Travel search tools - Wotif

Wotif is another travel website offering the opportunity to search for and book Accommodation, Flights, Holiday Rentals and Holiday Packages.

When booking accommodation choose the general location from the drop-down lists. In this example the search was for accommodation in Victoria for two adults on a particular date. Click the Search button.

The next screen allows you to narrow the search so the search was filtered to a hotel in Ballarat.

A list of hotels in Ballarat was then provided. Click the image for details about the hotel. The first price column shows the full rate for booking a room while the prices in green are the Wotif price for the room for each day of the week. If the accommodation is booked out this is indicated. Placing the cursor over a date shows the conditions for the price quoted - a minimum booking of two or three nights may be required. Selecting a date and for a hotel takes you to a page with full details about the hotel, prices offered for different rooms, reviews and a map showing the location of the hotel. Use the Book button to book required type of room.

Wotif also has a special mystery Wot Hotel deal on offer, the identity of which is provided in an email after a booking is made. Changes to the booking will not be accepted and no refunds are available for mystery Wot Hotel rooms.

Wotif can be a useful site for locating the availability of inexpensive rooms at short notice.

Travel search tools - Lastminute

Hotels, Flights and Restaurants are among the services that can be located and booked on Lastminute. The website is a 'lifestyle website' as well as a travel website. Bookings can be made for destinations anywhere in the world.

Quoting from the Lastminute website - 'lastminute.com.au is Australia’s leading travel and lifestyle website. We give our customers the inside track on how to find smarter, affordable, inspirational travel and leisure solutions that help them make the most of every lastminute. From hotels to holidays, flights to facials, and cooking classes to car hire, lastminute.com.au is the perfect way to source everything you need to turn your weekends and getaways into ones to remember. Offering fabulous deals for those with champagne taste on a beer budget, lastminute.com.au is proudly responsible for launching the Secret Hotels® concept in Australia.'

Like other travel websites to look for hotels you fill in a form selecting the location from a drop-down list, days accommodation is required, number of guests, select minimum star rating and indicate cost prepared to pay per night. If you know the name of the hotel where you want to stay, type the name in the search box and click the Go button. 

A list of hotels with accommodation prices is provided. The search can be narrowed using the options in the side-bar on the left of the screen. Clicking the image of the hotel to obtain detailed information about the rooms and prices. Click the Book button to book the selected room.

A point of difference  between Lastminute and other accommodation booking websites is that it has a Secret Hotels option. Quoting once again from the website - 'Only lastminute.com.au can offer you this exclusive hotel deal from one of our best-selling hotel partners. The other guests in the hotel would be jealous if they knew how much less you’d paid than them for the same room, so the hotel wants to keep it a Secret.' A special price has been arranged for selected rooms but the purchaser finds out in an email the name of the accommodation after they have concluded the booking. There is a no cancellation and no refund policy on this option,

Travel search tools - Trivago

 Trivago searches 200 travel websites to locate the best accommodation deals for users. According to the Trivago website, on the day I looked,  access is available to 730,708 hotels throughout the world. Trivago is a search tool only. To book accommodation found on the Trivago site you will be transferred to the booking agency website.

In this example a search was made for accommodation in Sydney on certain dates. Options in the side-bar on the side of the screen are used to narrow the search. Options include Stars, Rating, Price Range, Distance, Hotel Size and Options. There is also a search box in the side-bar where a search can be made for a specific hotel.

Use the Rating logo to view how others have rated the hotel. The Distance logo provides access to a map of the surrounding area. The information logo provides summary information about the accommodation. Select View All Deals option to see what is being offered.

 

Select View Deal button to transfer to the selected booking agency to make the booking.

 Additional information about using Trivago can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Travel search tools - Booking.com

Booking.com was established in Amsterdam in 1996 as a company for booking accommodation online. Accommodation includes hotels, apartments, B & Bs, guest houses, villas.

Search by typing the name of a city, region, district or specific hotel in the search box. If known, type in the dates of the proposed stay, the number of rooms required and number of adults and children before using the Search button to initiate the search.

For this exercise Edinburgh was chosen as the destination.

The side-bar contains filters to narrow the search including Star Rating, Property Type, Facility, Room Facilities, District and Chain. In Room Facility I selected View. Further options can be added.

The map shows the location of the hotel and clicking the Show Map option shows the location of the selected hotel to other hotels nearby.

Reviews for the selected accommodation are available.

Use the Show Prices button to see prices. Prices are provided in Australian dollars and are indicative as the dollar value may change when payment is made. The Frequently Asked Questions section provides additional information. Use the Reserve Button if you want to make a booking and provide the required information.

The website can also be searched using the Browse by Destination Theme at the top of the web page. Destination Themes include Fine Dining, Shopping, Sightseeing, Beach, Relaxation and Culture.

Travel search tools - Hotels Combined

Hotels Combined allows users to search and compare room availability and prices from all major travel websites.

Use the search box to enter the name of a city or hotel, number of people, plus, if known, the dates accommodation required. The search in this example was for London. A long list of hotels was located. Use the boxes in the left side bar to narrow the search. Nominate star ratings or a price range. Limit the search by property type or guest ratings, hotel features or themes. The search can be narrowed by selecting a smaller area or the name or partial name of a hotel can be entered in the designated box. A search can also be narrowed by hotel chain.

The search was narrowed by choosing Southwark from the Places box. At the end of the side-bar is the option to search a map which was then selected by clicking Open Map.

From the resulting map I was able to choose a hotel within easy walking distance to the museum I wanted to visit and also not too far from sites on the other side of the river.

Hotels Combined provides a list of prices for different rooms and the name of the travel website offering the best price for the room. A list of hotel features is also provided and a summary of comments made in guest reviews is provided. Clicking on the official site link under the name of a hotel will take you directly to the hotel's website where more information about the hotel can be obtained. Back on the Hotels Combined website, clicking on the name of the room or clicking the Go button will take you to the travel website where you can make a booking. 

Travel search tools - Zuji

Zuji purports to be 'one of Asia Pacific's leading online travel agencies'.

The coverage of locations, however, is world wide. Like Expedia, on Zuji you can book flights, accommodation and holiday packages and car hire. There is a note on the homepage of the website stating the Zuji booking charges.

Zuji's parent company is Webjet and the reviews provided in Zuji come from TripAdvisor.

The above search was for hotel rooms in Paris available on particular dates. Use the options in the sidebar on the left of the screen to narrow the search - for example select a hotel with free wifi near the Louvre. Information about available hotel rooms is provided. If you want to make a booking, click the Book Room button.

Use the Flight tab to search for and book flights. Select the airport for start and end of the flight and provide dates for one-way or return trip.

You will be presented with a list of options. In this example the flight was from Melbourne to Darwin.

Scroll through the options and check duration of the flight, whether the flight is non-stop and the time the flight leaves its original destination as well as the cost of the flight.

Click the Show Details link for each flight for additional information.

Also check for baggage information allowed for the flight and the baggage charges. Once you have made your selection you can add accommodation, car rental and travel insurance to your booking if you wish.

The Show Details link will provide the full booking price. Provide an email address for receiving a copy of the itinerary then click the Book Now button if you want to make the booking.

The How to Book page provides information using the Zuji website for booking flights and holidays.

Travel search tools - Expedia

Expedia claims to be the 'World's largest online travel agency'.

Use Expedia to search for and, if you wish, book flights, flights and holidays, accommodation, cruises and car hire. The Expedia website can also be used to assist in planning a holiday.

Choose a city, for example Paris.

Use the tabs to investigate Holiday Deals, Hotels, Need to Know, Experience Paris and Suggested Itineraries. Information in Need to Know includes how to get around Paris by train, taxi, bus or boat. Experience Paris and Selected Activities provide information about a selection of sites and activities. Information about the weather and a currency converter can be found in the side bar of the website.

Use the Search for Holidays box to check the availability and price of hotels and / or flights. If looking for a hotel, select the area where you would like to stay and type in the dates accommodation is required. Fill in other information as required. In this example we looked for information about a specific hotel.

Ratings are provided for each hotel and there is also a link to reviews. Click the title link to locate additional information about the hotel. If you want to make a booking click the Book button and complete the online forms.

If you have selected the Flight + Hotel option you can also search for available flights to and from your destination and, if you want to, add the flight details to your booking. Transport charges to and from the airport can also be booked and added to the account.

You will then receive a Trip Summary.

Ensure that you read the conditions of the booking.

If you want to go ahead with the booking you will be provided with details of the hotel and / or flight and / transport that you have booked. Double check that this is what you really want. After that fill in the forms confirming the booking and providing payment details. The final step is to use the Complete Booking button to complete the booking.

Travel search tools - TripAdvisor

One of the first websites to visit when planning a holiday is TripAdvisor.

The TripAdvisor website is designed to help you plan your holiday, locate information about places you might like to visit, explore hotel and travel options and then be referred to other websites where bookings can be made. A major feature of the website is that travellers can post reviews and photos of places visited which may help you decide where you want to go and what you want to do.

To start a search, type the name of a country or city or hotel in the Search box at the top of the screen.

Make your selection from the Drop Down list.

In this example we can locate information about Edinburgh by exploring the travel guides, we can explore the variety of accommodation options in the city, find information about available flights, and find out about places to visit and festivals and other events.

The Before You Go tab in the Edinburgh Guide provides general information about the city including Neighbourhoods, Architecture and Culture, public transport in the city and general information for tourists including banks and money, tipping, making phone calls and the weather. So when planning a holiday it would be useful to explore the information in TripAdvisor about your selected destination.

Trip Advisor is also very useful for selecting accommodation. Choose the city, town or village where you want to stay and then check the accommodation options which have been categorised.

You can search all accommodation options, family hotels, B&Bs, luxury hotels etc.

When you locate accommodation in which you might be interested you will find a rating bar for the hotel created from visitor reviews.

You will also find reviews made by visitors which may assist you in making your choice.

On a previous visit to the UK we used TripAdvisor to successfully locate a variety of accommodation, often in villages off the main tourist routes as well as in major cities.

TripAdvisor also has a section where you can select flights to and from your destination. After choosing the required search option you will be referred to another website such as Expedia to book the flight.