How to book holiday online

There was a time when booking a holiday took almost as long as the vacation itself. For a start, one usually took the services of neighbourhood travel agents or run around scouting for the best deals as well as weather long queues at railway stations, bus stands or airline offices.

But now courtesy, the flurry of travel sites, one can book his dream holiday at the click of a mouse. These sites not only help save the misery of long queues, haggling with travel agents, but also give a peek into hotel rooms, reviews of places one may want to visit, eating joints and shopping around, and all that you need for an exciting holiday.

Booking a holiday online is fairly simple, but with so many travel sites and so many deals, it may get a bit confusing at times. Worry not, here are few tips that will go a long way in making sure you get the best holiday deals online.

Like everywhere, doing your homework helps here too. So, before you book the deal make sure you have done your research.

Read as much as you can about the hotel or the place you are going to. Here we mean not just the information on the hotel's website, but read reviews from other people who stayed at that hotel or visited that place.

You can also view photographs posted by other travellers of the hotels and places you have in mind. These help you in getting the real picture. The Internet is full of sites where people review various travel properties. In fact, most ravel sites too give their own rating, but it is still better to also read third-party ratings.

Compare and contrast

You may have to scout for the best deals online too. But here since it’s at a click of a mouse, so you will not have to sweat through it. You can easily compare the prices of flights, hotels, resorts and rental car companies. There are several websites that let you compare prices of different hotels, flights, read travel reviews.

It is always worth comparing the prices with more specialist sites. This may also help you if your travel dates are flexible. Most airlines and hotel companies provide cheaper prices and have special offers for early birds. Many websites also show the prices either side of the date one wants to travel, so being flexible may bring financial rewards.

Never base your decision to book a hotel or a room going by the look of the rooms on the hotel's website. Hotels and resorts mostly have the picture of their best rooms and views from their rooms on their websites.

Never fall for these, else a rude shock may await one during check in. As mentioned above, always read reviews of the hotel or resort and try to check out other traveler's photographs of these places. These will give you a real insight into the place.

Also check details about the service, food and other hygiene factors. As they have all the potential to make or mar your holiday.

Done with the homework and all the comparison. Now, you can either book directly by going to the respective sites of the hotel, airline or rental agency, or you can book via a travel site which caters to everything, right from hotel to airfare to car rental to meals.

Here make sure you have read the terms and conditions before booking as every website has different terms and conditions. So make sure you know what you have agreed to.

Be beware of hidden charges. Online travel packages are known to be often laced with hidden charges. Like, the hotel may ask you to pay extra tax if you want to pay by credit card.

Similarly, while the gym use may seem to be free, you may find that it is only for per person per day. You may many a times find a hidden charge with the freebies promised, like free spa. So, make sure you get the entire deal sorted threadbare before booking.

You can pay online as well as by cheque or go for an online bank transfer. Most big travel agents and hotels have their accounts in leading banks where you can make the payment.

The online payment facility too is offered by all travel sites and most hotels nowadays. However, here make sure the site you make payment on is SSL secured. To check this make sure the Web address starts with https://www.... Here the key word is 'S' after http, this means that the website is SSL secured. Also look out for security logo on the website; most websites have their security certifications.

On most sites, you will then have to enter your payment details, like the card number, including the three-digit security code on the back of the card (CVV). If you have made the payment online, make sure you check your credit or bank account regularly to ensure that the correct payment has being withdrawn and that there are no suspicious payments drawn from your account.

Make sure you also receive an email confirming the payment and all other details.

Keep a record

As a rule, make sure that you keep a record of all correspondence regarding your travel and accommodation while booking your holiday online.

Try to keep a copy of all the correspondence exchanged or made -- right from flight receipts to accommodation booking references, emails, any answers to the questions that you asked.

This way in case of any problem or issue, you will always have evidence to fall back on. Though may be rare that you may actually need any of these items, but it is always better to be safe than sorry when away from home.

Last but, not the least, ask family and friends if they have ever booked online, and who they booked with, what were their experiences, as all these will make you feel more confident about booking online. You can also join a travel forum and read the experiences and advice from people who have booked online.

Try to go with your gut instincts, and if you still have any concerns about booking online, most websites will have a contact no or toll free helpline no where you can always call up to finalise your deal. The same goes for booking for hotels, resorts, rental cars etc.TOI