Budget Travel and My Love/Hate Relationship with The Internet
Posted on 11 February 2009 by Justin
Speaking of truth, I hate making hostel/lodging reservations online. I do not like being tied to a specific travel itinerary and I hate to commit to a place before seeing it. The world of budget accommodations has various degrees of quality but, a website and a few online reviews rarely tell the whole story. No matter how good a place looks online, or how well located it appears on Google maps, nothing and I mean nothing, serves as a replacement for actually walking into a place. The various looks and smell, the verbal and non verbal atmosphere, and the attitudes of the current guests tell a lot about a place. Plus, budget accommodation staff always take me more seriously in person. Online, I am one of 100 question emails they are forced to respond to in order to keep their jobs. On the phone, I am just another talking head. In person though, I represent real money and real money seems to change everything.
Example
About 1 month ago I began looking for an apartment that we could rent for 2 weeks in Wellington. In many ways, I would prefer to stay in a hostel but the busy travel season is currently raging in Wellington and hostels are expensive and unwilling to negotiate. Plus, many hostels do not offer (either publicly or when prodded) weekly discounted rates. I searched all over the internet, sending out dozens of email inquires and making about 10 phone calls. All of the places I located were priced more for the “stay a week and go back to the real world” type of travelers. Eventually I was convinced that we needed to stay about 15-20 minutes outside of Wellington in order to find lodging we could afford. I was not happy with this but the wide availability of public transportation softened the disappointment. When we showed up, the place was a shadow that somewhat resembled what the managing director had gushingly described in her email to me. Also, and perhaps this was more irritating, the cost to use the public transportation of Wellington everyday for two weeks is so high that it is almost cheaper to stay in the city and pay to park our car.
As a result, Natalie and I spent about 4 hours wandering the streets of Wellington, asking questions at budget accommodations and obtaining recommendations from the local tourist office. Eventually, we found the perfect place right in the heart of Wellington. Although we had previously researched the apartment, showing up in person changed everything. After 30 minutes of negotiations, we are staying in a great little studio apartment for the rest of our time in Welli (kiwi for Wellington.)
The lesson here is simple. If you are not forced by the tourist season to make reservations, don’t. Trying to find a place to stay can be a bit irritating, but nothing sucks more that paying good money for a disappointing place. If you need to make a reservation (and you are going to be in one place for a week or more) be prepared to break the reservation. In fact, plan on it. Chances are you will be able to find something better in terms of cost, quality, or both.
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Tags | New Zealand
I completely agree with everything you said. I always tried to avoid booking ahead, except when I knew we would arrive in a city late and then I would only book for one night. I hope you are enjoying Wellington. The view from the Botanical Gardens is amazing!