Always place importance on your hotel booking because you will not be able to enjoy your vacation if you do not get a good night's sleep in a nice hotel.
Imagine traveling and having the worst hotel ever.
All your dollars spent would be down the drain and you would hate every moment of it.
Time spent and money spent, wasted.
Before making the booking, you should always choose a good hotel.
After you chose your selected hotel that you want to stay (and don't forget the rates), that's when you make your booking.
The saying, "Collect and Select", is quite applicable here.
When you are about to make the reservation, always confirm the rates that you have gotten and always record the confirmation number AND the name of the person to whom you have just spoken with.
So keep a pen and paper handy.
Write down the details and make sure that you and the person whom you are talking to are clear when it comes to the hotel that you are getting.
There are details that you may want to be specific about such as smoking or non-smoking and of course, the check-in and check-out times.
Some provide a leeway for early check-in and late check-out time.
And also when you are about to embark on a road trip, make sure to check with your hotel with regards how late is a late check-in.
You never know what happens during travel and there are instances when you get lost or you lost track of time.
Some hotels only hold reservations until 6 pm.
So always check with your hotel.
You do want a roof over your heads and not to have to sleep in the car do you?