London is one of the most important financial centers in all of Europe. In fact, according to The Daily Mail, it’s often regarded as the financial capital of the world, thanks, no doubt, to its long history and imperialist routes that led to the great dominance of the British Empire. While England’s aspirations for global expansion have faded, the world’s reliance on the city, both for business and pleasure, certainly has not.
According to Visit Britain, more than 30 million people flood to London every year. As statistics from London Loves Business show, the city’s hospitality industry is expected to grow by 1.8% by the end of 2013. It should be no wonder, then, that the city is adding an additional 8,000 hotel rooms to the more than 120,000, according to BBC News, that already call the city home. Naturally, having a successful hotel search with such a volume of choices requires a lot of time, effort, and frustration. However, by using online hotel reviews, you can cut your choices down considerably.
How to Use Hotel Reviews to Find the Best Hotel Reservations
- Location
- Price
- Service
As a recent study from MarketMetrix shows, 30.2% of people say that the location of their hotel is the most important part of the hotel search. In fact, that’s almost double the people who say finding cheap hotel prices is most important. Finding a hotel with a great location is certainly about great views, but it’s much more often about convenience and savings. Imagine, you want to see Buckingham Palace while in London. If you stay in the Regent’s Park area, according to TaxiFareFinder, you’ll have to pay at least £13.61 for a one-way taxi trip. On the other hand, staying in hotels near Hyde Park will cut that cost in half or allow you to walk the short distance. Using hotel reviews, you can easily find hotels that offer the best locations in London.
Hotel reviews also give you a great way of seeing just how much you can expect to pay for your hotel. According to The Telegraph, the average price of a London hotel room is £160 a night. Using hotel reviews, you can easily find rooms for less than that. In fact, as The Guardian writes, you can find some of the best hotels in London for under £100.
About.com suggests that all travelers look into the services offered by each hotel before making any arrangements. Why? Star-ratings can be quite misleading. As Smarter Travel points out, hotel star-ratings do not mean the same things across different travel services, countries, etc. Further, they are more often an indication of amenities and luxury than service. Subsequently, all travelers need to focus on finding out about hotel service by reading hotel reviews.
London certainly doesn’t leave its visitors wanting for choice; with over 70,000 hotel rooms from the three to five star range, it can be extremely difficult to decide which hotels offer the most for the price. With hotel reviews, you can easily find location, price, and service, ensuring you find only the best travel arrangements for your family vacation or business trip. Refernce materials.
Me personally? I’d rather find something cheap with poor location.