Booking a hotel can be a stressful and time-consuming task. Scrambling through pages and pages of various Internet sites and visiting travel agents can turn what was initially excitement at the prospect of leaving into anxiety about choosing the right hotel. To make this task a little easier, here are some things to consider when booking a hotel.

1. Use comparison sites. Comparison sites allow you to compare a large number of hotels, view ratings and even customer reviews. For example, if you search for Hotels in Berlin you will get many results. This should help you save time and give you an idea of ​​what is available and at what price.

2. Rent. Location seems like an obvious thing to consider when booking a hotel, but it’s something that can be easily overlooked. Say, for example, you search online for a hotel in Brighton. Just because that hotel appears in the search results doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be close to where you want to go. In fact, you may end up being miles away! This could lead to more travel expenses. Take a look at the hotels website and find the address on Google Maps. Hotels in town or city centers tend to be more expensive, so you may need to look outside the city, but if the place you’re visiting is fairly small, this may not necessarily be a problem. For example, Brighton.

3. Reviews. Reviews are a good way to see if a hotel is worth staying at or not. The hotel may have reviews on its site, but will it always show bad reviews? Look elsewhere on the web. Is there a Facebook page about the hotel? For example, ‘Never stay in…’ or ‘We love…’ Also check out other social networking sites or forums. They are likely to display a wide range of opinions that could help you choose a hotel. Remember to check the dates of the revisions. Reviews that are out of date may not necessarily be relevant.

4. Where is your room located? This may sound strange, but figuring out where your room is in relation to other parts of the hotel can be important. Are you planning a vacation with your friends getting drunk? You may want to consider if your room is next to the pool. Waking up with a hangover can be horrible at the best of times, and even less so when there are hundreds of people screaming and yelling, jumping in and out of the pool all day! Likewise, if you’re planning a quiet, relaxing vacation, you might want to consider where you are in relation to the bar!

5. What facilities does the hotel have? If you are staying in a hotel out of necessity, for example a business trip, then you can check simple things like whether the rooms include a TV. If not, you may find yourself on a lonely night. Similarly, if you are bringing children with you, does the hotel have adequate facilities? And perhaps most importantly, will the kids be busy?

6. Be aware of hidden costs. Ask exactly what you are paying for and what is included in the price. Those tempting miniature booze bottles probably aren’t free!

We hope these tips will help you make a more informed decision when choosing the perfect hotel for your vacation. Remember, a good hotel can equal a great vacation.