Which do you prefer when travelling? POLL 🛌

If you had to choose one, which do you prefer when travelling?

  • Hotel booking sites like Booking.com, Expedia or Trivago.
  • Peer-to-peer travel like Airbnb or Stayz.

0 voters

Tell us why in the comments below.

3 Likes

I prefer to stay at conventional hotel/motel/B&B/cottage properties rather than homes or apartments rented out ad hoc. That being written I try to book direct rather than through booking sites and use tripadvisor as a top level filter.

16 Likes

None of the above, but that isn’t an option! We haven’t used any of the options above.
We just grab a motel or camp/sleep in the back of the car wherever we end up… and that is unlikely to change.

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snap … 17 18 19 20

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We prefer the conventional hotels etc. Typically we’re short term stayers, itinerary dynamically changing with the weather and events. We’ve looked many times at Airbnb but never successfully found what we need and gave up looking at them. The problems are usually cancellation periods & upfront payments and price. Price is relative to location & size. If you only want a night or two, size (kitchens living rooms etc) can be a negative, or at best unnecessary. And having to deal with the owner or agent… well, forget it.
Maybe things have changed?
I really dislike the price control booking.com imposes on the hotels. On the other hand it’s the easiest user interface. Last week I noticed Hotels.com listed some single owner apartments with their hotel style booking arrangements. Maybe… :slight_smile:

7 Likes

FWIW Booking.com owns Agoda, Priceline, Kayak, OpenTable, and RentalCars .com web sites. I wonder why certain web site services/bookings pop up when one or the other is used (not really).

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Too poor to travel … if we do go, we stay with friends, or back of car. If we need a motel we either take our chances with walking in, or book one we know (usually with connections - eg we know the owner, they sponsored the local show etc). If I am on my own in Western Qld I stay in a pub room ($7.85 to $15/night) basic but adequate. I haven’t even looked at the accommodation websites.

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Like Zackarii, too poor to travel. I had to forego a 50 year school reunion a couple of years back, because I just could not afford the accommodation for the 3 days required, never mind getting there and home again, and having the cat boarded. I’ve been looking into getting a converted van, dont need anything super fancy, but I’d feel more comfortable about going somewhere… a bit like a hermit crab :slight_smile:

6 Likes

We prefer to deal directly with the hotel/motel where possible…unless the hotel/motel indicates that bookings can only be made through a booking site like Booking.com, Expedia etc.

We have used both AirBnb and Stayz.

Generally use Stayz in Australia as it often has short term holiday rental accommodation which one once went to a real estate agent for (units, apartments). Some real estate agents also use Stayz as well to complement their own short term rental marketing. We have had the experience at Kingscliffe of booking on Stayz and having to collect keys from a local agent. Any problems were also referred back to the same agent.

We have used AirBnb when travelling overseas in several countries and have found it useful especially if one is looking for a self contained accommodation rather than a hotel style room. Travelling with children we find the self contained accommodation is better as it allows more flexibility (able to cooking oneself, can have clothes washers/driers etc) and also more room.Dealing with the owner also has advantages as they can communicate local information to you…rather than trying to be up sold things at a hotel.

The only thing when booking with AirBnb is to check to ensure that the accommodation is approved for short term use by the local government. Some countries require registration and minimum standards and there are risks if unregistered/licensed accommodation is used.

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Air B&B can offer a variety of experiences meeting day to day people with extraordinary places . It’s not perfect , but it’s pretty good.
Hotel booking sites can limit choices by ensuring that search engines preference them over other sites and make it hard to find sites without going to them and take a large percentage of the income for this as well.
The ACCC has given them the OK to do this but many believe this limits competition by suppressing search information .

6 Likes

Depends on the trip… in Aus, for overnight stays on the way I’ve been using AirBnB–you get much more for your money than a motel.

For longer stays I tend to choose motels, hostels, or cabins in caravan parks (or camping), although I often look at AirBnB too. Although I often find places through TripAdvisor, booking.com etc., I generally book directly if possible, especially if it’s a small establishment. I do this so the owner gets more of the money, and so that taxes are paid in the relevant country. Also, most owners appreciate this and will offer a better price or (more commonly) an upgrade of some sort–their best room, free wifi etc.

The only advantage to booking with the online consolidation sites like Booking.com is that you usually get an extended free cancellation period, often up to 24 hours before the booking. That’s generally better than what most establishments offer.

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BBG - I do exactly the same!! Use Tripadviser to filter, book direct to conventional accomodation places.

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We don’t stay in AirBNB type places because you cannot be guaranteed of needs you might have for me non feather bedding. We use Booking because I have more confidence in their reviews than the others. If possible however we identify where we want to stay through for example Booking and then book the hotel directly. Reasons are that firstly we know how much Booking charges but also we have had the situation on more than one occasion of getting a lesser quality room.

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I’ve never stayed in an Airbnb, but we have used Stayz (now HomeAway) to stay in cottages for short breaks, these are usually “hotel like” as they aren’t used as a regular house, in some cases they are managed by an agent. Usually for hotels I’ll use Booking .com - it’s easier to use, you can select the various parameters quite easily, the prices are usually OK and often there’s no cancellation fee up until the last 24 hours. But there are times where I’ve booked directly with the hotel.

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Tend to use Booking.com or the hotel direct. Talking to the hotel often exposes how good they are and I have the impression good ones prefer direct customers and charge accordingly.

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I sometimes use Hotels.com or similar to check what hotels are available and their relative pricing, and then book directly with Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, etc on their websites. Usually get a lower price, because the hotel does not have to pay the aggregator, or at least better terms and more inclusions. It may mean checking two or more websites, but only using one aggregator site will mean you probably pay more.

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I tend to look at the various booking sites and then usually book with the hotel direct, after checking reviews on trip advisor . I never trust booking.com. reviews, as I negatively reviewed on their site once and my rating was apparently a 6/10 or similar. Despite thee fact it should have been a 1/10. The place we stayed in was awful. I am hesitant to use Air Bnb or similar, as there are unknowns. The cleaning fee is never quite clear and I don’t really want people rating me.
I don’t think we leave the place in a mess, but I want to walk out and not worry about whether my husband left bunched up wet towels on the floor, when we usually run late, because his time management is poor.
That covers holiday accommodation.
We stay in BnBs for work, generally, as we work where there are no other options, in rural WA. Choice is limited and I now have a network of places to stay, where I have built up a relationship with the owners.

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AirBnB has proven to me to be a great way to meet locals in other countries and thus to experience a local’s view of life.

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I have used both. I prefer staying in a house/apartment rather than a hotel which you can get with AirBnB etc more readily. However, I have booked some excellent out of the way places through Booking . com as well. Though if I am booking a room in a large hotel, I usually book direct.

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Neither. On our holidays we don’t book unless we are locked in to an event we have to attend. Usually we go where the road leads, and then use the local Tourist Information for leads, or just use the internet to find what we like. It can be a hostels, B&B, motel, or a hotel. We generally find that if you just rock on in, we get rooms cheaper than advertised. Hardly ever fails.

When I book I tend to book directly with the accommodation providers, and never through a booking site. Never used P2P booking either.

3 Likes