In Reply to: self booking posted by leonora on Saturday, 24. July 2010 at 17:46 Bali Time:
Decide where you would like to stay in Bali.
Then google eg "Kuta hotels in Bali"
look at the list of sites and first try to pick the ones that are direct hotel links(may take a few pages)
most sites will give you pics of all rooms and prices with a link to "Guest reviews" dont take these reviews at face value but go to "Trip advisor" and read the reviews there as they seem to be more accurate true reviews.
send a request for booking for the days you want,some sites have a booking form others a booking request address link. Some can give you an instant confirmation for your dates.
Then go to Booking agent sites like Wotif, Asia rooms etc and compare prices of your choice against the direct booking price.
Sometimes the booking agent sites are cheaper.
Always re confirm your booking direct with the hotel even if you have booked through an online agent and at least two weeks prior to your arrival.
Dont pay all the money up front or any money by wire transfer.
Usually a credit card is necessary to secure a booking for some of the bigger hotels and trusted booking agents and these sites have a secure payment system to use where 3rd parties cannot get your CC details,no money is usually deducted from your card but is a security measure in case you do a "No show" and you can pay by cash when you are there.
Others like Masa Inn accept your booking on trust as long as you reconfirm at least two weeks before you arrive.
Try not to part with any money when booking.
Beware of taxes that are charged on top of room prices with direct bookings,booking agents usually include ++taxes and breakfast.
If using Paypal as a secure payment system be aware that some may ask you to pay their Paypal fees for them.
If a hotel does not give prices in $AU etc and only $US,ask for the hotels exchange rate as sometime their rate is far lower than the going rate.
Some hotels advertise $US but when you pay by Credit card you are charged in IDR at the hotels exchange rate which can work out to cost you more than expected.
Wotif can give you a good idea of the popularity of a hotel at certain dates as you can look at rooms up to 3 month in advance.
Bali needs a booking site like Thailands Sawadee.com, this is a simple all in one site that is totally trustworthy and efficient because its an official Thai travel portal that cuts out shonky online operators.