My Experience With Reading Travel Reviews to Book My Hotel

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Auckland, New Zealand (NZ) I was on the search for accommodation. With so many options to choose from - bed & breakfast, motels, lodges, serviced apartments and hotels (to name a few) - I eventually decided to choose Auckland hotel accommodation. Now my issue went from: What kind of accommodation do I want to stay in? to: Which provider do I choose?

It's fair to say that had I booked my trip through a travel agent they may well have been able to suggest the right provider for me, but in this day and age of online travel bookings, I had no need to talk to a travel agent. So keeping in line with my online flight bookings, I decided to book my accommodation online too. First though I decided to find out what other people were saying about Auckland hotels, to see if anyone had some good suggestions for me.

I've heard all this talk about user reviews becoming more and more popular in today's online environment, and I can now see why. It's much like talking to your family or friends and asking if they can recommend somewhere to stay, but in this event you have access to a wider range of opinions. The other advantage is that the feedback which is posted on the site is no longer filtered by the providers so that you only read good reviews, instead they are a much more transparent and honest assessment of the hotel.

What to Write in Travel Articles

Many journalists love to write travel articles because writing those means getting the chance of visiting different beautiful places and that also for free. That it is a dream job of many writers to write travel articles. The things one should keep in mind while writing travel article:

The market of travel writing is quite competitive. There is not a place in this world that has not been written about. Each place in this world has a number of travel reviews. So it is important to write something different than the other writers. You have to keep in mind that you have to write something so that your article stands out among the thousands of articles. Try to think about something that might not have been written no matter how small that is. It may be a local custom or a regional festival or a special cuisine. Include this kind of small but interesting details so that readers are attracted and choose your article among the others.

If you are writing for a travel company you have to write in a very positive way about a place. You have to over hype that place in order to attract readers and encourage them to buy a deal with your travel company. But if you are not writing it for a travel company but a travel magazine or as a newspaper article you do not have to absolutely positive. You should obviously write the pros of a place but you should write the cons of that place. This will make your article more genuine. And to make your travels articles authentic you should rely only on firsthand eyewitness and not on travel guide books because you should remember travelers have already read everything there is on the travel guide and travel brochures.

Travel Sites With Incentives

When planning a trip, most people go to large travel sites like Expedia and Priceline to book their flight, hotel, and rental car all at the same time with one easy payment. These big all-in-one websites are the best at making travel arrangements convenient, and typically offer discounts for packaged purchases. With a little time invested searching for the best deal, you can't go wrong with these sites. However the savings aren't limited to the on-site packaged deals.

Most of the large travel sites have affiliate sites that send them traffic. These affiliate sites come in many forms and give buyers a percentage off from their purchase. There are two main kinds of discount travel sites, one is an informational guide (usually in the form of a blog), and the other is a rank and review site.

Travel blogs are usually started by people who have a preference or special expertise in one specific niche of the travel industry. Sites like Gobackpacking.com are very targeted on their specific area and will often have links advertising vacation packages that may interest you and have a code you can enter to save off the regular marked price. Before booking your next vacation, it would be a good idea to browse the web, looking for travel sites that give you specific information about your potential destination. You will likely find a coupon code for your next trip, but will also gain valuable knowledge on where to go to eat, what activities are worth doing, and which ends of town to avoid.