Compare hotel and holiday rental prices worldwide with Cozycozy

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Some people are overwhelmed by the thought of arranging a holiday all by themselves while some enjoy the research and planning associated with holidays. We belong to the latter category. It is not just a question of getting the best value for our money but also the fact that it gives us more freedom and flexibility. As an example, if we want to go away for say 18 days, this is not catered for by package deals which usually have a standard length of stay. Or, if we are planning to travel to a less-known destination, there are usually no package breaks for such destinations. So, it is DIY holidays for us most of the time unless we find a package holiday that fits our requirements to the tee.

When arranging a holiday by oneself, there are a number of things that we need to take care of - the flights, accommodation, airport transfers, car rentals etc. Of all these, I think searching for and booking the accommodation is the most time consuming. Plus it usually makes up the majority of the holiday costs. Add to it, there is so much variety of accommodation options available in the current market that it can, at times, become very confusing. There have been instances in the past when I have had dozens of browser tabs open, checking hotel reviews and comparing prices on different booking platforms.

And then came the accommodation booking aggregator sites that collected information from several online sources and displayed it in one convenient location for consumers like us to use.

One of the standouts in this market is the French start- up Cozycozy.com founded by Romain Claudel. It is an aggregator and comparator site that makes it very simple and easy to search for accommodation across a wide range of options like hotel rooms, flat rentals, house rentals, boat rentals, beach houses, serviced apartments, holiday cottages, youth hostels, yurts, tepees and even unique accommodations like treehouses! 

There are around 20 million accommodation options available, according to cozycozy.com. How cool is that!

The website doesn’t work with the accommodation providers nor does it handle the bookings directly. Instead, when you have compared the options available, have made a choice and want to book, you get redirected to the actual listing on the booking provider’s website (Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com etc.).

cozycozy.com recently launched another fantastic feature called "exploration". This feature allows holidaymakers looking for inspiration to be able to search by theme (for e.g. picturesque villages, beautiful castles in Scotland, extraordinary natural sites, the best beach destinations in the UK and more) as well as by region, with the website highlighting the top points of interests and activities in each location. Using this new search feature is pretty straightforward.

From cozyzoy.com homepage, just click on "Where are you going" in the search engine. Then click on the "Explore" button that appears below and you can check out the options that the website comes up with. 

For example, for the ski season, cozycozy.com has selected the best resorts by theme (the cheapest, the largest ski areas, the best resorts for beginners, etc.) to make it easier for site users to find what they are looking for.

The development of this “exploration” feature was started when the team at cozycozy.com noticed that a large number of users were arriving on their website without a destination in mind and in such cases the choice of accommodation was crucial in their decision making process.

There are a number of advantages to using cozycozy.com. First and foremost, in my opinion are independence and transparency, both of which are inter-related, I feel. The search results are exactly in line with the users' given search criteria. As per cozycozy, there is no bias or tampering with the results and no merchant website is preferred over another.

Next would be the option to customise your search. 

So, as a user, one can sort results by geographic location, available facilities and services, consumer ratings and reviews and price. Keeping the site's transparency policy in mind, one can be assured that the prices displayed are what they actually would be at the time of booking and that there are no unpleasant surprises as you progress with the booking.

And finally, cozycozy.com is free to use. There is no additional charge to users for making a booking through the site. You don’t even have to sign up. It just gives you all the information you need, neatly collated in one place.

I liked the concept and would be using cozycozy.com to plan my next vacation. What are your thoughts? Would you give it a go?