Are you planning a vacation or business trip in the near future? If so, getting your lodging booked is likely one of your top priorities. Today, it's possible to book a room through a peer-to-peer lodging site, one where people from around the world will rent out a room in their house, or maybe even their entire house to travelers like yourself. But hotels and motels are still around as well and there are plenty of good reasons to consider booking a room for your trip the traditional way instead of going with a peer-to-peer network or website. Here's why you might want to stick with a hotel room on your next trip instead of using a crowd-sharing or peer-sharing site.

The Hotel's Room Will Likely Always Be Similar to the Photos You See Online

Once you've seen one hotel room for a particular brand, you've seen them all. Sure, there can be differences like a room with a view or a deluxe bed, but with most hotel rooms, you know exactly what you are getting and you will generally be able to get a room that looks exactly like it did when you booked it online. With some peer-to-peer hosts, it can be a toss-up as to what you will actually get. The highest-rated peer-to-peer hosts may offer accurate pictures, but if you are booking a room at the last minute, a highly rated room might not be available. A hotel can ensure you will get respectable lodging that you won't regret booking.

You Don't Have to Plan Your Schedule Around What the Host Is Doing

Hotels generally have a set check-out and set check-in time for every guest. You can arrive to check-in at any time after the check-in time. The hotel doesn't care if you show up at 3 p.m. or 10 p.m., the room will be waiting for you. With a peer-to-peer or house sharing site, the host may offer a specific check-in time but you may need to still coordinate with them to make sure they will be home or that you can get into the house. The host may also have strict rules about noise after a certain time. Hotels can have a rule like this too, but in general, the hotel won't care if you don't get back until 2 a.m. but the host might because you walking in could wake them up.

You'll Have Someone to Clean Up After You Instead of Stressing About It Yourself

Finally, consider that hotels have room service and maids in most cases. With peer-to-peer or house sharing, you are expected to keep the host's house clean and will actually be reviewed on how well you did when you leave. Do you really want to deal with that extra stress?

To start planning your trip, check out hotels in your desired location.