Finding the Best Family Accommodations with Booking.com

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When it comes to securing the best family accommodations for your vacation, you have many options. It can be overwhelming! So, today, I want to highlight one of my favorite platforms, Booking.com, and share the reasons we book with them so often.

In one of my recent posts about Airbnb fees, I shared that we split our nights fairly evenly between Airbnb, direct hotel bookings, and Booking.com. We spend a lot of nights away from home each year, and there is a time and a place for each type of accommodation!

Using Booking.com To find the best family accomodations

Using Booking.com to Find Family Accommodations

Rending Airbnbs is pretty straightforward, and I try to book directly with hotels where I have status and can utilize points or loyalty perks. However, for everything else, I almost exclusively use Booking.com.

First, I want to mention that Booking.com is a European company that has been around for quite a while. It is actually one of the best places to book travel accommodations outside of the USA, especially for European travel. In the US, they may have had a bad rap in years past as a place for only lower-quality, cheap accommodations. However, my experience in the past few years has been anything but that.

Here are five reasons why I like using their platform!

5 Reasons I Like Using Booking.com for Family Travel

These reasons are in no particular order. However, with two teenagers, I can tell you that my priority when searching is always finding a place with 3 beds and 2 bathrooms, walkable to public transportation and activities we want to do, and with air conditioning and a refrigerator. Complimentary breakfast is always nice, too!

#1 The Variety of Family Accommodation Types

Unlike other platforms, Booking.com offers both hotels and vacation rentals, which is ideal when searching for family accommodations. In fact, it’s a popular place for international property owners to list their short-term rental apartments and vacation homes, similar to Airbnb here in the USA, which is also available internationally.

Central Rooftop Terrace Guest Suite Review Blog Post

Roof top terrace at the Central Rooftop Terrace Guest Suite in Amsterdam

For example, we rented a 2-room, 5th-floor apartment called the Central Rooftop Terrace Guest Suite in Amsterdam, in the same city where Booking.com is headquartered. It was a much better option than any of the hotels and less expensive than other private rentals. Upon booking, the platform connects you with the host, similar to Airbnb.

You can sort by the accommodation type in your initial search. However, I recommend looking at the results all together to help compare apples to apples! You should be able to find anything from family resorts to lake houses. As I mentioned above, there are many great options for families traveling abroad, too.

You can also look for longer stays, which are great if you love to travel, have a flexible remote job, and can work from anywhere!

Additionally, you can book multiple rooms (and room types) at the same time on Booking.com!

#2 Most Booking.com Reservations Are Flexible

Life (and sports schedules) are unpredictable when you have kids, but your travel plans don’t have to be set in stone. Booking.com offers some of the most flexible cancellation policies available for family accommodations.

Cancellation policies will vary from listing to listing, but many offer a free cancellation window or the option to choose between a non-refundable or refundable rate.

Some refundable listings don’t even charge you until a date much closer to your booking. This allows you more time to save or research your itinerary further. I appreciate this when planning multi-city travel in Europe, as sometimes I need to shift dates or change plans.

#3 Real Reviews & FAQS

Booking.com stands out with its review system—it’s almost like a virtual chat with fellow travelers.

Honest, firsthand reviews and a solid 10.0 rating system provide accurate information to help you avoid any surprises at check-in. On each listing, you will also see questions and answers. It’s like getting advice from a friend, ensuring your expectations match your experiences.

Based on real reviews, each property is given an overall rating out of 10 possible points. The system also breaks it down into several smaller categories, such as cleanliness, location, and Wi-Fi. You can read through those reviews, including when the guest visited and whether they were a solo traveler, couple, or family. This is so helpful for me!

Many listings also have a section in the description where Booking.com highlights a particular review trend, such as “Couples in particular like the location – they rated it 9.6 for a two-person trip.”

For example, look at the great variety of reviews for this apartment in Paris. With 82 reviews and an overall score of 8.4, you can easily get an idea of what to expect. First, sort out the low-quality reviews from people who didn’t read the listing property. Then you can see that overall, people seem to love the location, but a nightclub nearby can be noisy.

Beyond the reviews, each listing provides incredible detail about the place itself and what’s included there. This surpasses anything on a hotel website and most short-term rentals. Every family is different, and these reviews and ratings will help you find the best family accommodations for your group. We have rented great family accommodations in London and family friendly accommodations in many other places.

#4 Booking.com Often Has the Best Prices

I have found that, in most cases, I can get the best total price when using Booking.com. Internationally, most apartment-style rentals don’t charge additional cleaning fees. However, in the US, many do. So, as with any accommodations, always look at the final total when making a decision.

Booking.com will also price match on most listings! This can be one of the best ways to secure cheap family accommodations while traveling. Likewise, you can find a great price on luxury family accommodations or resorts at the same time.

Additionally, they offer many extra incentives on various listings. For example, this one says, “Book a stay and get a FREE private taxi from the airport.”

When we visited Athens, Greece, and Santorini in late 2022, we booked the most incredible cave house on Booking.com. Check out this Instagram reel for a tour! It was the off-season, but my family stayed three nights for $1250, including breakfast. I still can’t get over that view!

how to plan a trip to Europe for your family

#5 Unlock Savings the Genius Loyalty Program

If you know me, you know that I love hotel and airline loyalty points and playing the credit card travel hacking game. So, I do try to stay with particular brands when possible. However, on many of our travels, it’s not!

However, Booking.com does have its own loyalty program. With it, you can climb the ranks of the Genius loyalty program with each stay. As you book and stay more, you unlock levels with additional discounts on top of the already low prices.

Check out Booking.com for Yourself

If you haven’t checked out Booking.com lately, you may be surprised at what they offer! I have found some of our best family accommodations on this site in the US and worldwide.

Click here to visit Booking.com!

Additionally, if you are wondering about when to book a hotel and when to book a vacation rental, make sure to read my Airbnb vs Hotel blog post.