September 2, 2024, 4:08 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Accommodation for a trip can be found quickly on the Internet. Portals then often try to tempt consumers to book quickly. Here is why you shouldn’t let this influence you.
If you are looking for a vacation apartment or hotel via online booking portals, you should not rely on the suggested hit list. It is often impossible to understand why an accommodation is displayed at the top of the list.
This was reported by Stiftung Warentest following an investigation of 15 portals. The experts advise re-sorting the list, for example, according to price. Then, search for the most attractive offer on this basis.
Comparison with hotel websites is worthwhile
It is often worth looking directly at the website of a proposed hotel. In some cases, the prices there are cheaper, as the experts found in a comparison. Consumer advocates emphasize this time and again, and it applies in principle to all types of comparison portals on the Internet.
Another popular scam: portals simulate high demand by showing that only a few rooms are available in the desired period. The aim is clear: the consumer should book quickly. But the product testers advise caution. If the desired hotel is really fully booked on a portal, it is worth looking at another provider – or calling the hotel directly. It may turn out in the end that there are still rooms available.
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All in all, decent results
The test result: Excluding small tricks and stress-makers, the six comparison portals tested with a focus on hotels all scored “good.” Among other things, the booking process, the design of the website and search mask, the filter options, and the handling of reviews were evaluated. “Expedia,” “Booking.com,” “Hotels.com,” “Hotel DE,” “HRS,” and “Agoda” received scores between 1.9 and 2.4.
The overall result was slightly worse for portals focusing on vacation rentals. Only “Airbnb” and “Fewo-direkt” (both rated 2.4) scored “good” here. However, no portal was poor; instead, there were seven “satisfactory” ratings.