Consistent with all my articles I’m going to cut right to the chase.
Trip.com is by far and away the best website for non-Chinese speaking tourists to use when seeking accommodation in China (not sponsored, no affiliate links). It is the English version of the popular Chinese site Ctrip, which means it has access to what is likely the largest inventory of accommodation options, far in excess of those on Booking.com or Agoda.
Trip.com also works out to be a lot cheaper. This is particularly important in China because the price differential between an affordable website such as Trip.com and Booking.com can be very significant, amounting to 10+ percent minimum in my experience.
The site is easy to use, given that the website essentially looks like a complete clone of Booking.com (almost down to the colour).
It also advertises 30 second support. While this was not entirely accurate (for me it was about a minute!), this level of support exceeds Western standards.
I booked 90 percent of my accommodation using Trip.com. There can be differences in the availability of rooms between Trip.com and other accommodation providers, which is also worth noting. The only other site I used was Hostelworld, and the reason I did so was because one particular hostel was not available for the dates I wanted.
A quick note on smoking rooms: In China, smoking rooms are common and often the default or only option. If you’re sensitive to smoke, make sure to filter specifically for non-smoking rooms and double-check the booking details to avoid ending up in one.
If you’re heading to China for a while chances are you’ll be booking trains or flights most likely through Trip.com since it’s usually the cheapest option. And if you’re already using Trip for transport, it just makes sense to book your accommodation there too. That way, everything’s in one place. Honestly, I wish more regions had a platform as integrated as Trip.
There is however one catch to the above.
The Catch
Here’s what could cost you hundreds of dollars if you’re not careful: Trip.com’s cancellation policies are generally more restrictive than Booking.com’s.
This is definitely something to be aware of and can be a significant factor when choosing Booking.com over Trip.com. The price saving of using trip can be nothing in comparison to the forfeiture of an entire booking’s cost.
Safe travels,
Timbo
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