hotel booking site review

I was recently presented with an opportunity to review a new Hotel Reservations site via the PayPerPost program. Seeing as I have booked quite a bit of online travel over the years, and I also have a firm background in web design, I feel that I am well qualified to deliver an assessment of their site.

Right off the bat, their homepage seems a bit bland. The layout features small fonts which may not be suitable for older eyes, and there isn't very much color. The upper left-hand logo doesn't return one to the homepage, per most website standards. On the bright side, they don't feature a bunch of obnoxious flash animation like some booking sites. There are several button links on the page, one of which is for a $100 rebate. Clicking on the button for details will show that you get the $100 if you stay at a hotel for 12 nights. That's a bit extreme, but you still get $20 with a three night stay.

The site isn't exactly what I would call "all-inclusive" when it comes to their hotel listings, but they do include lots of different chains. The site seems to be more focused on the "Choice Hotels" brands - like Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Super 8, etc. Also, popular brands like the Best Western and Holiday Inn are conspicuously missing from the list. I did get an overwhelming batch of two star hotels that were about sixty plus miles from where I searched, though. There doesn't appear to be a proximity range that one can choose while searching. Maybe I missed it. For example, when searching for hotels in the popular Ozark resort area Eureka Springs, the closest hotels that showed up are an hour away.

Mapping the list of hotel results revealed a display of numbered circles in relation to a single HWY with no real details on side streets or interconnecting highways. As a result, I can't imagine trying to use their map to actually locate the hotels.

If I was going to stay at one of the more economy based hotels during my travels, I might suggest comparing the deals to be had on this site with others and going with the best price that you can find. Their rebate may make a difference on your total. This site advertises "guaranteed lower rates" so there is a good chance that you can hold them to it, and get them to match (or better) a deal that you might find somewhere else.

Although this company asked for a positive review in their listing at PayPerPost, I couldn't help but share my honest opinion of their site, including some items above that could be viewed as negative. After all, they asked for a "review" - not a commercial advertisement. If this means that I don't get paid for it, so be it. I had already accepted the offer and had started writing my review before I got into the details of the site. I do think that their site has some good deals, but they need to expand their listings and work on the interface a little more to compete with the "big boys of booking".