Booking on the Internet

Q: I am looking to experience New York over Christmas and New Year. In an effort to cut costs I have been looking at doing the bookings myself. An internet site called Booking.com seems to pop out first in my searches as an intermediary for hotel bookings. Is this a bona fide company? I would hate to be let down and lose a fair amount of money. Can you also provide some tips to successful DIY bookings? - Leila Cassim

A: Christmas and New Year is a great time to be in magical New York. You should be able to get some good deals over this period. Keep checking all the discount hotel websites, as prices for the same hotels can vary substantially on different websites. As for www.booking.com, I have found them to be totally reliable. Over this period you could also consider checking www.craigslist.com. A number of New Yorkers will be subletting their apartments as they head out of town for the holidays and you could end up with a great deal. Be aware that there are precautions that need to be taken when using craigslist, so follow these scrupulously. When booking over the Internet, stick with the bigger and more reputable .com discount sites. The hotel groups are offering some of the best deals on their own websites these days. To check the standard of the hotels being offered, use www.tripadvisor.com, and after reading a few dozen entries you should get a good idea of what the place is like. Be careful of hotels that are only shown photographed at night or at strange angles. Also be wary of those that only give a general location map - chances are that don't want you to know their exact location. (29/8/10)