In these tough economic times, finding a good deal becomes paramount. Going on holiday can be one of the biggest expenses and it may appear that luxury is out of the question, but these economic times have been tough on hotels too and this has led to the development of the `undercover hotel` which aims to fill high end hotel rooms for a low price.
So, what`s the catch? Well, the main catch is that the name of the hotel is not revealed until your non-refundable booking has been made. This might seem like a bit of a risky endeavour but the process of finding a hotel does offer you some elements of choice so that the eventual destination shouldn`t turn out to be a nasty surprise.
The idea behind the undercover hotel is that luxury hotel chains or individual hotels want to fill their empty rooms. However, as these hotels have a `luxury` or `top-end` image, they don`t want their discount room rates to be published. One way of getting round this is to advertise the rooms on trusted websites with the proviso that the customer chooses and pays for the room before the hotel name is revealed. This primarily started with airport hotels but has spread to some very plush hotels in some of the world`s premier destinations.
The only way to find an undercover hotel is online. Once on the booking site, you will be able to choose the destination city (and maybe the specific district of that city) and the star rating of hotel you are looking for. Most of the hotels available are three star and upward. A list of available rooms to fit your criteria will be shown on the screen, with the rooms being described in some detail. After choosing your room and making an online booking, the name and location of the hotel will be sent to you. Some of the websites claim to offer luxury rooms at prices 70% cheaper than the regular prices.
It appears to be a win-win situation. The hotels fill their rooms and guests get a lovely hotel room at a great price. Check the websites carefully. Some sites offer fixed prices on the rooms they have available, others are bidding sites where the room is `sold` to the highest bidder. Either way, the number of rooms being sold in this way is on the increase.
Sadly, not all of us can afford to go on a private villa holiday so we have to look elsewhere for our holiday luxury. Staying in an undercover hotel can provide us with some of this luxury but at a discount price, so now might be just the time to go onto an opaque booking site and find a holiday bargain.
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