Top 10 Tips for Renting Hotel Rooms When Traveling.

1. Choose a reputable hotel

If you have the means to book rooms at famous 5-star hotels, you're likely to get a beautiful room with a great view, excellent service, and a convenient location for moving around... But not everyone has the economic means to choose such high-priced 5-star hotel rooms.

Traveling doesn't require investing too much money in hotel rooms, but you do need to find a place to stay at a reasonable price and quality to rest after a long day of wandering the streets and visiting attractions. Avoid choosing a terrible hotel room with poor service, as it's like inviting annoyance during days when you should be letting go of work and family to wander around. So, have you seen the importance of choosing the right hotel?

With a reasonable price, if you pay attention, you can still choose a room that you like. So, how do you assess whether a hotel is good and reputable? The most accurate and reliable way is to rely on the reviews of the customers who have rented at that hotel. You can go on Facebook to groups with many young people who love to travel, ask for opinions about the hotel you're planning to rent or ask for recommendations on which hotel to rent in the place you're traveling to. There, you can receive some pretty good advice about hotels to stay at and hotels to avoid.

Traveling isn't just about experiences and stress relief; it's also a golden opportunity to capture beautiful moments for lasting memories. Nowadays, for many young people, hotel rooms are not just for resting but also for taking Instagram-worthy photos. Understanding this mentality, many hotels post room photos that don't match reality. When you arrive, you realize how magical their photography skills are. The posted images may show a view directly facing a city landmark, but reality can be quite different.

So, don't just rely on the hotel's advertised photos. When calling, ask detailed questions about what your reserved room actually includes, how spacious it is, whether the view from the balcony or window matches what you see in the pictures... If you don't ask carefully, you might end up disappointed when checking in.

The view from a hotel room greatly affects the guest's mood. Imagine traveling and staying in a room without a window or with a chaotic outside view; it's a mood killer. Conversely, a dreamy, romantic scene will bring relaxation and comfort to travelers during their short stay in an unfamiliar city.

If you want to secure a great room at a good price, you should book your room 1-2 months before traveling. Booking early gives you more options, allowing you to reserve rooms with beautiful views in the hotel. If you wait too close to your departure date, you'll have fewer choices and a higher risk of rooms being fully booked. During peak travel months when the number of guests increases, hotels may raise room rates.

The earlier you book, the more privileges you have. For example, you can request a room with a beautiful view, more spacious, along with additional services such as shuttle service, motorbike rental, etc. Once you've chosen the hotel of your dreams, all you need to do is pack your clothes and personal belongings without worrying about room shortages. Many people even have to cancel their dream vacations just because they couldn't book a room. Traveling is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and missing out on it is a lifetime regret for busy people.

Furthermore, something few people know is that besides the large, fixed-price hotels, you can negotiate room rates, especially when traveling in groups.

Currently, there are many booking apps with attractive room rates, but when you click to book, they redirect you to other pages, making it confusing and easy to book on the wrong date or with incorrect information. Therefore, we need to be alert to avoid losing money unfairly when booking rooms.

You should prioritize booking at hotels with simple booking procedures and transparent pricing so you can accurately compare prices with other places. Just spend a little time on this operation, and you can save yourself a considerable amount of money.

Furthermore, you should inquire about the policy for changing dates if you need to adjust your schedule, payment methods, and refunds, as these are your basic rights, not just about getting the cheapest price. Many hotels are not transparent about their cancellation and refund policies, which can result in you losing the room fee if you unfortunately have to postpone your trip. No one wants that to happen, but a little caution is always better, isn't it?

When booking hotels, many people only care about whether the room is beautiful, if there's a photogenic swimming pool, or if the food is delicious. One crucial aspect is the hotel's location, which should be safe and convenient for visiting attractions. Booking a room in the city center may offer convenient transportation and bustling eateries, but it usually comes with a higher price tag.

Choosing a hotel near famous attractions not only saves transportation costs but also saves valuable time for exploration. It's not necessary to stay in the city center; accommodations outside the central area often offer more reasonable prices. However, consider factors such as the distance to the city center, security, noise levels, and ease of transportation when selecting a hotel. Depending on your budget, you can make a decision accordingly.

Before searching for a hotel room, it's essential to determine your mode of transportation during your trip. This will influence whether you stay in the city center or in the outskirts.

Saving is always a top priority, even when traveling. Every penny saved counts. Not knowing doesn't exempt you from paying extra due to your lack of knowledge. Just like clothes and food have promotions, so do hotel rooms. Check out the bank card promotions with booking platforms before deciding to book a room.

For example, Agoda might have a dedicated booking page for Techcombank or Citibank cardholders, offering a 7% discount. It's worth taking advantage of. Remember to research before booking.

For the wealthy, whether there's a promotion or not might not matter, but for those who save all year just to travel, it's a big deal. Moreover, if someone is willing to offer a discount without much hassle, why refuse?

Whether you book directly at the location or through a website, one thing you must know for sure is to inquire thoroughly about the additional services when renting a room. This will ensure your rights and prevent unexpected charges when checking out.

Typically, hotel check-in time is at noon, and check-out is at 2 PM. Guests who check in early or check out late may be subject to additional charges depending on the time. Many guests are unaware of this and end up paying a hefty fee. Moreover, guests often mistakenly assume that the food and drinks provided in the room are complimentary, leading to surprise charges when settling the bill.

These incidents mostly occur because we fail to fully understand our rights when staying at a hotel. Therefore, if you're planning a trip, take some time to inquire about these issues with the receptionist.

When traveling with family or friends, try looking for family rooms or large rooms to see how the prices compare, as in many cases, family rooms will be cheaper than booking individual rooms for everyone.

For example, a double room may cost 500,000 VND but only accommodate a maximum of 2 people, while a family room may cost 700,000 VND but allows 4 people to stay. In this case, travelers will save 300,000 VND but the living and sleeping space will not be cramped at all!

Traveling is an opportunity for family and friends to spend more time together, booking a large room helps you have additional common space for everyone, spacious, cozy together, convenient both financially and emotionally, so why not try this approach?

When staying at a hotel for the first time, you might feel a bit apprehensive because you're not sure if the hotel is good or if there are any issues. Nowadays, hotel booking websites all have a section for reviews from guests who have stayed at the hotel. Read the reviews and star ratings from guests about the hotel to find out if the issues they encountered are serious and if they would affect you. This is quite an important experience because if you don't read carefully, your entire vacation could become a disaster when you have to deal with unsuitable things.

You can also visit hotel booking websites like Agoda, Traveloka, read authentic reviews about guests' experiences during their stay, and choose a hotel room that suits your preferences and budget.

Usually, accommodations with few stars rated by guests have very poor room quality or poor service. The number of stars also determines whether you should choose to stay in that room. So if you don't have time, just look at the stars to choose a hotel, the chances of being right are quite high.

This is even more important but often overlooked. Some hotels, resorts are located too far from civilization, so transportation becomes a big issue. If you don't use their transportation services, you can't get to the resort. Usually, in hotel booking websites, there is always information about mandatory or optional transportation. You should carefully research the transfer costs to avoid being shocked by transportation costs after booking a hotel/resort.

Many hotels offer free one-way or round-trip shuttle services for guests, usually 5-star hotels, or small hotels provide free public bus services. Understanding this policy helps you be more proactive and confident about your trip, avoiding being overcharged by outside drivers.

Usually, the shuttle prices provided by hotels will be about 50 to 100 thousand VND higher, but in return, there is safety in transportation to the place of stay. Depending on your financial ability and knowledge, everyone can make the appropriate choice for themselves!