We were pleasantly surprised to see how many search options and filters these travel sites offer.
Burlingame, CA (PRWEB) May 09, 2016
NextAdvisor.com, a leading consumer and small business information website, announced today the launch of its new travel sites category, providing in-depth, independent reviews and comparisons of the best travel and booking services. NextAdvisor.com’s editors analyzed and reviewed nine of the leading direct booking sites to determine which are best for planning and booking both domestic and international trips. Services reviewed include Expedia, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Priceline, CheapAir, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Travelocity and Hotels.com, with Expedia taking the No. 1 spot.
NextAdvisor.com's research proved that not all travel sites are created equal. In fact, each travel site is different from the next, hosting unique features and taking different approaches to the way travelers can book flights, hotels, cars, bundle deals and everything in between. Even with such differences, a few commonalities such as an easy-to-navigate interface and a handful of specific search features can be found between the top-rated services, like Expedia and Hotwire.com. “Most travel sites make it easy to envision your perfect vacation because they allow you to customize your search,” said NextAdvisor.com writer Emily Bartz. “We were pleasantly surprised to see how many search options and filters these travel sites offer.”
Before the editors started testing, they compiled a list of the biggest names in travel sites that fit a certain criteria. First, the site had to offer its own prices (not list or compare another site’s prices). Next, users must be able to book directly through the travel site. Once they compiled a complete list, they started testing.
In order to get an idea of how each service operates, NextAdvisor.com editors analyzed the process of booking three identical trips, observing the environment of each site as they went. For domestic trips, editors looked at the process of booking a flight, hotel room and car rental, while they compared the process of booking a flight and hotel room for international trips. Although editors did not actually purchase any flight, car or hotel reservations, they followed the normal booking procedure for each test through until the point of payment information, giving them an accurate gauge of how each service compared to the rest. Along the way, editors took note of the features on each particular site as well as important aspects like price comparison, ease of use, clarity, search filters, rewards programs and customer service. Some services were noticeably more adept in giving users a positive booking experience, while others were disappointing in both overall site culture as well as pricing.
“Although some travel sites had confusing interfaces and less-than-ideal prices, there seems to be a solid understanding among booking sites that no two trips will be exactly the same,” said Bartz. “As such, each service that we tested excelled in some way, whether it be group deals for corporate travelers or helpful activity suggestions for a family vacation.” This was something the NextAdvisor.com editors also looked at during testing, as they were able to detail which service is likely the most helpful for every type of trip.
You can see a comparison chart of all the factors that went into this test here:
http://www.nextadvisor.com/travel_sites/compare.php
And you can read the full reviews for each travel site at:
http://www.nextadvisor.com/travel_sites/index.php
About NextAdvisor.com:
NextAdvisor.com provides independent reviews of online services for consumers and small businesses. The company's mission is to help its visitors save money and make optimal buying decisions by presenting them with useful comparisons and reviews of service providers and a clear explanation of each service and how it works. The company currently reviews, compares and explains many different types of services including credit cards, credit report monitoring, identity theft protection, savings accounts, diet plans, voice over IP, online dating, online backup, Internet security software, Internet fax website building and web hosting.