On Line Hotel Searches

I spent several hours last week looking for hotels on line. That is, for information about the hotels and for the site with the best price for the rooms I need when I visit the cities I checked. Sounds easy, Huh? Well, while it is not difficult the time required to sift through the jargon, claims, and misleading information is a challenge.
The Internet is a blessing for arranging one's travel, as it offers bargains and give the traveler the opportunity to personalize where and how he or she will go. But the Internet is also a glut of travel sites, from good ones to bad ones. One never knows whether he has found a great deal or a dead end. So with that as a preamble, I give 10 things I have learned while shopping on line for hotel rooms.
* Never think you have found the best price for the identical room. There always seems to be a better site that mysteriously appears just as you have decided on using the one you are locate at now.
* When the site says "guaranteed lowest prices" on the Internet, it is not only higher priced but by a large margin. People love to see "lowest prices" so those sites lure the unsuspecting that way.
* Local city sites are usually the best for both price and service. The big international sites all have the same basic deals with the hotels they list.
* Sometimes dealing directly with the hotel brings the best price, but usually not
* Location, location location, as they say when buying property applies to hotels. The best located hotels are the most expensive and sometimes the worst places to stay. Sometimes the hotels just outside the center of the city try harder and offer better prices because of their location
* Beware if service charges taxes. Most sites give all inclusive prices, but some mention extra taxes at the bottom in fine print.
* Some travel sites require that the buyer join the "hotel club" before making a purchase. This can be an expense that nullifies the savings on the hotel rooms bought.
* Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware) The best price usually means a smaller room or one next to the noise * Hotels that offer no breakfast should be cheaper. that cost does matter
* Is there any better criteria for selecting a hotel than location? Most travelers sleep in their room, not live in it. Is it really important to stay in the most expensive or fanciest hotel? I think a good location is the most important factor, since one wants to be near the city center to explore it on foot.
There you have it! Now grab that credit card , your mouse and start searching for your next hotel.
From the cultural oddity department comes new of an interesting punishment for cheating on one's wife. It's the " hire a substitute to be punished" idea of one Chinese businessman. The un named philanderer has advertised on the Internet for a stand-in mistress to be beaten up by his wife to vent her anger and to protect his real mistress, according to a beijing newspaper. "When the woman found out her husband had a mistress, she insisted on beating her up," the Beijing Youth Daily said, citing the advertisement posted on a popular online jobs forum on sina.com. More than 10 people had applied for the job, the newspaper said. The "successful" candidate would be 35 and originally from northeastern China and would be paid $400 per 10 minutes, it said. Uh, I suggest you not apply for that one.