A budget room does not mean a bad stay! There is a variety of budget rooms that you can choose but the process of finding a budget room is complicated as in this room you will spend several hours of your vacation and it will be your temporary home, so it should be a convenient room based on your preferences.
The best room for each person can be defined by many factors such as the accessibility to the room or whether there is a private/shared bathroom. In this article, you will see 8 tips you need to think about before booking your vacation in a budget accommodation!
When looking for a budget room there are several things to check such as breakfast agreement which may not be offered at the price you will book or the accommodation does not offer room amenities such as a hairdryer or shower gel. Let’s see some tips that will definitely help your next booking!
#1 Breakfast
It is quite important to know if breakfast is included in the booked rate. In case it is not included, breakfast is an extra cost for your vacation and a meal that you definitely cannot miss!
#2 Location
How far is the room you booked from the airport and how far is it from the places you want to visit? A common mistake travelers make is booking a budget room away from the airport or away from places they would like to see. If you do not intend to rent a car, it would be a good idea to know if the property provides a shuttle from the airport. Definitely, a room where you can find a pharmacy, a supermarket, or a restaurant nearby is better than being in an isolating area.
#3 Amenities on the property
If you have any preferences regarding the facilities and the amenities of the room, then you should see what is already provided by the property. In a budget accommodation, you cannot assume that you will find a swimming pool, a spa, or a gym, however, some of them may have. The best thing to do is to carefully check the facilities of the accommodation.
In terms of room, amenities are quite important. According to your preferences, you should check the accessibility for people with disabilities and if you will have a refrigerator, towels, hairdryer, iron, hangers, shower gel, shampoo, body cream, ear cleaners, toothbrush, etc. Do not forget to check if there is air conditioning in the room and free Wi-fi. For sure you cannot carry with you all the things you need for your vacation, so it would be good to know what is provided by the accommodation and be 100% prepared.
#4 Family benefits
If you are traveling with your family and there is a child in it, you need to check if there are any family benefits. For example, if a traveler has a 2-year-old baby, s/he will need a baby-cot for the room, a baby’s bath, a baby chair, and other equipment that you cannot carry from home but at the same time are necessary for a family!
Children’s equipment is not always offered from the budget rooms. Again, you need to check what is provided for children in your accommodation.
#5 Arrival/departure time and luggage space
Another thing to keep in mind is the arrival and departure times. Several budget airline tickets can be found in the first morning hours. However, if you arrive at 07:00 and the check-in time at the accommodation is 15:00 at noon, you should know if there is luggage space to store your suitcases. It would not be convenient to walk with your suitcases for about 8 hours! You should think the same on the day of your departure. We are sure you would prefer to store your luggage somewhere so that you can enjoy even your last day of vacation!
#6 Price
Looking for budget accommodation you are not expecting high prices. A useful idea before booking a room is to check the prices on 2-3 platforms and even better to contact the accommodation directly. Room prices are constantly fluctuating as the market is quite competitive and users are looking for millions of accommodations per hour. Pay attention to the offer agreement you will find! The cheapest prices are usually given without breakfast or with non-refundable booking. The non-refundable price is something that will limit you a lot since if your vacation dates change then you will lose all your money from that booking.
Moreover, if you trust a specific platform such as Booking and you have already made a previous reservation through it, then you need to check your account. You may discover special offers as a repeater. According to the number of your bookings, you gain more privileges in the Booking offers. You can find similar privileges in airlines; by collecting miles from your flights, you gain the privilege to redeem your miles in accommodation.
Also, be aware of taxes and special charges that may not be included in the special offer you found. Taxes you may be asked to pay are residence tax, area tax, or special charge for the 2nd person in the room, internet, mini-bar, parking, gym/spa, or telephone.
#7 Special requests
It is normal to have your own preferences in your room such as a room not on the ground floor, a quiet room, a bright room, etc. You should contact the accommodation in order to let them know but beware that you should not always expect to satisfy your request since everything is based on availability. Accommodation owners try to serve and satisfy the largest percentage of their customers but sometimes this is not possible.
In case you will contact the accommodation, inform them of other information that would be useful for them to know about you, e.g. if you have an intolerance if you are or traveling with a disabled person, etc. Keep in mind that the employees are there to offer you a pleasant stay!
#8 Reviews / Comments
We are sure that you already know it and maybe you already apply this tip. Before booking a room you need to compare customer reviews from different platforms (with the largest being Booking, TripAdvisor, Expedia, Google ratings, etc.).
Another clever tip is to search the photos that have been uploaded on the internet by previous guests. This will help you understand if the photos in the accommodation correspond to reality.
Finally, you could check out the negative reviews of the accommodation. If there is a recurring negative comment, it would be good to pay special attention to it. Be careful though, some comments may be fake (from accounts of people who have not stayed in the accommodation) or there may even be quite demanding guests.
