Accommodation is a major factor in making your meeting successful. You must do the booking right to avoid troubles. Mistakes in booking a room may lead to a ruined meeting, and you don’t want that to happen even when it’s your first time.

Booking a room for the first time isn’t that much trouble nowadays since you can do most of the activities that are involved in it online. Even if you’re at home or work, it’s easy. A steady internet access is all that’s required. If it’s a problem, check your access point management first so that you can do half of these helpful tips all at once.

1. Check the reviews.

Go online and check out the latest reviews of hotels that you would probably stay at. Read as many reviews as possible, but don’t get overloaded with information or else you’ll have a hard time choosing the right hotel for you. You can also see photos of rooms and pick one that you prefer after reading the reviews.

2. Compare prices.

Prices vary in hotels, but you don’t need to call each of these hotels now just to ask for the price. Hotel room prices are already accessible online. You just have to compare the prices offered by different booking sites. Check at least three of these sites to get the price that suits your budget.

3. Book at the right time.

A hotel room rate depends on the location, convention crowds, seasonality and even weather. The right time might be when the rates are low. You can monitor the trend of the price of the room you are eyeing for more than a month ahead of your arrival date. Trend monitoring will save you from jacked-up prices. Book when the price starts to get low or seems to go up.

4. Reserve the right hotel.

Check the hotel’s exact location. See whether its location is convenient and has a good parking space. A good hotel for you would be the one that provides you with comfort and convenience. It should be at the right place.

5. Do not book nonrefundable rates.

Cancellation of hotel room reservation is inevitable. You might need to cancel due to bad weather, sickness, etc. So, better go without the nonrefundable rate. You might be paying more in advance, but you won’t be losing much money in the process. If you book a room online through an online travel retailer, always confirm their cancellation policy as these low prices are often non-refundable.

6. Always make sure your arrival and departure dates are correct.

Make sure the dates of your arrival and departure are correct. If you’re crossing a different time zone, consider it too. Your check-in date might be different from what you expect. You can have your booking double-checked by someone just to confirm that the dates are correct before you proceed to the next step.

7. Do not expect for the best room.

Booking a room at a low rate is one of the goals to have a budget meeting. You can achieve this by booking through online travel retailers or booking sites, but it won’t guarantee you the best room. You can always request for a room type or location, though.

If you want the best room to have a quality meeting place, you can book from the hotel’s website directly. Or if you want a better room placement, you can join in a hotel loyalty programme which is often free. You can also get free amenities like Wi-Fi or breakfast.

8. Do not expect that you will have all your requests granted.

Hotels are supposed to honour your requests, but at some point, they could not always guarantee them. If during your check-in, you find that your room type or location was changed without your consent, politely request a change from the front-desk agent. It is also advisable to confirm your reservation before arriving at the hotel.

9. Use a credit card.

Booking accommodations could give you lots of benefits if you use a credit card. If you are money-wise, choose the type of credit card that is right for you.

10. Account for taxes and resort fees.

You can ask not to pay for the services that you don’t need. However, you are accountable for any additional cost. These are clearly posted in hotel websites but not in online travel retailers. So before booking, you have to call the resort and ask directly about any additional fees. As for taxes, you are accountable for it, too.

Consider all these tips when organising a meeting and booking a venue. If you think you can’t do it without help, it is best to install a meeting scheduling software for easy updates on everything about your booking.