Who doesn’t love a vacation? Even business travel has its upsides. But there’s nothing like disappointing accommodation to really start things off on the wrong foot. After years in the hospitality business, we’re pretty sure we’ve seen and heard all the accommodation mistakes out there. The things people admit to doing before they discover our amazing apartments. Here are three of the worst offenders – can you relate?

 

Mistake #1: Going for a ‘good deal’ over good location

Why is it that we only seem to look at the price of the bedroom, and disregard where that bedroom is located! What good is a cheap hotel if it’s near the airport and you were hoping for a beach holiday? Or a hotel by the beach when you really need to be in the financial centre for early morning meetings? That good deal looks like less of a good deal when you’re double-checking bus timetables, spending most of the afternoon trying to find the shopping district, or trying desperately to flag a cab at 7 in the morning. Look for accommodation that is close to the things you need? If you’re a food and culture lover in Montreal, you’ll want to be downtown near restaurants, museums and galleries. If you’re in South beach for the bars and shopping, then you need to be close to Lincoln Road. It’ll save time, frustration, and transport costs. It’s a no-brainer!

 

Mistake #2: Booking a certain hotel chain because you’ll get ‘points’

 

This is how they get you. Sure you get points. But the hotel room is more expensive than other, better options, and really, have you looked into how many points you need to eventually get that free stay? Hotel loyalty programs often expire if there’s not enough account activity, and the best rewards are only for ‘elite members’ so those who get the greatest return are the ones who are on the road all the time.  Plus, some of those ‘rewards’ are things like free in-room WiFi that other accommodation providers (ahem, us) provide automatically, to everyone.

 

Mistake #3: Always booking a B&B or hotel

 

Why does booking an apartment for a vacation or business trip still not occur to people who travel? We have no idea. It’s often cheaper, with better service, and way more added extras, such as in-suite laundry, fully-equipped kitchen, and free internet. And the longer you stay, the cheaper the price. That doesn’t happen with many hotels! Aside from all that, you get twice as much space, and there are lots of apartments out there that welcome pets! Good luck trying to sneak your dog into a hotel room…