To start using Google Hotel Finder, just enter your location and set the check-in and check-out dates. You will then get listed results with data such as hotel class, ratings, price per night, and compared pricing. You can also click on the map in the left sidebar to see where the hotels are located. Click on a plot on the map to view the hotel’s profile including reviews, pictures, and more.

Google Hotel Finder also helps you narrow down your decision by adding hotels in your shortlist. This way, you can go back to your search later and view the hotels you liked or book them when it is time to make a decision.

Google Hotel Finder might just be an experiment for now, but it is probably the best tool for anyone who needs to find the best hotel in any city.

Features:

• Search engine for hotels.
• Find hotels using Google Maps.
• Search by location, available dates, price, hotel class, and rating.
• Click on a plot to view hotel profile.
• Add hotels to shortlist.

Check out Google Hotel Finder @ http://www.google.com/hotelfinder

You can click on any pin on the map to see more information about a bid including the hotel name and the amount of the bid. You can also see information such as how long ago the bid was won, by how many people and if it was a weekday or weekend bid. BiddingTraveler also shows you the rating of the hotel such as 3-star or 4-star. You can also restrict results by hotel rating and enter your lowest/maximum bid to see  if your bid has a good chance of being accepted.

Features:

• See history of winning bids for hotels on Priceline.
• See results on a map and filter by hotel ratings.
• Enter your lowest and maximum bid to see if your bid would stand a chance.
• No registration required.

Visit BiddingTraveler @ www.biddingtraveler.com [Via LifeHacker]

Built-in Google Maps features make it all the more easier to locate hotels in a specific part of the city or country. You can also use the ‘Near By’ feature to locate hotels that are closest to your current geographical location. The app also offers lots of deals and doesn’t charge any booking or cancellation fee.

You can save your bookings to view them later and sort results based on price or guest ratings. You can also search the hotel listings by specifying the hotel name or just a hotel brand like ‘Sheraton’. Detailed information and pictures make it easy for you to judge each hotel and see if it would suit your requirements.

ToucHotel supports multiple languages including Danish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. The app has an encrypted processing so your credit card information is safe as it can get.

Features:

• Make hotel reservations on-the-go using your iPhone.
• Over 90,000 accommodations worldwide.
• Includes 1-5 star hotels, motels, B&Bs and even apartments.
• View properties on Google Maps along with prices.
• View pictures and ratings before making a decision.
• Sort results by price or customer ratings.
• No reservation or cancellation fees.

Download ToucHotel from iTunes

You can read reviews before committing and see other details like location, bed type and if the owner allows pets. If you have a spare room that you’d like to rent, post it on AirBnB and start making some extra cash.

Overall it is a great idea and a very effective tool but it probably won’t work for people who are too cautious about trusting strangers.

Features:

• Lists private rental accommodation from actual people.
• See pictures and read details before booking.
• Know beforehand about the are and the house.
• Post your spare room and earn money.
• Similar websites: Istopover.

Visit AirBnB @ www.airbnb.com

The site focuses almost exclusively on the Western United States, and more specifically on ski/snowboard communities in the Rocky Mountains. Property managers looking to avoid nights without revenue list their rooms here in the hopes of filling them, explaining the discounts.

And while there are discounts, there’s still a lot to be said about planning ahead to save money on things like flights and hotel rooms. So the early bird still gets the best worm, but this site ensures that late birds won’t go hungry.

Features:

• Find discounts on last-second accommodation.
• Focused primarily on ski resorts in the Western United States.
• Monitor specific rooms for discounts.

Check out PackLate @ www.packlate.com (via Lifehacker)

It then searches over 600 airlines and travel sites like ebookers to get you the flight details and prices. Search results can be sorted by price and duration and there are search filters available.

It follows a similar process for hotels and car rental search. Car rental search isn’t something which all the travel comparison engines offer so Dohop has an edge there.

Features

• Online comparison site for flights, hotels and car rentals.
• Easy to use. Pulls up the results quickly.
• Searches over 600 airlines for flight search.
• One of the few travel comparison engines offering car rental comparison.
• Sort results by price, duration and filter them.
• For more tools see related our articles “The 3 Best Websites To Find Cheap Flights” and “Top 5 Sites To Search For Cheap Online Car Rental”.

Check out Dohop @ www.dohop.com (By Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

You can search by country, city or address, and by currency (US Dollars or British Pounds). Once you hit the search button, you get a map showing hotel symbols on a map where each symbol has a different color according to the hotel’s room rate. Search results can be filtered by amenities, availability, star rating and price. Click on a hotel symbol to get more details, check availability and book it.

Features:

• Interactive map based online hotel finder.
• Data sourced from sites like Expedia and TripAdvisor.
• Various search filters available. Choose the hotel according to your needs.
• Check availability and book hotels directly from the site.
• Similar sites: HotelWorldOnline, HotelDiscovery, HotelCalculator and HostelBookers.

Check out RoomAtlas @ www.roomatlas.com (by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)

The site now has 35+ million reviews for over 55 thousand hotels in the United States. Users may browse hotel reviews by city, hotel name, zip code or a specific feature (i.e. romantic, 5 start, hotels with jacuzzi etc). For each hotel listing there are reviews (written by real guests), options to compare it with other hotels in the same city, pictures, list of nearby hotels, and price.

Features:

• Search 35+ million reviews for over 55 thousand hotels in US.
• Reviews are collected from sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Travelocity, MyTravelGuide etc., from individual blogs and other sources.
• Browse hotel reviews by city, hotel name or a zip code.
• Browse top rated hotels by location or by specific features (romantic hotels, 5 star hotels, hotels with jacuzzi etc).
• View hotel’s ranking within its city or its class (4 star, 5 star etc).
• Similar sites: HotelVideoReviews.

Check out Raveable @ www.raveable.com (via AppScout)

HotelVideoReviews claims to be the largest hotel video review site in the world and works closely with travellers, travel companies and agencies to aggregate both positive and negative reviews of the hotels.

Start by searching for a destination. Then refine results by a hotel star rating (1 to 5), compare prices, watch video reviews, view hotel’s location on a Google map and see nearby hotels in the same city. If you liked a particular hotel you can book it right from the site.

Features:

• Watch video reviews of hotels worldwide including popular destinations in Europe and US.
• Video reviews are submitted by real travelers.
• Start by searching for a destination or browse hotels by city.
• Filter hotels by star rating.
• See hotel’s location on a map.
• Check nearby hotels in the same city.
• Option to book the hotel right from the website.
• Free, no sign up needed.

Check out HotelVideoReviews @ www.hotelvideoreviews.com

Features

• Online marketplace to find cheap local accommodations.
• Advanced search based on various filters available.
• Get detailed information about the room and reviews from previous guests.
• Book online through credit cards.
• Similar websites: Istopover

Check out AirBnB @ www.airbnb.com (via Lifehacker) (By Abhijeet from Jeet Blog)