Why Book Your First Night Accommodation as a Solo Traveller?
Avoiding the first night accommodation blues when travelling alone
“Book the First Night? Nah - I’ll Busk It!”
Good luck with that.
Clearly, you can decide not to book your first night’s accommodation and look for somewhere when you step off the plane. Plenty of people do that quite successfully, while others regret not making a reservation.
You have just stepped off the plane after a long flight - which arrived six hours late. Rather than being a leisurely 7 pm in the evening, it is now dark, raining, and after midnight.
The buses from the airport have stopped running. The very buses you were relying on to take you to the centre of town, where you would stroll up the steps of a friendly-looking hotel and find a room. There are no hotel courtesy buses either, they stopped 20 minutes ago.
Not only have the buses stopped, but this is a small airport that closes its doors and won’t allow you to pitch up on a seat overnight.
Fortunately, the taxis are still running.
However, asking a taxi driver to take you to “any hotel” is fraught with danger. In some places across the world, that is an invitation to be taken to a poor hotel, where the driver receives a backhander from an owner, desperate for any business.
The hotel owner, seeing your plight, instantly trebles the price for the room. Oh, and it is cash only, no cards here. You haven’t drawn enough local currency yet, but never mind, they will exchange your dollars at an excruciatingly bad rate. And if you don’t speak the local language, your situation can escalate quickly.
Reservation in Hand
Fortunately, in this scenario, you have taken responsibility for yourself and booked your hotel, apartment, or hostel for the first night.
You have the address written down and can hand it to the taxi driver, who’d doesn’t speak your language.
The driver delivers you to your accommodation and you breathe a sigh of relief as you check in, unexpectedly late, at 1 am.
The Second Night
You awake refreshed after your late arrival, with no reservations for your second night onwards. This is common with solo travellers who love to be spontaneous - not quite knowing what the night will bring. That is the excitement of solo travel - making it up as you go along.
The beauty of the internet, is you can sit at breakfast using the free hotel Wi-Fi to decide where you want to be that night, searching sites and apps for the best place to be.
Or, without that first night reservation, you could be at the flea-pit hotel which doesn’t serve breakfast, has no pubic Wi-Fi, and kicks you out onto the street at 9 am, in an area that looks seriously sinister.
Sometimes, it is best to plan ahead!