Finding Suitable Accommodation
Booking Accommodation
Questions & Answers
Finding Suitable Accommodation |
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Finding a suitable room is real easy with Holiday Guide! We list over 1400 accommodation options throughout New Zealand, many of which offer instant confirmation online booking. Unlike most other accommodation websites, Holiday Guide does not charge you any booking fees, and as we do not charge properties commission to use this service you can be sure that you are getting excellent rates!
Starting from the Holiday Guide (home page) or any of the regional accommodation pages, simply enter the location/region that you intend to visit, the dates of your visit and the number of people in your party.
When you click on the 'Search' icon Holiday Guide will display all of the available options for you. Please note that clicking on 'Browse' will simply list out of the properties for the selected region in alphabetical order.
We list properties that offer online booking and confirmation at the top of the list, properties that display their availability and prices are listed next (you will have to contact the property directly in order to confirm a booking). Lastly, we list all the other accommodation options available to you in that region (ie all those properties where do not know their availability/pricing).
If you are interested in a particular property then click on the 'Book Now' icon in order to see the full listing. See the 'Booking Accommodation' section below for more information on how to book accommodation from the property's listing.
Example of a simple search for accommodation in the Nelson Region:
Note that in the example above 'Arrow Motel Apartments' has 4 rooms available for online booking starting from $105. The red facilities icons represent the facilities that the cheapest room of the 4 available offers.
When searching for accommodation you may also wish to use some of the advanced search options detailed below:
| Qualmark: |
Selecting one of the Qualmark options will allow you to search for properties that are of a particular rating (as measured by Qualmark which is the most widespread rating scheme in use in New Zealand).
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| Type: |
Selecting one of the Type options will allow you to search for properties of a particular type - this is great if you are just looking for say a motel.
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| Budget: |
Great for helping you find accommodation that meets your budget!
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| Facilities: |
If you are after a disabled access room, require a spa bath(!) or any other facility then this option will help you fine-tune your search.
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| Chains: |
Ideal if you are looking for a property that is a member of a certain chain (eg Host Accommodation) or affiliation (eg Motel Association of New Zealand).
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When using advanced search options be careful not to make you search too specific otherwise you will likely not get any matches!
Example of an advanced search for accommodation:
Note how the advanced search options have meant that the number of choices has gone down from 97 options in the simple search to 1 in the advanced search.
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Booking Accommodation |
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Booking rooms is real easy with Holiday Guide!
First, you will need to find a property that offers what you are looking for - please see the "Finding Suitable Accommodation' section above.
When you have found what you are looking for you should be at the property's full listing. If the property offers online booking or updates their room availability into Holiday Guide then you will be able to see all of the available room options that meet your search criteria.
Example of a property's booking page:
If the property offers instant confirmation online booking then you can select the room you wish to book by clicking the yellow 'Book Now' button. The room will then be added to your 'Shopping Basket' - you can then either confirm the booking by going to the 'Checkout' or you can search for and other rooms to your basket if required.
Example Shopping Basket:
From the shopping basket you will need to specify your approximate arrival time for each room/unit required and then click on 'Next >'.
The remaining 4 steps of the booking process are very straight forward - you need to read through and agree to the terms and conditions of both Holiday Guide and the properties that you wish to book with, then you will need to enter your details, then your credit card details.
All online bookings require you to enter your credit card details irrespective of whether a deposit is required by the property or not. If a deposit is required then the deposit will be directly debited by the property when they receive notification of the booking, Holiday Guide does not take any money out of your bank account.
Finally, your reservation will be confirmed and a unique reference number will be given. Note that reservations are NOT confirmed until you are given this reference number. A copy of the confirmation will automatically be emailed to you.
From the time you initially select a room into your shopping basket, you have 20 minutes to confirm the booking. If you do not confirm then the room will be made available for other poeple to book and it will also be removed from your shopping basket.
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Q: How do I change or cancel a booking I have made online?
A: Please contact the property directly to do this. Please note that the property may charge you for changes/cancellations according to their terms and conditions advised at time of booking. Holiday Guide does not make any additional charges for chages/cancellations.
Q: I have a question about a property - who do I call?
A: Please contcat the property directly be either telephone or email if you have any questions. If you intend staying for an extended period then you may be able to negotiate a better rate!
Q: Are there extra charges for use of certain facilities such as high chairs, cots etc?
A: All prices displayed in Holiday Guide exclude optional extras so it is best to check directly with the property before making a booking.
Q: I have a poor internet connection - can I speed up Holiday Guide?
A: Yes you can! - when you do a search if you cut back the number of properties to display down to 5 then your searches will run much quicker.
Q: Is online booking secure?
A: Holiday Guide uses an industry standard 128bit SSL certificate to encrypt your personal information entered into the system. In addition we encrypt sensitive infromation in our database (such as credit-card details) to ensure your security and privacy.
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