How do you find accommodations?

I have used all the methods listed, except travel agent, hotel chain websites, and search for "room available" sign. The method I most frequently use has been Rick's guidebooks in the past but in the last few years I've noticed these tend to be booked up because (I guess) we've all got the same books--so in response to this situation I've used other guidebook recommendations more, such as Michelin and Cardogan.

I've done:

1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 (on a trip to England with relatives who were 'organizing' the trip).

I've also done the 'sign up for a tour and go where they tell you' one. :-)

I tend to start with RS books, simply because that is my preferred guidebook. Then I read each option in the area I need and narrow it down to three or so. Those I research using Tripadvisor, Google, etc. and rank in order of preference. I book early, so I have always been able to reserve my #1 choice.

OK, I guess since I started this, I should be one of the first to answer.

20 years ago, 2, Michelin Guide.

Next trip back, 9. I was cruising the web and saw a website for a nice looking pension. That's when I decided to go back to Germany for the first time in 10 years.

Since then, almost exclusively 8, town websites (over 50 nights). Used TI office, 10, twice, and once I just got off the bus and tried the first hotel I came to.

I just type in B&B and the name of the city, or cheap hotels, or pension on Google. Then I go to other websites and see if the prices are the same, if there are reviews, etc. I also have a German web site that will give me hotel and flight comparisons. I like Expedia where you can get flight and hotel at the same time, as it is often a huge savings. Also the Deutsche Bahn has what is called "Ameropa" that gives you really good deals on train and hotel, usually for 2 days but also with good nightly prices if you extend. For example, they will have an ICE train from Frankfurt to Berlin and 2 nights in hotel for 110 €. Stuff like that. I also use travel agents who sometimes have great deals. Depends on where I am going.

In Rick We Trust....his books and website!

I plan where I am going. I purchase a few guide books: Frommers, Steves, DK, and Lonely Planet. I do home work before I go. Read reviews on various web sites. I then utilize the travel web sites for specifics on each hotel. I comapre prices from the hotel direct web site. Many times it is less expensive to utilize the hotel's web site reservation form.

I use 1, 2 and 3 and then go to Trip Advisor and read all the reviews. I'm a Trip Advisor junkie.

Although I have found Rick's recommendations consistently satisfying, I often find myself in areas of Europe his books do not cover. In those cases, I have used:
2) Lonely Planet- far more extensive coverage, but some of their listings are of significantly lower quality
3)Stayed at a few places on other's recommendations, particularly in the Balkans
4)Used a travel agent for Russia- the red tape here is too byzantine for a non-expert like me to negotiate
5)Use it for Ibis...in some seldom-visited towns, this is the only lodging on which you can find information
6) Never used one
7) Used it to find #8
8) Great source if it has an English (or French or Dutch) translation

If I am going to Europe, I start with Rick Steves. If I am not going to Europe, I usually start with Trip Advisor. That gives me names of hotels getting good reviews, and from there I search for the hotel web site for more information. If that fails to turn up anything that satisfies me, I go to a town web site and look for accommodations. Rarely do I arrive anywhere without having booked a room. (I just don't like to waste valuable vacation time trying to hunt something down.) On our trip this fall (Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Chamonix France) We are staying at 8 different places. 5 came out of a Rick Steves book and the other 3 I found by researching on the internet.

For our trip I reseached the mumerous recommendations from Graffiti Wall (before this board) and The Thorn Tree.

Found many by doing Google searches and checking for reviews.

There were only 2 during the 8 weeks that I would not do a repeat stay.

All in all, we were fortunate.

TripAdvisor, Google, and searching this website. I have use the TI info on-line for a few places, though.

I've used 1, 2, 3, & 7. I do a lot of Google searches and use Trip Advisor a lot. We prefer apartments for anything for 4 nights or more so I search for apt websites.

We're planners, so we use 1 and 2 (Frommers or Lonely Planet) and occasionally 4. We then back those up with a visit to TripAdvisor, just to make sure that the hotel hasn't taken a turn for the worse, recently.

Internet - many years ago I would have used a guide book for accommodations but would never use one now. The exception might countries where I couldn´t find a site which had english - but so far that hasn´t happened.

If going for a week at a time we always stay in an apartment or cottage and I would generally google self catering and the name of the place.I also have many places saved in my favourites.

Travel sites such as these or fodors are a good option as is www.slowtrav.com - especially once you have a short list of places.

If it had to be a hotel or a B & B for a shorter stay I would also do internet research - either by googling the town or by going to one of the sites which have lists of B & Bs. For hotels I would generally look at expedia and check reviews on tripadviser but as we only stay in hotels for 1-2 nights I am really not that concerned if we get it wrong. With hotels you usually get what you pay for.

These days we always book ahead - I like the searching process and finding good places and am keen to get it right for us. At least if we make a mistake it is down to us. Most of the time we are really happy with the places we stay in, very rarely are we disappointed or have nasty surprises. I also hate wasting time and being stressed finding places at the last minute in a strange town and being at the mercy of the tourist information office - assuming you can find it and it is open.

I usually create a list of potential places to stay. I have used 1,2,3,5,7,8 and 10. I carry a list with me for each destination, then call in the AM the day I plan to arrive to see what is available. I often have to call several places but more often than not get a good room at a good price. The times I don't get a good price is when I think I need to stay at a particular hotel.

Typically I soak up information from every source I can find, since my impression is that the "nuggets" I'm looking for are anywhere and everywhere these days. If I start to see recommendations across multiple sources I take note, as well as negative remarks.

Personally, for me the most problematic source is firsthand recommendations of people I don't know or trust to be balanced. Its hard to know what kind of filter people are looking through when they do their writeup.

I have stayed in places that people said sucked that were fine. I have stayed in places that people wrote euphoric praise of... and wondered if they ever even saw the room through the wackyweed haze ! Did they like the hotel because they had been awake for 72 hours and happy to find something that might have been a bed ? Were they with their sweetheart and on Do Not Disturb ? Were they drunk, or with their ex-husband, a travel agent selling the destination, or never, ever been away from home before, etc.? Did they over-pay, spend $200 and expect too much from what was essentially a perfectly wonderful $50 room ?

There is also a big difference in the way I approach planning for a trip to a place that I have been to before- my choices become more personalized and independent of the opinions of others since I have seen the choices first hand and many times have spent a few extra minutes scoping out the other accomodations nearby in case I wanted to use them for the next trip. All of these inputs become A source instead of THE source.

After I have all this information blithely I go off and make competely irrational decisions based solely on cloud shapes. Just kidding...

I start with tripadvisor.com. Then google for more reveiws, then often even back that up by going to bookstore and looking in all the current hotel or guide books ( yes, I look and don't buy,LOL) to double check.

I will tell you guys somthing interesting, the RS Family tour I took this summer, well NONE of the hotels we stayed at are in any of Ricks books!!! And , they were all nice, LOL, so of course I have kept their names, but it just goes to show, just because it isn't in his books, doesn't meant anything, In fact , I wonder if he purposefully keeps his tour choice hotels out of his books so they don't book up on him with Americans, most of the hotels we stayed at were filled with other Europeons.. and as I said, all were nice.

Do lots of research, it adds to the fun. I book all my own travel online, and I have yet to be badly dissappointed in a hotel I have found this way. I do agree with poster who said to read reveiws carefully, and go with concensus , not just one really good or really bad reveiw.

Thanks to all who have responded.

I have 16 posts, through Bill's. I'm ignoring Bill's (sorry), because he says he uses everything, which is not a significant answer in this case (maybe I should have ask, "What don't you use?").

Not surprisingly, considering this is Rick's site, 80% of the respondents say they use Rick's guidebook. Over half say they use other guidebooks. Half, also, say that they use Google. I don't know if I should have included Google as a separate category, because it seems that every time I try it, all I get are links to booking sites.

Six people (40%) said they use recommendations from this and other travel websites. Five each (33%) said they use a booking site or the town's website.

I have included TripAdvisor as a booking site, because, although it has reviews, it seems to be a clearinghouse for booking sites. It never gives the hotel's website, so that you can contact them directly, but tells you what booking websites you can use.

Lee , when I use tripadvisor, I just get the hotel name and then google it and use hotel website. I have never used one of those sites like Orbitz or Venere, or Expedia.( but I would if they gave a better price, I do look)

Number 1 : Rick Steves' travel guide books, for reserving rooms for my overnight accomodation. I did that for my travels in nine countries in Europe and Britain. For my future trips to countries in Europe that I did not go to before I will also inquire about hotels and/or B & Bs that were recommended by persons posting replies at www.RickSteves.com/Travelers' Helpline/ , and at www.Frommers.com/Travel Talk/Europe/. And I will also inquire about hotels and/or B & Bs that are mentioned in other travel guide books : Cadogans Guides, Rough Guides.

To me using Steves books in Europe is like using AAA in the US.I like his style and have found his choices right on.In the US AAA appproved rooms are also right on for their system.

I primarily use Rick's Guidebooks to select lodgings, as they have such a good description which includes prices and location in each city. I usually use the Map in Rick's books to find my Hotel when arriving in an unfamiliar city, and really like that feature! I also like being able to choose a Hotel (or whatever) that fits my price range and is in the part of town I want to stay.

However, I also rely on recommendations from friends. In one case, a friend from another travel message board (www.guideforeurope.com) found me a place to stay in Rome when everything in my price range seemed to be booked. In that case, it was a Hostel but the price was sure "right" (about €30 for a 4-bed dorm room) and I had a great time! This particular Hostel was not listed in Rick's books, so it probably would have taken me a while on the net to find it without some help. It was clean and modern with electronic card access for the rooms, and NO lockout (I won't usually stay in Hostels that have a lockout).

The third method I use is experience from previous trips. I decided to "wing it" on trip to northern England in 2004, and after an expensive lesson with the Hotel I used on the day of arrival, I now have a good idea where to stay if I ever return to that area (Richmond / Catterick area).

Cheers!

I'm feeling so statisically insignificant...

OK, confession: I don't use 4,nor as a rule do I use 6.

1,2 & 3. Before departing I usually book only the first hotel. Because my itinerary is never set in stone, I take detailed info on preferred accomodations in the places I may be visiting and book as I go.

It depends on the trip. If I've got a trip where things are somewhat loose (time- and schedule-wise), then I'll book ahead just for the first and last nights, using Rick's recommended places if I can get in (problem is, you often have to book many months in advance to get the good places). I'll also use TripAdvisor to do research on other hotels, but I'd never book through them or any other "service". I'll always contact the hotel directly and book through them.

If the trip is more tightly scheduled, I'll book some or maybe even all my hotels in advance. I've rarely done that in the past, but have tended to do more of that now (we've got a trip coming up that requires near-perfect timing, and I've booked every hotel in advance because I don't want to take any chances - I'm gld I did, since in some places I had a hard time finding a nice place at a reasonable price, even months in advance -- all the good places seem to book up quickly, and I just HATE scrambling for a room, wasting hours and getting frustrated, and winding up with something expensive and/or awful).

Rick once said that there's a paradox about booking ahead: if you book all your hotels in advance, you are locked in to your schedule and you can't deviate when you want to. Yet this ultimately gives you more freedom, because you don't have to worry about making reservations as you go -- all you have to do is find the place, dump your bags, and your'e free to go, with more time to do what you came there to enjoy. On our upcoming trip, which is tightly scheduled, I'm glad that we won't have to go through the trouble of picking a place, calling ahead, etc.