Ask the Internet: Best Place to Search for Lodging in Europe

Okay folks. My European plans are progressing. I’ve actually gotten tickets now. Flying in and out of Budapest this time, since we have yet to see that one. It’s through Zurich, but we won’t be doing a stopover, choosing to spend our time seeing Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Krakow, and Košice, instead. (In addition to Slovakia, of course.) It should be a blast.

But it looks like our travel dates are overlapping with European holidays, so a lot of hotel rooms are already booked. As I’ve been doing searches, I wondered what sites other people use to find lodging, particularly in Europe. Here are some of the sites I’m already aware of:

  • Hotels.com is a favorite. They have a wide variety of hotels, their prices are decent, and I like their interface. I also appreciate how well integrated they are with tripadvisor, as I rely on reviews heavily when I’m selecting a place to stay. I need to make sure it will be decent for my family. That said, sometimes they omit places, and I’m not sure how exhaustive their results are. I can’t help wondering if I couldn’t get a better deal somewhere else. (That’s where you all come in.)
  • VRBO is one I’ve used for North American trips, but it seems less robust in Europe. Particularly in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. (Sorry. I just can’t bring myself to call it Czechia.) Also, I sometimes worry about how reliable the places will be. Our stay in Paris was lovely, but it’s an added concern not typically there when I’m just going to check into a chain hotel. (Though the accommodations are so much nicer.)
  • Airbnb is another site, and it seems more popular in the places I’m specifically checking so far. (Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague) Same issues as VRBO, but definitely easy to use and worth looking into.
  • Bookings.com is one that was new to me, and I haven’t really liked it yet. I used it a bit, but the prices seem inflated from what I can find on other sites. I wonder if I’m using it wrong, or if I don’t understand the results properly.
  • Individual hotel sites are also always worth a shot. Marriott sometimes has the best deals directly from their site, for example.

And that’s the extent of what I’ve used. Anyone out there use anything else they’re really fond of? Please share. I’m all about learning new things.

Thanks!

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