Booking Hotels via the Web

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You see the advertisements on just about all cable and network television: Websites that promise to deliver the lowest hotel rates. Finding a hotel in an unfamiliar city can be a daunting task. Many criteria play vital roles in the search: safety, cleanliness, location, and price to name a few.

In the first quarter of 2011, Topaz International set out with a study to determine how well some of the sites actually deliver on their promise of low rates. As with all of the internet aconducted, time and patience is required to have satisfactory results.

Ultimately, a consumer would still need to do a substantial amount of research to determine the quality and location of hotels before determining if the property is worth the price. Almost all of the hotels chosen in this study resulted in a good map of the location requested and references and ratings through Trip Assist.

Four popular websites were used in this study: Hotels.com, Orbitz, Expedia, and Travelocity. The hotels requested all had a similar star rating.

All of the websites used in this study were deficient in providing hotels within the requested area. A consumer would need a good map to determine if the property is in the desired location. International properties would need to be scrutinized even more diligently. A three star rating does not necessarily mean the amenities a business traveler has come to expect would be provided in that category internationally.

Bottom line: Even though the internet has provided many tools to determine the best hotel for a traveler, it may still require substantial research before a good decision can be made in picking a top quality hotel for a good rate.

Read the Topaz International study here.

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Theodore Koumelis

Co-Founder & Managing Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Articles

Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.