The Smart Way to Book Hotels on Booking.com (From Someone Who's Done It 200+ Times)

This is travel 101 and I thought I knew what I was doing until I spent 4 years living out of a suitcase, and then I realized that there is a whole strategy to this that I was missing. Most people search a city, see 2,000 hotels, get overwhelmed by the options, and just pick something that looks decent in their budget (That's me. I'm 'most people'). Then they show up and realize they're staying in a neighbourhood that's either sketchy, boring, or an hour from everything they actually want to do. I've made this mistake more times than I'd like to admit.

The thing is, booking hotels isn't really about finding the best hotel. It's about finding the right neighbourhood first, and then finding a good hotel in that neighbourhood. Get the location right, and you can stay in a mediocre hotel and still have a great trip. Get the location wrong, and even a five-star hotel won't save you from wasting hours on transport every day. Also, you can't really trust reviews, but sometimes you can (more on that later).

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Last updated 2026-07-15

The Platforms I Actually Use

Booking.com: This is my default for hotels and apartments. I've booked hundreds of places through Booking.com, and I've only had one issue (which they resolved in 24 hours).

Why Booking.com:

Huge selection (hotels, apartments, hostels, guesthouses)
Free cancellation on most properties. This is my favourite perk. It lets me start locking in parts of the trip without too much commitment.
Genius loyalty program gives you 10-15% off after a few bookings
Easy to filter by neighbourhood, price, amenities
Customer service is solid when things go wrong
The app is clean and easy to use

My Hotel Selection Method

The Booking.com hack I use every time:

Most people search Booking.com by city (e.g., "Paris"), see 2,000 hotels, get overwhelmed, and just pick something that looks decent. This is how you end up staying in a random neighbourhood paying tourist prices.

Here's what I do instead:

Step 1: Research neighbourhoods first

Finding trusted blogs with neighbourhood breakdowns is the best for this. These are first-hand accounts from experienced travellers who have done the research on the ground. Reddit and Tripadvisor are okay too, but I don't trust it quite as much.

Unhinged neighbourhood research tactic: This is a weird one, but it works weirdly well in most cities. Go to Google Maps and search 'Vegan' or 'Plant-Based'. Don't worry, I'm not pushing a diet on you, I'm giving you a hidden heat map of most cities in the world.

A screenshot of Google Maps that shows the result of searching for vegan across the city of Seoul, South Korea

Veganism is mostly a Western thing. Most places in the world have a meat-heavy diet, and the places that don't eat much meat don't call it plant-based; they just call it food. If there is a vegan cafe in Tbilisi, or a plant-based grocery store in Seoul, you can bet that they're in an area set up for tourists and probably the area where most of the younger generation live or hang out in.

A screenshot of Google Maps that shows the result of searching for vegan across the city of Tbilisi, Georgia

This doesn't replace your actual research, but it's the fastest way to get a sense of where to start looking.

Step 2: Decide how I'm getting around

This is a major factor. If I'm just wandering a European old town then I want to stay right in the heart of it. If I'm renting a car, I will need parking and won't worry so much about a perfect location. And if I'm exploring a massive city like Seoul or Tokyo, I will try to be close to a subway line because I will be using the metro to get around all week.

Step 3: Decide non-negotiable features

These can be amenities like a hot tub, or just features like access to a kitchen or a private shower.

Step 4: Do a well-refined search on Booking.com

Now that I actually know what I'm looking for, I will go back to Booking.com

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows a search for a hotel in Tokyo that is yielding 4713 properties

So if I just search Tokyo, I'm getting 4,713 properties. I want to trim this list down, so I will scroll through the sidebar where it says Filter by. I'm going to check off all my requirements, like free cancellation, airport transfer, and accommodation type. There are a lot of options here, so I will walk through an example of how I would actually do this.

Example Choosing a Place In Tokyo

First we will research the neighbourhood.

A screenshot of Google Maps that shows the result of searching for vegan across the city of Tokyo, Japan

Between our cheeky heat map and a deep dive into a few blogs like this neighbourhood breakdown, it looks like Shibuya would be a great place to stay.

Now we consider how we're getting around. Riding the trains in Tokyo is a rite of passage, so the plan is to find somewhere in Shibuya that's close to a metro station.

Now our features. I'm planning on trying out tons of local food, so I won't need a kitchen, but I'm not used to the Japanese summer heat, so I will definitely need AC. I want my own bathroom and shower and private room, but I'm not too worried about a gym or a hot tub or anything.

I want somewhere nice, but I'm going to be out and about a lot, so I'm going to balance the budget with the ratings and filter for places that are 7 and up. I'm also going to only consider places that offer free cancellation and filter out anything above 300 per night.

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows a search for a hotel in Tokyo with several filters applied that is yielding 104 properties

And just like that, I've gotten down to 104 properties. That's going to be much more manageable. Now I will go and click the 'show on map' button to explore my options.

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows a highlighted area with a limited number of visible hotels

Now is the fun part. Browse around and click through the options. You can see the metro stations clearly on the map (little train icons), so we will focus on well-connected places first.

Now we can't rely on ratings alone. For example, Cozy Stay Ebisu looks cute, has an 8.7, and is only 144 per night. But…it only has 7 reviews. For a city like Tokyo, I would only consider places with 50 reviews or higher, even if their rating is slightly lower.

APA Hotel Shibuya Dogenzakaue stands out. Just a few minutes from Shibuya Station and all the features of a typical higher-end hotel. And at around 150 per night, it's right in my budget. It has a 7.7 rating, which is okay, but not so good. It has a lower rating than Cozy Stay Ebisu, but it has over 2000 reviews.

My other top contender is Lyf Shibuya Tokyo. It's also a great transit-friendly location and has the same features as APA Hotel Shibuya Dogenzakaue, but it's 240 a night with an 8.9 and over a thousand reviews.

This is the classic final dilemma. Is the higher rating worth the extra money? Well, this is where another feature of Booking.com comes in handy. Hotels on this platform don't just have an overall rating; they have a whole rating system.

Scroll down the hotels page to the guest reviews section. This is the breakdown for APA Hotel Shibuya Dogenzakaue.

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows a guest review providing positive and negative feedback with a 7.7 overall rating

And this is the breakdown for lyf Shibuya Tokyo

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows a guest review providing positive and negative feedback with an 8.9 overall rating

So it looks like the cheaper option is losing points for small rooms and limited breakfast options, but we're seeing similar complaints about a small room for the more expensive option, too. I'm not worried about hotel breakfast in one of the best foodie destinations in the world, so I'm leaning towards saving money on the hotel and putting more budget towards ramen.

My final check is to look at the actual reviews.

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows the details of a hotel called APA Hotel Shibuya

At the top of the hotel page click on the score. That is where it says Good 7.7 and it will open up the reviews.

A screenshot of Booking.com that shows guest reviews for a hotel named APA Hotel Shibuya filtered to show the lowest-rated reviews first

Sort reviews by lowest scores and see what is bringing down their rating. Normally, I skip past the 1-star reviews unless I'm looking for a laugh. When a place has a solid rating and thousands of reviews, any 1 star is just people who don't get out enough or who had a misunderstanding with the staff.

What I really look for is the 3 to 6 star range. These are normally sane people who actually had a bad time.

Looking at the reviews, they have a dozen or so unhinged 1-star ratings with unclear reasons (this is typical of any large hotel with over 1000 reviews). Then the 4 and 5-star ratings seem unfairly harsh.

A screenshot of a negative review from Booking.com that also shows the hotel’s response

Most of these reviews are just people complaining about things you encounter in every hotel. Other guests were noisy, the cleaning staff were not invisible, and Japanese people were speaking Japanese. I'm not seeing anything actually bad. If I saw anything about bed bugs, broken AC, cockroaches, or unfair business practices, I would be worried. But I'm mostly just seeing some rude people leaving undeserved low ratings.

So in the end, I'm going with APA Hotel Shibuya Dogenzakaue. This process can be applied to any destination in the world, and I've used it well over 200 times.

Should You Book Hotels Directly or Through Booking Sites?

Sometimes hotels offer a "book direct" discount. Sometimes Booking.com is cheaper because of your Genius status. Just check both and book whichever is less expensive.

One thing to consider is the cancellation policy. What I love most about Booking.com is that they have free cancellation on most properties. This is great if you're still planning your trip and want to lock stuff in, but might still change up the itinerary. It can be harder to get a flexible cancellation policy when booking directly in some cases.

In general, I like to book most things directly because including a third party is just middle management and another person trying to profit off the interaction. At home in BC, I just call the hotel and book with them and drive over. But if I'm booking a guesthouse in the mountains of Vietnam run by a lovely couple and their 3 kids, the third party is actually a great middleman. I'm sure the food and the hospitality are top-notch, but I'm not counting on them having amazing direct customer service if my flight gets cancelled. Going through booking.com for international stays is a great piece of mind, and their search platform makes all the difference when making your initial decision.

FAQ

What's the best way to choose a hotel on Booking.com?

The key is picking the right neighbourhood before picking a hotel, since a mediocre hotel in a great location beats a five-star hotel that's an hour from everything. Research the neighbourhood first, decide how you'll get around, define non-negotiable features, then use Booking.com's filters to narrow thousands of results down to a manageable shortlist.

How many reviews should a hotel have before booking?

In a major city, it's worth only considering hotels with 50 or more reviews, even if a place with fewer reviews has a slightly higher rating. A hotel with an 8.7 rating from only 7 reviews is far less reliable than one with a 7.7 rating from over 2,000 reviews.

Which hotel reviews should I actually pay attention to?

Sorting reviews by lowest score and focusing on the 3 to 6 star range tends to surface the most useful feedback, since these are usually from guests who had a genuinely mediocre experience rather than an extreme one. One-star reviews on a hotel with thousands of reviews are often unclear complaints or misunderstandings, while red flags like bed bugs, broken AC, or unfair business practices are worth taking seriously wherever they appear.

Is it better to book direct or through Booking.com?

It depends on the price and cancellation policy, so it's worth checking both, since hotels sometimes offer a book-direct discount while Booking.com can be cheaper thanks to Genius status discounts. Free cancellation on most Booking.com properties is a major advantage for travelers still finalizing their itinerary, and booking through a third party can also add peace of mind for smaller international guesthouses without strong direct customer service.

What is the 'vegan cafe' trick for finding good neighbourhoods to stay in?

Searching 'vegan' or 'plant-based' on Google Maps in a given city often reveals a rough heat map of tourist-friendly, younger, or more walkable areas, since vegan food tends to cluster in neighbourhoods with more visitors and younger locals. It's not a replacement for real research into a destination, but it's a fast way to get an initial sense of where to start looking.

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