Booking Hotels Online

Over the past few days, I have been actively planning for my upcoming trip to Cambodia, and this of course includes finding accommodation and as much as possible, book the rooms online. I usually avoid the uncertainty of not having rooms when I get to a new foreign place, especially for the first night.

So searching based on my friend's hotel recommendation, I chanced upon this site http://www.asiarooms.com/ and I like this site! Let me tell you why...

It lists hotels (flights too, btw) by city and country so it's easy to find. Or just use the search tool like I did and you find the hotel you were looking for. Also, it provides a comprehensive overview of the hotel - an impressive four paragraphs! - and gives you a glance how much you pay for the various room types Standard, Deluxe for which periods. Rates include all taxes and service charges so you see the nett price, no hidden charges involved! Here's a sample of the user-friendly information:

And the best part of all is, to me, the option to pay in local currency! This is so you don't incur additional charges from your credit card paying for 1.5% exchange rate commission, and it's easier to tell your friends how much the hotel costs (if you're sharing the room and paying first) instead of waiting for your credit card bill to arrive. Not to mention being at the bank's liberty at charging you unreasonable exchange rates! Choose from SGD, AUD, GBP, EUR, HKD, JPY, NZD and USD. Most of the other sites I've used only allow the option of USD, and possibly GBP and EUR. This is a premium feature in my opinion!

Here's how the confirmation process works:

You first choose your currency, select your check-in and check-out dates, and proceed with booking. Enter personal details such as name and address, and provide your credit card number. You then receive an email saying your reservation has been picked up, subject to the credit card being confirmed. A few minutes later, when your credit card is verified, asiarooms.com sends you an email telling you so, with the amount temporarily blocked on your card, and tells you reservation is under progress and that they're checking with the hotel itself. Then they send you a confirmation to your local mobile phone (regardless of the country, how cool is that! - do select this option!) when your booking is confirmed. You of course get an email confirmation and will be able to check status/confirmation online at the website. Typically I get my SMS response half a day to a day later, very prompt. And it saves me the hassle of checking my emails constantly to get the load off my mind that I have a room to stay in!

So next time you're thinking of traveling in Asia and booking a hotel online - check this site out! The downside is it does not have all hotels so it's a bit restricted if you have a hotel in mind. But your hotel is in the list, then I think the local currency payment + the global SMS confirmation makes it a pretty good deal.