In an era dominated by digital transactions and online interactions, the hospitality industry has undergone a profound transformation. Booking a hotel has become a seamless process, thanks to the convenience offered by numerous online platforms. However, with this convenience comes a pressing need for security, as the digital realm is rife with potential threats. One essential tool that can significantly enhance the security of your online activities, especially when booking a hotel, is a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
In this article, we delve into the myriad reasons why using a VPN when booking a hotel is not just a choice but a necessity and how you can save money by using VPN.
1. Shielding Personal Information
When booking a hotel online, you are required to provide personal information such as your name, contact details, and sometimes even financial data. This sensitive information is a goldmine for cybercriminals if it falls into the wrong hands. A VPN encrypts your internet connection, ensuring that all the data transmitted between your device and the hotel’s website is secure. This encryption acts as a protective shield, preventing potential hackers from intercepting and exploiting your personal information.
2. Dodging Cyber Threats on Public Wi-Fi
Hotels often provide free Wi-Fi services for guests, which is undoubtedly convenient but not always secure. Public Wi-Fi networks are notorious for being vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Without a VPN, your data is exposed to anyone with the technical know-how to intercept it. Using a VPN encrypts your internet connection, making it significantly more challenging for hackers to access your data, even on unsecured public networks.
3. Bypassing Geo-Restrictions
Hotel booking platforms may impose regional restrictions, limiting access to certain deals or prices based on your location. A VPN allows you to mask your IP address, making it appear as if you are accessing the internet from a different location. By doing so, you can bypass geo-restrictions, accessing the best possible deals, and ensuring that your location doesn’t affect the pricing or availability of rooms.
4. Ensuring Price Consistency
It’s a well-known fact that prices for hotel rooms can fluctuate based on various factors, including location and the device used for booking. Some websites may use cookies and other tracking mechanisms to identify return visitors and potentially increase prices for them. By employing a VPN, you can maintain anonymity and avoid price discrimination, ensuring that you get a fair and consistent rate for your hotel stay.
5. Protecting Against Identity Theft
Identity theft is a growing concern in the digital age, and the information provided during hotel bookings can be a goldmine for identity thieves. With a VPN in place, the encrypted connection adds an extra layer of security, reducing the risk of your personal data being intercepted and misused by malicious actors.
6. Safeguarding Against Online Tracking
Online platforms often employ tracking tools to monitor user behavior and preferences. While this is often used for targeted advertising, it can also compromise your privacy. A VPN helps to counteract this by masking your IP address, making it more challenging for websites to track your online activities.
7. Overcoming Censorship Concerns
If you’re traveling to a country with strict internet censorship laws, a VPN becomes indispensable. It allows you to bypass censorship filters and access blocked content, ensuring that you have unrestricted access to the information you need, including hotel details and booking options.
8. Maintaining Business Confidentiality
For business travelers, maintaining the confidentiality of corporate information is paramount. Using a VPN ensures that communications related to business trips, including hotel bookings, remain secure and protected from potential corporate espionage or data breaches.
9. Enhancing Privacy on Shared Devices
In certain situations, you might find yourself using shared computers or public terminals to make hotel bookings. Without a VPN, your information is vulnerable to being accessed by the next user. A VPN adds an extra layer of protection, securing your data even on shared devices.
10. Future-Proofing Security
The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and new threats emerge regularly. By adopting a VPN as a standard practice when booking hotels, you future-proof your online security. As cyber threats evolve, your VPN-equipped connection remains a robust defense against potential risks.
Save money on your trips by using a VPN to book online
We normally talk about using a VPN to improve Internet security or access pages that may be blocked. However, we can also use them to save money when shopping online. It can be useful for traveling.
Of course, keep in mind that a VPN does not work miracles. You won’t always be able to save money. In fact, as we are going to explain, only in certain situations. Now, sometimes you could save some interesting money, if you’re lucky, when buying a flight, booking a hotel or renting a car.
VPN to save when traveling
What is a VPN? Basically it is a program that you install on your mobile or computer and it allows you to navigate as if you were somewhere else. For example, you could be in Spain and connect to a VPN with servers in Japan and browse the web as if you were in Tokyo, thousands of kilometers from where you physically are. The connection is encrypted by this application, so websites and applications do not know what your IP is.
But why can it help save money when traveling? Sometimes, tourism companies can launch campaigns for certain countries with the aim of attracting travelers. For example, an airline might have cheaper tickets for people in Poland than for people in France. Maybe it is a specific offer, due to the currency exchange, marketing strategies… The point is that if you connect to a VPN from those countries where something is cheaper, you will be able to pay less.
Of course this is not always the case. In addition, it requires research and testing. In the case of flights, it normally occurs only on long-distance ones. For example, to go from Europe to Asia or America. A flight of a few hours will not change, at least usually. At most, you would have savings from the currency exchange.
But the same thing can also happen when booking hotels or even renting a car. Once again, these companies can launch specific campaigns to attract customers to a destination. You can take advantage of it to pay less, even if the difference is not much. If, for example, you are traveling as a family, several people, any savings can mean an interesting total amount.
Choose the best VPN
You should keep in mind that it is necessary to choose the VPN well. First, for safety. It is essential that it is reliable, that it has good ratings and comments, as well as that it works well. But an essential factor for our goal of saving money when traveling is having many servers available. You can use VPN services like NordVPN, Surfshark and others like PureVPN or PrivadoVPN. All of these paid VPN services will allow you to have many servers to connect to to avoid regional blocks, and access better prices on flights and even hotels. The main characteristics of these services are:
- Surfshark: The most characteristic thing about this service is that it has hundreds of servers spread all over the world, and it is very cheap considering all the features it provides us. Furthermore, if we enter the official website, we can download the configuration files to connect with the official OpenVPN or WireGuard applications, without having to use the service itself.
- NordVPN: this service is one of the most complete that we can currently purchase, it is mainly characterized by having different VPN servers aimed at different uses, such as 4K video streaming, P2P downloads and many others. They have applications for all desktop operating systems, and also for smartphones and tablets. If you have a Smart TV with Android, you can install a specific application to connect our TV to the Internet via VPN, perfect for bypassing regional blocks.
- PureVPN: it is a very interesting alternative for the price, they have hundreds of servers spread all over the world, and their applications are quite light. In addition, they will also provide us with the configuration files to use the official applications, and not have to use the service itself.
- PrivadoVPN: this service is very interesting although it is not as complete as the others, but it has a completely free version to try the service without any type of commitment, so we recommend giving it a try.
Conclusion
The benefits of using a VPN when booking a hotel are numerous and significant. From protecting your personal information and financial data to ensuring a secure connection on public Wi-Fi networks, a VPN is a versatile tool that enhances your online security. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, integrating a VPN into your hotel booking routine is not just a prudent choice; it’s an essential step towards safeguarding your privacy and ensuring a worry-free stay.