Europe

If the thought of arriving at a hotel only to be disappointed with your room is enough to make you stress about your next vacation, one hotel group in London is hoping to eliminate that problem entirely.

London hotel group will let guests choose their own room.

London accommodation group will let guests choose their own room. Image by Choose Your Own Room

London hotel group GLH Hotels has launched an online booking service called Choose Your Own Room, which it says is the first online booking site that allows guests to choose the exact room they want to stay in.

 

The site resembles the booking features on home-rental websites like Airbnb. The site enables guests to filter searches by type of trip – for business, on a budget, or with family – price, location and amenities. When looking at individual rooms, the guest can scroll through pictures of the interior, the view from the window and more. The listings also have “hosts” who are there to help with booking, provide information and help with any special requests. Guests are also able to review the specific room they stayed in, so other users can take that into consideration.

Deluxe King room at the Thistle Trafalgar Square.

Deluxe King room at the Thistle Trafalgar Square. Image by Thistle

According to the company, platforms like Airbnb “are not just outflanking the traditional hotel industry they are outclassing it too, by giving customers the ability to choose and configure the exact stay they want”. The hotel group is trying to give its guests that same control and personal hospitality.

 

While some other companies allow for visitors to choose where they want to stay, rooms often have to be selected after booking or until closer to the day of the reservation. Choose Your Own Room is designed to give visitors all that information up front while they are making the decision to book.

Standard single at the Grosvenor.

Standard single at the Grosvenor. Image by The Grosvenor

The service will be available at 14 London GHL Hotels by August 2016, including the Piccadilly hotel, Amba Hotel Charing Cross and Amba Hotel Marble Arch, some Guoman Hotels and Thistle hotels.