciding to book a hotel room, you should read reviews and comments about the hotel before making a choice. People who have used the services will provide you with valuable information. In this age of online marketing, finding information and reviews about hotels is quite easy, you can visit booking websites to read reviews about the hotel. If the reviews are close to 10, it means the hotel is good and worth using. Through these reviews, you will learn about the service, facilities, cleanliness, and prices of the hotel in the most objective and comprehensive way.
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Whether booking a 4-star or 2-star hotel room, when making a reservation, you should also look at the reviews from travelers who have stayed at that hotel. Typically, both 4-star and 2-star hotels will have partnerships with intermediaries for selling and booking hotel rooms (2-star hotels may have fewer). Therefore, you can research and read reviews from travelers who have stayed there to make an accurate decision for your vacation.
7. Ask for information about things not on the list
If the hotel information page does not mention any services, ask specifically about those services to avoid any trouble when you arrive at the hotel. For example, you may need to inquire about additional fees if you want to increase the number of people staying in a standard room, or if there are charges for young children in the family, at what age will they be charged, whether there is an extra charge for breakfast for the child, or if you may have to pay an additional room service fee if you dirty the floor or damage items in the hotel… Some small-scale hotels like 2-star hotels may not offer breakfast, so it’s important to ask to avoid disappointment when the service is not available upon check-in. This is also the final note when booking a hotel room for your trip that Cuong Du Lich wants to share with you. Hopefully, with the information Cuong Du Lich provides about the hotel room booking guide, the differences between booking a 4-star and a 2-star hotel room will be helpful for you in your upcoming trips.
