Booking.com (Online Retailer)

 

I have used this site extensively for years and I only have good words and a great experience.

I tend to alternate my bookings between this site and Expedia, depending on which of them is selling cheaper, or better rooms for the same price, or better hotels for the same price.

The variety of accommodation is more than you will need, from backpacker places to high luxury, and everything in between. It is up to you what you pay for. They always have better pricing than other hotel online sites like Agoda or Asian Rooms, just to mention two examples, also a better review system and things are mentioned upfront to you.

Most of my bookings with Booking have been for overseas places, and I have always been happy with the pricing, booking system and how things went once in the hotel. I never found myself surprised by what I found, because, well, I knew where I was going and what I could expect.

The information page of each hotel is extensive, well organised, with a great amount of photos to see where you are heading to, plenty of reviews, plenty of room options and pricing to choose within a hotel, and specifications and pricing clearly shown.

One of the things I like most about Booking is the fact that they have more fully-refundable options than other sites, and also that changing and playing with your booking dates is not only easy, but you won't be charged for it, and your booking will maintain the pricing you first paid if the rooms are available for the new dates. This is something important to me, because I have changed dates of holidays or dates of stay quite a bit in the past with a great peace of mind.

The conditions of the booking and specifications of the rooms available for each hotel are clearly visible and stated, with colour markers for important stuff, so you won't miss anything because the font is too small or not visible enough.

I always trust their reviews, because the come from certified travellers like me that cannot post anything there without receiving the link after you finish your stay. Moreover, the amount of reviews that the place generates is higher than any other site, perhaps as bold as Tripadvisor (but here reviews are not verified, just monitored), way more than Expedia, Agoda or any other site. To me, the more reviewers the merrier, because I have an array of many different people telling me that Hotel X is bad, so-so or terrific, and which things are a miss.

The only downside I can think of, is the fact that some hotels, especially in the past, allowed you to book and pay at your hotel's reception desk. I never like that, because it opens the door to trouble in countries and with people who see Westerners as a rip-off object. So I tend to book rooms in which the payment is automatically deducted from my bank account, without me having to go to the reception desk to pay for anything but the extras.

My experience has been fantastic so far and I hope it continues the same. I have a trip coming in  a week or so, and I will be using Booking. 

They also have an app, who doesn't?!, and it is very clean to the eye and well organised and easy to browse and book. I use it just to browse, as I always prefer booking from my laptop. 

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Cover-More Travel Insurance (Online Retailer)

I travel quite often, and these days I pay for travel insurance. 

Cover More has been my travel insurance company since ever, meaning since I started paying for travel insurance. There were years in which my only insurance was praying the heavens to protect me because I did not have the money to do pay for anything but the ticket. I found the pricing of the polices really high, taking into account that I have rarely had any problem and that this might be the case of most travellers. Just guessing! They claim that spend many millions on claims per year, and I believe them; however, I think that the number of people not claiming is higher.

However, there is no detour. I have compared Cover-More with other travel insurance companies (even with my health insurance company, which offers discounts to members for Travel Insurance) and Cover-More is cheaper or the same price, depending on the policy, but it has more benefits. So I am stuck with them.

I would like their policies to be a bit more flexible and considerate with regular customers. But they do not have regular customers because their idiotic system does not record us as such, no matter how many times you book with them. They should implement a rewards point system for people who regularly buy their policies, and points added for travels done without claiming anything. Then, turn the points into discounts and voila. That would make me happy. And you.

The only time I had done a claim, everything was easy-peasy. The claim was for a last-minute flight change that forced me to move intercity immediately and the only thing I could find available was a room in a five star hotel. I produced the receipts, told them what had happened and I was fully reimbursed, no fuss.

In the past, I used to book on the phone because their website was just good for quotes but useless for booking. Currently, it is pretty good for bookings and I book directly online.

I am never happy paying so much money to a Travel Insurance company, but, really, if I got sick or something bad happened to me overseas, their policies give me a great peace of mind, and they are cheaper than other companies out there. So let it be. 

UPDATE 11/1/16
I have just bought a policy with Cover-more. I visited first their website, as I have been using it for years. They don't seem to get thing right. The booking of a policy is simpler and clearer than ever, and the look of the website has improved. However, something really important has worsened. In the former version of the website, you introduce your  personal info and dates of travel and you would get a quote in all policies they offer, side by side. At present, the police they offer for International, is just one, no the most comprehensive, . The latter (called Options) can bought through travel agents, which is always a pain because they inflate the prices and to get a discount you have to move your rear to find somebody who offers a better price and keep playing poker,and it only benefits the travel agents. It might be that you can book the Options comprehensive policy on the phone, but the website looks nicer and simpler but it is not better. 

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Expedia (Online retailer)

I have used Expedia so much in the last 7-8 years and with so much satisfaction and saving me so much money that I am surprised at the low ratings out there on the net.

I travel overseas almost every year, sometimes twice a year, and I have booked flights alone, hotels alone and combos, always with great satisfaction and Expedia working as a machine for me.

I started using Expedia because I was fed up with the poor customer service (even lies) I got from my usual travel agencies (those constantly advertising on TV ). Also their prices seemed always more expensive than those I then saw online, and last episode was that the departure of my return flight from an overseas trip was changed in the Christmas period, and nobody bothered to tell me in the agency. I found out by chance and I found myself in a dreadful situation with a lot of out of pocket expenses and difficulty to find transport and hotel.

I truly hesitated to organise my first holiday with Expedia. Travelling is something sacred to me. If somebody or something messes up things, I am going to be furious and devastated. However, everything went great. I have been using Expedia services ever since.

The offer of places and companies is huge, from the humble backpacker place to the super-luxurious hotel, from the low cost airline to the the posher one, from national to International flights. The booking system allows you to clearly see waiting times between flights, something I find important because bygone are those days in which I considered reasonable waiting 10+ hours in an airport no matter how super-duper the airport. If there is any change to your flight, no matter it is of 5 minutes, you will receive an email telling you that your flight details have changed.

Pricing is great, usually the cheapest prices in the market, that is why I book with them. My love is not blind, ever. Sometimes the hotels are better priced at Booking.com, so I book those there.

The booking system is fuss-free, clear, easy to follow, with all the important things mentioned and visible upfront.

Depending on the destination, you can also book and pay for your transfer at cheaper prices than you would if you paid it at the regular prices you find them in your country of origin. I have used the service a couple of times and worked smoothly for me. Expedia also offers day tours and activities for some places, but I have never booked any of those. Travel insurance is also on offer, and I have also used it for short trips; for long ones or combo holidays I use other companies.

My last interstate ticket was purchased with them, the arrival and departure separated eight months, at fantastic prices and with Qantas. Last year I had a multi-country trip, so I did book the flight through a normal travel agent; however, the agent offered me a limited number of hotels at ridiculous prices. I checked those on Expedia and they were cheaper and offered better rooms. I ended buying all my hotels in five different countries via Expedia. Got there, presented the voucher, tadahhhh no fuss.

I have reviewed many of the hotels and companies I booked through Expedia, following the link they provide once you have finished your flight/stay, and they have always been published. Therefore, I trust other reviewers' reviews. A good deal of the reviews in Expedia come from Trip advisor, a place I trust because I am a contributor.

Expedia has a 24/7 Customer Service. I have used just once and the guys on the phone were very helpful. Unfortunately, the conditions of my tickets were set and there was nothing I could do. Since then, I make sure I find out whether the flight dates can be changed or not, and how much would cost me. That it is easy, because that sort of information is mentioned upfront while you are booking.

EXTRA KUDOS
> They have a decent app, so you can carry your trip details on your device without the need of printing. I personally prefer using my laptop for bookings (security reasons, size reasons, sight reasons), but it is great having the choice of browsing hotels and flights from your device. 
> They have launched a reward program, which is always great to be part of if you are a regular frequent traveller.

DOWNSIDES
> Although you can re-schedule the dates of your flights and hotel bookings, there is not a straight way to do so like in other online sites. Basically, you have to cancel your existing booking and rebook again. That is not convenient most of the time, because if you do that, the pricing you will be charged is the one valid at the moment of booking, not the one you initially booked. This might result in a change of hotels or airlines and higher prices.
> There are many reviewers online unhappy with Expedia. To be honest, if I was booking for the first time, I would be scared. Yet, I don't think this is the majority of users of the site.

TIPS
Before booking you should:
> Check and recheck that the dates you have typed and shown are those that you really want.  
> Check and recheck that your name is correctly spelled.
> Be sure that your ticket or bookings are refundable or you can change them paying little.
> Buy travel insurance. Life is unpredictable.

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