Guides that click
The UK's two main motoring organisations may have agreed with the English Tourist Board on a single hotel grading scheme, but they remain competitors in everything else that they do. For many years both the AA and the RAC have produced guides to hotels and guesthouses, at first just for their members, and later for a wider audience. These guides were obvious candidates for the interactive power of the Web and the two organisations have made their information available in this form. Both hotel guide sites are parts of much larger wholes, but both are robust and easy to use once you get there.
The RAC's home page (www.rac.co.uk) has a minimalist appearance, and at first sight it is hard to know what to do next if you're looking for accommodation. You can get the latest traffic reports for your area, join the club, or have a route planned for you, but it's only when you finally click - in both senses - on the "Digital services" option that the hotel guide is revealed. To be fair, the next time you visit the site you may find that the words "Hotel finder" have appeared in place of another option, but design seems to have got the better of function in this case.
Once there, the RAC gets straight to the point by asking how much you want to pay - based on a double/twin room nightly rate - and then offers a list of facilities such as indoor pool, no-smoking rooms, parking, etc, to choose from. When your tastes in accommodation have been nailed, just pick a location - from a drop-down list or by clicking on the map of the UK - and up comes a list of suitable hotels.
The AA (www.theaa.co.uk/) goes for geography first. It has a more direct "Hotel bookings and special offers" option on its home page, one click on which and you're through to a full-screen map of the British Isles (the AA also offers accommodation in Ireland). Click on a region or one of nine major airports on the map, or use the "fast search" facility to type in a town name, hotel name or particular facility. Next, select from accommodation type or quality, food quality or price range to get a list of recommendations in the chosen area.
Of the two guides, the AA's offers the most detail on the individual properties. As well as the basic address and contact information, there is usually a photograph, a full page of description on the property and its facilities, a price guide and list of acceptable credit cards - but the best bit is the maps. Click on "Location" and a map is displayed - albeit slowly - with the chosen property circled, but also showing other establishments in the area that fit the chosen criteria. (Maps can also be searched by postcode or grid reference.) The mapping, from digital data used to create the AA's atlases and for in-car technology systems, has three scale levels, the most detailed being 1:64,000. Users can zoom in and out with one click of a mouse button, and print out the maps if they have the equipment.
As for actually making the booking, the RAC asks for a telephone number and will ring the user within 24 hours to discuss arrangements. The AA has a secure Internet booking form for entering credit card details and requirements. Confirmation and routing instructions are sent in the mail.
By Mike Docker
