Updated September 29th, 2020

This post contains affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you buy through my site. I appreciate your support of my site.

Are you looking for the best hotel deals and the easiest way to book accommodations? Stop searching multiple sites for cheap hotels and head to Booking.com. Booking.com is a fare aggregator and search engine for accommodations around the world. It gives you a huge range of lodging options to book including hotels, hostels, guesthouses, bed and breakfasts, apartments and more.

A lot of people worry about booking hotels or flights through third party sites and travel aggregators. I have heard every concern imaginable from “the hotel won’t accept my reservation” to “I won’t get the best price unless I book directly”. I have news for you, those are myths and they are costing you time and money! Today I am going to tell you why you should be booking all your accommodations through Booking.com and why it is the best online hotel booking site to save you money.

Why Booking.com is the Best Hotel Booking Site

Discount Hotels & Accommodations

Many people believe they won’t get the best price on their accommodation unless they book direct. Think again! You will always get the best deal through booking.com for two reasons.

1.  Hotel Deals

There are always discounts on accommodations. Prices are low to begin with, but then additional discounts are sometimes added. You might find a ‘secret deal’, get a business discount, or get a ‘genius discount’ (described below). Instead of looking for a certain hotel, i.e., the Comfort Suites on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, search for all the hotels that have similar amenities and rating. I almost always find a great deal within my price range without having to compromise on quality.

Right now and through January 2021 there is a deal going on with up to 15% off select properties. That’s on top of already low prices. Check out all those travel deals before they are gone!

2. Price Match 

It’s rarely the case, but if you do find the place you reserved through booking.com is cheaper anywhere else, booking.com will refund the difference.

The price listed is what you pay. If there is added tax it will tell you the percentage before booking. There are no extra fees for booking through a third-party and no bad surprises when you check-in!

Here is an example of the Hampton Inn being slightly cheaper through booking.com compared to Hampton’s reservation system.

Rewards Program: Genius Perks

Booking.com has one of the best online hotel booking sites rewards programs. After only two booked and completed stays within two years you become a level one genius. As a genius you receive an additional 10% off most bookings. Once you book five times you become a genius level 2. With that status you get 10 – 15% off most bookings and more travel perks such as free breakfasts and free room upgrades.

The best part is, once you are a genius, you are always a genius! There are no minimum number of bookings required to maintain your perks.

Most hotels have their own rewards programs. The nice thing about the genius program is you get discounts on almost all the properties booking.com has on their site. You aren’t required to stay at a particular brand to get a discount. Many small towns abroad don’t have any of the big hotel chains. That means I am usually staying at independent or boutique accommodations that I wouldn’t be able to use a hotel brand discount.

Search Filters

Booking.com is easy and straightforward to use. You put in your destination, dates of travel, number & ages of people traveling and hit search. You can then start scrolling through the list of options or click on the map view if location is a really important factor. I always filter the results a little more. You can filter your results for price, location, star rating, property type, accessibility, review score, room amenities and more.

If you are on the road you can quickly book an accommodation nearby using the map feature. When I was stranded a couple years ago in a snowstorm in NYC, I was able to find an available place to stay in a couple of minutes. Getting a taxi to come pick me up was a much harder dilemma, but at least I had a bed waiting for me!

Free Cancellation

Another one of my favorite perks of using Booking.com is that most properties offer free cancellation. If you read my traveling planning process in my How to Plan a Trip post you know that I like to get an overview of what I will be doing every-day before booking flights and accommodations. Both of those typically get more expensive the closer you get to your travel date. Booking free cancellation places is ideal because if you realize it makes more sense to stay closer to a train station or you want to change the order of the cities you are visiting you can cancel for no cost. On the other hand if your plans don’t change you didn’t miss out on the best deals.

The Quantity & Quality of the Reviews

Have you ever thought about the fact that every hotel wants to make themselves look good? Would posting a negative review on their booking page help with that goal? Of course not! One of the biggest factors I look for when choosing where I am going to stay is the review score. I don’t stay anywhere under an 8 out of 10. I also thoroughly read the reviews. The hostel might claim to have wifi, but the reviews might show it is really spotty and only works in the lobby.

Each property on booking.com has no control over the reviews. They can respond after it is posted, but they can’t filter out the negative ones. With millions of reviews on the site you don’t need to search elsewhere for reviews. You know you are receiving honest reviews from a large pool of people.

Reliability

You’re thinking, ok you have convinced me it is cheap and easy to use, but it is safe and reliable? I get it, you don’t want to be scammed into a cheap deal that isn’t real. In the last two years I have only used Booking.com for my short term (about one week or less) accommodation bookings. In that period I have made and kept about 40 bookings. I haven’t had a single problem!

With every place I stayed the descriptions online matched my room when I arrived. The price was as quoted and my reservations always come up immediately when checking-in.

The support team at booking.com is always helpful. I haven’t needed to contact them much, but when I do they respond right away. The online booking assistant is a quick way to communicate with the property you are booking. If you have any special requests or questions for the place you are staying, use the booking assistant. I have found that I get my questions answered much quicker this way than going directly with the property.

Don’t spend any more time searching for the best hotel booking site. With great hotel deals, the best rewards program, easy to use search filters, reliable reviews and dependable service why use any other hotel booking site?

Book your next stay with Booking.com today! 

Booking.com

Other Trip Planning Resources

• What to Figure Out Before Traveling Abroad
• World Nomads Travel Insurance Review
• How to Plan a Trip: My Travel Planning Process
• Personal Travel Planning
• Travel Booking Resources

Pin IT!!