Traveling is fun and exciting, but no one can deny that planning a trip, especially for a large group or with kids, can be stressful at times. With the advent of smartphones and apps, many areas in our lives have become easier- from paying bills to shopping to booking accommodations for your trip. The even greater news is that there are a lot of booking sites that you can use. They will not only provide convenience, they can also help you find the greatest deals and save money.
Here are the top 10 accommodation booking sites and why we like them:
1. Booking.com
Booking.com is a meta search engine for lodging reservations. What we love about this is that, aside from booking accommodations, you can also use Booking.com as a travel fare aggregator. This is a one-stop shop for you to book your flights and hotels in one. Booking.com has around twenty-nine million listings in two hundred and twenty-nine countries and territories worldwide. This is currently owned and operated by Booking Holdings. Booking.com is available in forty-three languages, which helps its popularity among travelers. In the website, you can also specify if you are traveling for work, and it will bring you the best and most ideal accommodations for business trips.
2. Hotels.com
Hotels.com is another booking website for hotels. You can book your reservations online or through the phone. What we like about Hotels.com is the number of deals they have available, especially for last minute bookings. They have over three hundred thousand accommodations, which include hotels, bed and breakfasts, condos, and other types of commercial lodgings. If you are staying in a place for a longer duration or if you keep on hopping from one city to another, Hotels.com gives you the best options, including both budget and luxury ones. They also have reward points that gives you a free night stay if you frequently book through the website .If you are a frequent traveler, we suggest that you subscribe to the email list, so you would get notifications about their special offers.
3. Agoda.com
Agoda.com is another favorite, especially for booking accommodations in Asia. With its recent update, you can now book rooms, flights, and car rentals on this website. Agoda.com is owned by Booking Holdings, which is the same company that owns Booking.com and Priceline.com. They now have around two million listings worldwide. On the website’s landing page, you would be able to select the dates you are planning to stay in the accommodation, the location, and the number of people who would be staying. Agoda.com also has the option to let you input your budget for the accommodation and the search results will be based on that price range. This saves you so much time narrowing down your options. They also offer discounts all year long. Agoda.com is one of the top accommodations booking sites, especially if you are working on a tight budget.
4. Skyscanner
Next on our list is Skyscanner. This is also a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine. It is currently owned by a travel company in China called Ctrip, although it is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Skyscanner has sixty million users monthly and is available in over thirty languages. Aside from letting you find the best deals for hotels and other types of accommodations, what we like about Skyscanner is its news section. The website’s news section includes regular news from the flight and travel industry, so you would be updated about possible changes due to different elements such as weather conditions. It also publishes travel tips and recommends activities around or near your selected destination. This is helpful, especially when you book at the last minute for flights and hotels and have no planned itinerary.
5. Airbnb
Airbnb is becoming increasingly popular among travelers nowadays. Airbnb, Inc. is a San Francisco-based private company that operates an online marketplace and hospitality service. The company acts as a broker and gets a commission for every booking processed through their website. Many guests prefer Airbnb because it offers more space and flexibility for less money. With Airbnb, you have the option to either book a room or the whole place to yourself. It is ideal for extended stays, since it allows you to cook and do laundry on your own, which would help you not spend that much. This is also a cool way to meet new people and you’d get to interact with the hosts. A lot of unique accommodations are also available in Airbnb, such as treehouses in Asia or castles in Europe. Booking through an Airbnb would give you experiences that you may not get from booking in a hotel. The most popular Airbnb accommodations for 2018 include a bubble suite in Mexico and a windmill in Amsterdam.
6. HomeAway
HomeAway offers beach houses, cabins, condos, barns, castles, and so much more. This booking site is specific for vacation rentals. They currently have two million vacation rentals in 190 countries, available in twenty-three languages. What we like about them is that the rentals on their listings are usually larger than Airbnbs. You can also search for a specific property type. Want a quiet cabin in the woods, a well-preserved chateau, or a beach house? With HomeAway, you can easily filter your search results. They also offer an Instant Book feature, so you need not submit an availability request form to the property owner. This saves you a lot of wait time, too.
7. Orbitz
What we like about Orbitz is that you can book your accommodations together with your flight and car rentals. Booking all these in a bundle or package will save you a lot of money; however, if you want to book just the accommodations, that’s okay, too. With Orbitz, you can also book cruises. If you are in a limbo of the activities that you should do during your vacation, this website also offers great suggestions of the top things to do at your travel destination. If you keep booking through Orbitz, you would also earn reward points that you can redeem to book for a hotel or a flight. The website also regularly publishes travel blogs for more travel inspirations and tips.
8. Priceline.com
Priceline is another travel booking website owned by Booking Holdings. With Priceline.com, you can also book your hotel, flight, car rentals, and even cruises. They send out exclusive deals, coupons, and special offers to their email list, so do not forget to subscribe. Priceline.com’s users increased in 2013 when The Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco appeared in its commercials. Currently, they have special offers for customers who process bookings using their Visa cards.
9. HotelsCombined
HotelsCombined is an Australia-based hotel metasearch engine that is a subsidiary of Booking Holding. What we like about HotelsCombined is that it allows users to search and compare hotels rates in one search. All you need is to enter your destination and the dates of your trip. It is very easy to navigate and they have an even easier booking process. This booking site is available in more than 220 countries and can be translated in over forty-two languages. The website also allows you to save your “Wishlist” or possible deals or bookings that you would like to revisit in the future. Their “hot deals” tab also lets you know of the current promotions and special offers they have for accommodations and flights. If you are just browsing through with no destination in mind yet, this would be quite helpful to you. They also have a “top destinations” blog where you can check for your future travel goals. They also have a “recently viewed” feature where you can check your previous and recent searches. If you would like to take advantage of the special deals, make sure to create an account and register at the website.
10. Trivago
Trivago N. V., marketed as trivago, is a German company that is focused on travel services such as hotel and lodging accommodations. Majority of the company’s stock though is owned by Expedia Group. Trivago was the first hotel search engine in Germany. This was founded in January 2005. Right now, they service fifty-five countries worldwide. Most of the website’s profit comes from advertisements and CPC or cost-per-click. Trivago claims to be the world’s largest online hotel search site. The site has over 190 million hotel ratings and has over 120 million visitors per month. Both the company’s website and app can search hotel booking sites for prices, availability, photos, and ratings in a matter of seconds. If you are the type of customer who reads the reviews of previous hotel guests first before booking your accommodation, then Trivago is a helpful website for you. The Trivago app also has interactive maps which would show you accommodations that are closest to the location that you input in the search bar. If you are looking to search and book accommodations conveniently and save money at the same time, we highly suggest that you download this app.
