As much as the power of booking travel has been put in the consumer’s hand, it’s a really exhausting process. Last night, I was booking a rare flight out of town and was switching between any number of flight-comparison engines to get the best price for a non-stop flight. But I had to do it quickly because the cheapest ones only had two tickets left! At the same time, I was trying to research hotels, book a conference ticket, and tie my shoe. It was tough.
Hotels are perhaps the trickiest. Finding one nearby isn’t hard and finding a decent price isn’t even too tricky. But when you’re travelling to a new area, there’s this need to feel like you’re not booking yourself into a craphole. And most hotel review sites are filled with complaints about hotels and how terrible the area of town is. In the past, I’ve stayed in many of these maligned hotels and couldn’t disagree with the reviewers more. I remember one person complaining that the towels at a particular hotel were really thin and cheap. But it was a $70/night hotel in Chicago! What the heck were they expecting? If the room is clean and the hotel is safe, as far as I’m concerned, you can deal with the lack of amenities. Except wireless. That’s a must.
While booking travel is tiring, I still enjoy the process of researching a new area and finding restaurants and jazz clubs. And hookers. Lots of hookers.
Posted in Miscellaneous