What are your RED FLAGS or DEAL BREAKERS when choosing a hotel?

Anything listed in a guidebook.

My biggest red flag is cash up front or to wire money in advance. Soon as I see that I'm gone. We have paid cash for a cooking class but not in advance. A second red flag is poor response to emails when no online reservation website is available and emails are required.

Here are my lists RED FLAGS Sloppy website that looks to have been not d in ages (what else is outdated)? Conflicting information about amenities (Booking.Com or Expedia site says something, hotel's website says else) Anything but upfront quantitative information about extra fees ("charges apply for Internet access", "paid parking is available) Hotel doesn't participate on major reservation websites AND doesn't have an encrypted reservation engine on its own website. Disparity on online reviews Hotel has many different rooms (with/without view, big/small) but doesn't allow me to reserve specific categories of rooms (meaning: I can be stuck with a lesser room while expecting at least average one) A Google search founds one too many a school group or the like. Hotel has some unsavory business operating at ground floor (as seen on Google Street View). Hotel require some special authorization to be driven to (like being within a ZTL in Italy or semi-pedestrian zone in Spain, I don't discard but would rather avoid the hassle). DEAL BREAKERS Absence of Internet access, except on very limited circumstances like a hotel at the top of a mountain pass Hotel requires credit card info to be given by e-mail Hotel requires any form of money wiring Some sort of personal contact has to be made on the day or arrival (I hate the "call me when you are about to arrive" thing for hotels)

Wow Andre. Your comments are really well thought out. Lots to agree with.

hi, to me location/convenience and price is most for me. I see them as a place to sleep, shower and do other business. I also will try to determine if its clean and in a "safe" area. thats about it for me. what ive seen from the reviews of places to stay is that you will find +/- for each of them. So to me, its a judgement call in the end. one last personal comment. some people are just plan picky. no if and or buts. happy trails.

I like to travel without reservations and am not terribly picky. Nonetheless, if a hotelier will not let me see the room before I check in, I go elsewhere.

We often travel with our dog. If she isn't allowed in the hotel, then we can't stay there. Along the same lines, it also helps if the hotel sits near a park or at least, a strip of grass (thankyou, Google Earth!).

In over thirty uears of travel (almost always solo), I've stayed in some dicey places, but now I must have: en suite bathroom, location in the historic center, cleanliness. That's about it. I use booking.com for first-time reservations, if I return to a place I'll book directly.

Cost is a big one. If I'm working with a specific budget, the cost quickly eliminates a big chunk of options. Response time to email is a big factor. Usually if that aspect of the operation is not well run, makes you wonder about other things.
Just a question: What's the issue with reserving hotels that are in guidebooks? What's the big deal?

I ended up once in a hotel that was in the RS book, but simply by accident. I wouldn't go looking for my hotel in a guide book. I prefer to use other sources and then check current reviews if available, on Trip Advisor, HRS, Booking.com, or Expedia, entered by folks that actually stayed in the hotel over night, ate the breakfast, etc. There is no way that every single hotel in every town and city in all of the RS books gets personally checked each year. That would be a 365 day a year job and cost a fortune to pay staff to do this. There are spot checks each year, in random cities, but that is the extent. To believe otherwise is just wishful thinking. Price, location and en suite bathrooms are the most important. I want central, and being by the main train station doesn't bother me in the least. Just because the area and the businesses on the street might look a bit tawdry, doesn't mean the area is unsafe. At least, that has been my personal experience. If it is summer time, I am going to want AC depending on where I am traveling to. Free wifi is important, either in my room or in the lobby. Atmosphere and ambiance are of little importance to me for a hotel. I just sleep and shower there. That said, I have stayed in small hotels or B&B'S that were very lovely and cosy and I can appreciate the care that the owners have taken to achieve this, and I also understand that many people want this experience when they come to Europe. I chose them though for their price and location, and just ended up with a gem. These are the places I will tend to write a review about, as small local businesses really rely on word of mouth recommendations and online reviews.

Dirty hotels and defensive responses by hoteliers to seemingly accurate perceptions by guests as posted online.

For me, sleep quality is the number one concern. Everything else is secondary, I can handle tiny bathrooms or poor service. But anything that hints at noise or horrible mattresses becomes a red flag.

Response time to emails has been mentioned as a concern. I would qualify that one. If there is a language barrier I do give them extra time as they might not have English speaking staff employed full time. However, if my email is written in the local language I do expect a prompt response. We had that experience in Italy when we tried to book an apartment in a small agriturismo. As it turned out the owners do not speak more than a few words of English but their son does have a decent command of the language. However, he is not around every day. It made the process of booking rather difficult but once we were there it was a great experience. The place was exactly what we needed and in face-to-face conversations the language barrier is much smaller when you can use your hands and feet to add to the conversation ;-)

1) Several bad reviews 2) Poor locationfar from train station &/or public transportation, or in a dicey neighborhood 3) Lack of private bathroom 4) Poor internet response 5) Lousy previous personal experience with the hotel (I have several on my list)

I don't have a problem using hotels from Guidebooks. I've had very good luck with the hotels that Rick recommends. You have to read what he says though as he is very specific about what to expect. If he says utilitarian, he means that, so don't go looking for cute when you arrive. : ) The reason people avoid these hotels is the dread fear of running into Americans. I won't say tourists, as who else other than business travelers stays in hotels and B&B so you can't rule them out! LOL I've learned to look at a variety of sources. I'll check out a recent review of the RS hotel as Jo's right, there is no way he or his staff can visit each hotel every year. But a review from last summer is just as vulnerable to change. I have seen hotels disappear from a RS book. I have learned to check the surroundings and as one person pointed out, what's on the street level of a B&B or Guest House. I once booked a room that turned out to look out on the Beer Garden. I changed hotels. Pam

I don't actively avoid guidebook listing myself. Neither do I seek them. I just think even the most careful guidebook editorial board (and I do believe RS is among them) couldn't possible get a comprehensive assessment of properties (even within their geographically limited scope). RS says on his videos that he or his team visits every property listed once a year and, in some cases, once every other year. While this might be enough to cover for things like the location of the hotel, the description of the area, it is nowhere nearly enough to assess the year-round quality of service, or the service consistency. What I like about guidebooks are more detailed editorial work on neighborhoods and the likes, since those don't change often.

A private bathroom is mandatory. Price, location,and access to transportation are my main criteria. Regardless of these criteria, the deal breaker is noise, as in thin walls. I try to hear pealing church bells as local color, but have no desire to be subjected to the conversations or the TV programs of neighbors in the next room.

Assuming price, location, reviews, and everything else I might consider in a place I wish to stay are all good... If a top-rated lodging on TA has one or two negative reviews that I deem to be outliers, the place remains on my list and I continue vetting it out. Several similar bad reviews that I deem to be legitimate, even for a top-rated place, will get it thrown out. Any mention of bed bugs, no matter how good the place, and it's off the list instantly. I've had uneven results with Rick's hotel recommendations over the years, so I have learned to avoid his choices altogether. I had always used TA here and have been using them for years now in Europe as well. When there aren't enough reviews available for a place I'm considering on TA to be sort of statistically significant, I'll look at reviews from other sources (like booking.com). More recently, I've been using airbnb.com with great results so far.

My biggest red flags/deal breakers: 1.Multiple bad reviews on TA that include photos of a dirty room, dirty bed, and bathroom with mold in the shower or crevices. 2.Poor communication or bad attitude right away from the hotel staff or B&B owner when trying to find out information or make a reservation. 3.Bad area known for crime nearby. I think this is more important to women traveling alone, or a family; a lot of male travelers here don't seem to mind a seedy area in exchange for a good hotel price. 4.Large construction area right by the hotel. I almost booked a cute B&B in London recently. Then I looked at it on Google Earth. The entire block across the street from it was one huge hole in the ground, with bulldozers and construction equipment on it. I don't want to be awakened at 5:30 in the morning. 5.Noisy area. I wouldn't want a hotel that overlooked Piccadilly Circus. Wouldn't want to stay in a B&B where my window faced the street and there was a pub known for its late hours and loud partying in the street right across the street.

"Somebody traveling solo because they have no friends can afford to be less picky" Well, I guess maybe a small percentage of people travel solo because they have no friends (possibly you know this from personal experience). However, most people traveling solo are doing so for other reasons and in fact, because they are solo, CANNOT afford to be less picky. Atually they are probably more picky, especially when it comes to location and safety concerns. You don't have to be a "group" traveler to appreciate comfort, cleanliness, safe convenient location, free wi-fi, good breakfasts, etc. "Anything listed in a guidebook." Personally I don't go looking for or select places because they are in a guidebook. But I sure wouldn't red flag a place just because it IS in one the 20 or so guidebooks out there. Seems kind of limiting to me, especially if it had everything on my list of must-haves.

@Nancy... I think you are responding to Ed's humor/sarcasm although I am sure it is quite truthful:))) don't think he's running around with the RS books. I guess I am one of those who 'has no friends' either...or just chose to leave most of them home when I travel...although not always, so maybe sometimes I am on good behavior and can convince someone to tag along:))

@Terry Kathryn - I like your attitude. I too purposely leave my friends at home most of the time. And, yes I know all about Ed's sarcasm and sense of humor as it appeals to me.

Terry k. and Nancy, I think it was a post from James that assumed we who travel solo have no friends (but it's not in the post now). Apologies all around if I am mistaken.

@James... I was just trying to make a joke... weren't you???
I have a whole list of people who want to travel with me..I'm just really picky and my best travel partners these days are the grandsons (unfortunately they come with no money... but make great memories)

I think location and safety are concerns. If you are in a seedy part of town far away from the Metro or in the burbs, major red flag. If you are light sleeper or not a fan of street noise I would consider this as well. Things that don't bother me too much are a bad breakfast or small rooms.

The two guide books I've used Let's Go and Rough Guide have had reliable information on the rooms in Germany and France. Some don't have internet access, en suite facilities, AC, on-line booking, an elevator, a phone, or even a TV, unless it is a TV with no English programming, just local programming. But the chances are that in Germany at a Pension or a hotel garni establishment you're going to get a clean decent room with a sink and a bed. I travel mostly solo. Among the pros and cons is that you don't hear the other person's objections. I read the reviews to see if the objections to a hotel are things that matter to me....a lot of times I could care less what the reviewer complains about.

Excessive complaints (more than a quarter of the total reviews) about the hotel being very noisy or really dirty (with photos to back up their claims on the shoddy housekeeping reviews). I do adjust my tolerance level for noise and shoddy housekeeping based on the type of place I am staying at and what I'm paying (in other words, if I pay for a hostel room, I don't expect it to be on par with The Four Seasons, and a few dust bunnies or a messy communal bathroom is not going to send me over the edge if I'm only shelling out $40/night. But if I'm spending $240 or $340 a night, then I expect it won't be a dump and it will have some soundproofing). Other than that, yes, James is totally right. If I am traveling solo I can afford to be far less picky about lodging choices than someone saddled with their rug rats or nagging spouse. Those are the people who actually have to spend an excessive amount of time in their hotel rooms every night of their vacation watching the same 4 Disney flicks downloaded onto their laptop, whereas the solo traveler just looks at a hotel as a place to shower and sleep in between fabulous sightseeing and nightlife options. To some, it may seem like a sad existence being on your own in a foreign country - to others, it may just be jealousy that the solo travelers get to do all the things that they secretly want to do (like go see Otzi the Iceman), but can't. Besides, the bouncers will tell them to check their offspring at the door.

But we have friends...

When I'm travelling alone, I actually become more picky because I know I'll by myself, thus in the absence of a travel partner to talk, or go for a dinner/night out together, the likelihood I'll be more annoyed by sloppy service, non-working appliances, old bathroom fixtures, crappy Internet etc. increases.

The biggest red flag for me is if there are regular complaints about cleanliness. I can ignore a lot of inconveniences but I want the bed to be clean.

No, James wasn't trying to make a joke when he said those who travel solo have no friends...he was being himself..rude!!

"If I am traveling solo I can afford to be far less picky about lodging choices than someone saddled with their rug rats or nagging spouse. Those are the people who actually have to spend an excessive amount of time in their hotel rooms every night of their vacation watching the same 4 Disney flicks downloaded onto their laptop..." I'm sure that may be true for you, but don't you think it's entirely possible for a family with kids to share a certain travel style free of the stereotypical suburban crap you just described? And maybe they don't view their kids as rug rats or their partner as a nagging spouse. But even those who both travel with kids and enjoy Disney movies on the laptop at night don't necessarily spend more money or time in their rooms. They might, but you're painting with a fairly large brush. Based on prior replies over the years, I'm pretty sure some right here in this thread travel with their kids and spouse, watch Disney movies on the trip, and can still be less picky about their rooms.