'Can't always trust the reviews': Three online booking mistakes to avoid

The single biggest piece of advice any traveller needs to follow when booking a holiday is to 'do your research'.

It's something I personally pride myself on. As a travel editor I have organised my fair share of trips (solo, couple, friends, family), and I am someone who deep dives into reviews online before booking anything.

And before you say it, yes, I know that these days even reviews need to be put under the microscope thanks to paid comments and AI spitting out its fair share of drivel.

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There are a few things to be careful of when booking things online. Here are a few I learnt about the hard way.

1. Check the reviews against multiple sources

The best way to vet reviews is to check them against multiple sources. Is the tour or experience offered on different websites? Do they have a Google page that has reviews? Do they have a Facebook or other social media page with reviews and comments?

By comparing what travellers are saying on multiple platforms, you'll get a pretty good vibe as to how legit the offering is.

Sadly, you can't always trust the reviews online, as I personally discovered during a family holiday. We were left extremely disappointed after reading a host of 5-star reviews, only for the "offering" to have since changed. Even though the price clearly hadn't.

2. Always read the fine print

This also brings me to my second point. Always, ALWAYS read the fine print carefully.

When booking said tour, I was very much driven by the reviews. And failed to really read the full description.

What I thought was a private trip with a tour guide showing us sites (again, as the reviews described) actually ended up being a driver only, dropping us off and picking us up. On closer inspection of the description, there was, in fact, no mention of an actual guide.

This mistake will haunt me. As I could have saved a good $500 and just hired a car myself.

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3. Double-check details like your name and dates

According to data from Skyscanner, 70 per cent of people are concerned that they are going to mess up their online booking. And getting your dates, or even worse, your name wrong when making a booking can really lead to headaches.

For example, when you book a flight ticket online, you have to type in your name, exactly as it appears on your passport, middle names and all.

If something is wrong, you might have to complete a name correction form and pay a fee to get your mistake fixed. In other cases, tickets may have to be cancelled and reissued.