Booking.com

Started as a small Dutch start-up, Booking.com is now known to be one of the best global travel companies. Their mission is to “make it easier for everyone to experience the world.” Not only do you find accommodations, you can also rent cars and book flights via the digital platform. Booking.com is available in 43 languages.

Pros

• Variety of properties
• Detailed filter system
• Verified reviews
• Reward scheme
• Efficient customer support
• Low prices
  

Cons

• Lists unavailable properties at times
  
  
  
  
  

Variety of accommodation

One of the primary reasons, why you should use this platform is the variety and quantity of accommodation offered. It has nearly 30 million listings that includes, hotels, apartments, B&B, hostels, guesthouses, treehouses and so on. Basically, you can find anything and everything here.

Even when you are spoilt choice, they have really efficient review and filter systems in place that would make it easy for you to take a decision, keeping all your requirements in mind.

Low prices

A plethora of options guarantees that you will accommodation, irrespective of your budget. Therefore, Booking.com has a property in every price range and most of the times the listed properties are at a much lower cost when compared to other travel portals.

Filter system

As compared to other travel websites, the filter system has a vast range of classifications. These classifications will take your specific situation and recommend the most suitable properties. For instance, you can look for places to stay especially for couples or groups.

Verified reviews

Only the people who have actually stayed at a particular place are allowed to post their reviews about it. In addition, the hosts also reply to the feedback, making the whole process detailed and put into a context. You can find various categorizations of reviews, so that you can judge the place on the grounds of your preferences.

Reward scheme

The users have an opportunity to participate in their amazing reward scheme. You don’t have to be a frequent customer to avail these benefits. There is a blanket discount that stays the same all your life in contrast to the promo codes offered by other platforms that are accessible only for a short period.

The levels of the scheme are as follows:

• Genius Level 1- Book any two stays in the period of two years, and you get a 10% discount on selected properties.
• Genius Level 2- Book any five stays in the period of five years and you get: 10-15% discount on selected properties, free breakfast on select options and free room upgrade on select options.
• Lifetime Genius Membership- Once you reach these levels, then you can avail these benefits all your life.

Cancellation

This portal offers way more properties than the others with free cancellation.

Drawbacks of filtered search

There is one drawback of the filters on Booking.com- they automatically list properties that aren’t available on the selected dates. In fact, they even show the deals that couldn’t be availed by the customer.

Secondly, the price range is categorised in strange intervals. It would have been better to have a sliding scale price filter to refine the search more precisely.

Customer support

Booking.com offers 24-hours customer service and they can be called for any queries or problems that you may be facing. The customer support is very helpful and efficient.