Travel Site Countdown-Hotels

Hey everyone! I apologize for not posting anything for a while. However, I am back with a great post that you don't want to miss out on. Over the past few weeks I have been planning a road trip down to Nashville for my friends and I. We are staying in a hotel while we are there so while doing my research I used a few travel sites. They can be helpful but some are difficult to navigate and don't provide the information needed. Here is my breakdown and rating of the top travel sites for booking hotels.

7. Hotwire
I put Hotwire last on my list because you do not book a specific hotel, rather an area in which you want to stay in. You can end up in any of a number of hotels. They do give you a list of the hotel companies that are in the area, but again not the specific hotel until after you book. For me this was not something I could use. When I was booking my trip to Nashville I was looking for a specific hotel. On top of the their rates were extremely high. The rate per night in the area I would be staying in was $138.00 average a night. The total came to $663.84. That was just out of the question. I do like how Hotwire does give you a total with taxes and fees before you put your credit card in. I prefer knowing exactly how much I will be paying before the last second.

6. Priceline
Priceline does have competitive rates with the other travel sites, however you have to put in all of your information before you see the total cost. It was only a few cents more for the subtotal than most of the other sites, but again it does not show you taxes and fees until the very end. I do not like this concept because it takes up some time to fill everything out to have to find out how much you will be charged.

5. Hotels.com
Hotels.com had the second highest rates of all of the sites I visited. For one night that Travelocity was charging me $159.99, Hotels.com was going to charge me $207.99. The total was going to come to $633.53. That price was just unacceptable.

4. Expedia
The same problem I had with Hotels.com was the exact same problem I had with Expedia, the prices were the same. I do not understand how these sites can market themselves as discount travel sites that offer you the best deals, when some of them have outrageous rates.

3. The Hotel's Website (I used Best Western)
I plan on staying in a certain Best Western while in Nashville so I decided to check out the rates they have posted on their website. I was surprised with just how competitive their rates were. The total price came to $551.63 which was around $13 difference from the cheapest rates I found. I was especially surprised by this because of how much lower it was compared to Expedia and Hotels.com. Best Western's rates were $112.21 cheaper than these two sites.

2. Kayak
This was my first time using Kayak so I was not sure what to expect. I had seen their commercials all of the time and they truly hone in on the fact of their prices and how you can compare all of the sites. They did have the lowest rates along with Travelocity. I used the comparing rates tool they feature so much on their commercials. I did not like this feature at all. When you do the search with the comparing rates tool all of the sites you are comparing pop up in different windows. This drove me nuts. In order to compare them all you have to keep clicking back and forth to and from different windows. If they ever want to adjust their site they should have all of the prices listed side by side when you click on the hotel you want so you can compare it all in one window.

1. Travelocity
Travelocity for my list gets number 1, not just because it had the lowest rates, but it was also the easiest to navigate. Travelocity shows you a break down of each night, the subtotal, and final total once you click on the hotel you want. I love this feature. Everything is on one page. Travelocity also had the lowest rates along with Kayak. From my experience Travelocity is the best travel site out there for booking hotels.

My Apologies

Hey everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts here and on my podcast. The end of the semester has been a tad hectic. I hope to get back to posting! Stay tuned for more!

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Washington DC

Washington DC is a great place to go on a budget! Most of the sites of DC are free and within walking distance of each other. I have gone to DC more times than I can count, with all but 3 times being day trips. If you are going to DC definitely check out these places:

• Air and Space Museum-FREE
  
• National Museum of American History-FREE
  
• National Museum of Natural History-FREE
  
• Lincoln Memorial-FREE
  
• WWII Memorial-FREE
  
• Korean War Memorial-FREE
  
• Vietnam Memorial-FREE
  
• Ford's Theathre-FREE
  
• Martin Luther King Memorial>-FREE
  
• National Mall-FREE
  
• Old Post Office Tower-FREE
  
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial-FREE
  
• Washington Monument-FREE
  
• National Museum of the American Indian-FREE
  
• Smithsonian American Art Museum-FREE
  
• National Zoo-FREE
  
• FDR Memorial-FREE
  
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing-FREE
  
• National Archives-FREE
  
• Library of Congress-FREE
  
• Arlington Cemetery-FREE
  
• Supreme Court-FREE
  
• Union Station-FREE
  
• Holocaust Memorial Museum-Free