2007-04-11: Review: Finding accommodation in Europe via eurobookings

One principle in the Routa MC style of motorcycle travel is getting around without much advance planning. This means that every day some time is spent trying to find accommodation. In small towns this is generally easy - just take the first gasthaus you run into. But in more touristic places some research before arrival often makes sense.

Since Routa bikers don't have the space for lugging around volumes of Lonely Planet, but are usually equipped with small, internet-connected technology, the web is a natural place to make research and possibly even book accommodation.

There are non-commercial sources for hotel information like WikiTravel, but these usually go only as far as providing the phone number of a hotel. The other option is online booking services like eurobookings reviewed here.

Instead of providing only a hotel guide like many competitors, eurobookings also runs a travel blog called Hotel Guide. This is a refreshing change, as it provides some cultural and touristic information about the locations, giving context to the hotels user is browsing.

The posts tell something about the place, and then point reader to hotels in the area. The hotel information system is quite similar to others provided on the web, though eurobookings says they're providing lower rates than for example hotels.com. On quick searches the services had different hotels featured so verifying this is a bit difficult.

In any case,

Pros

• Easy way to search for hotels connected with touristic information about the places

Cons

• Hotel map is some weird Java applet instead of a proper Google Map
• Availability finder seems buggy, making it impossible to change dates
• Lists only hotels, not cheaper hostels or motels

Note: This is a sponsored post via ReviewMe.

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