3 Important Things to Do Before You Book Your Accommodation

Four years ago, I went on my first trip to Europe, where I visited Rome, Paris & Barcelona. I was traveling with a friend who wasn’t interested in trying out hostels, so we decided to stay in hotels, which we selected based on their prices (cheap!). This worked out ok for Paris and Barcelona. However, for our Rome trip, the daily 40-minute bus ride from the hotel into the city to visit key attractions was not something we were expecting! 

Reflecting on my Rome trip, I realized that time is just as valuable as money! It’s all about balancing an affordable stay and taking advantage of every opportunity to maximize your vacation time.

If you want to achieve this vacation sweet spot, here are three key things you need to do before you book your accommodations:

1. Have an idea of the activities you’d like to do.

An idea of what you want to do during your vacation is key to determining where you will stay. If all your desired “things to do” are concentrated in one area, you should consider booking accommodation nearby.

2. Identify the distance between your accommodation, key attractions, and public transit.

This is a biggie and something I didn’t do when I planned my Rome trip. I tend to stick to a budget and avoid unnecessary, expensive taxi rides (especially in cities with solid transit systems) when I travel. Once you know what you want to do, identify the distance between your accommodation, your key attractions, and public transit.

Something to think about:

What maximum time do you want to spend in transit (bus, train, etc.)? I typically aim for up to a 20-minute commute (this includes the time it takes to get to the public transit from my accommodation).

My go-to resources for identifying places to stay are Air BnB  & Trip Advisor.

Air BnB

Even if you don’t decide to book accommodation through Air BnB, you can still use its location feature to identify neighborhoods in which to stay. When you select a place, navigate to the Location tab to get a geographic sense of where the neighborhood is relative to attractions and public transit.

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor’s Location tab offers another way to help guide your decision: look at top-rated nearby attractions and restaurants!

3. Read reviews

The last thing you want to do before booking your accommodation is to read recent guest reviews. Pictures and descriptions provided by the business can be misleading, but guest reviews and photos can give you a realistic idea of what to expect during your stay. Tripadvisor has over 435 million travel reviews. Tripadvisor reviews follow a badge system where you can identify the knowledge and expertise of the reviewer. In a world of unmonitored comments, Tripadvisor’s comprehensive system helps me trust the reviews shared on their site.

Now that you’ve thought about what you want to do during your vacation identified neighborhoods close to those activities and public transit, and read guest reviews, you are all set to book!