Thanks to the internet, hotel bookings are largely made online. Because you are an avid Tourist Meets Traveler fan and savvy adventurer, you already know it’s never wise to book through a third party travel site, but these tips and red flags will help you spot a bad hotel while booking online.

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RED FLAGS

*A hotel’s website is like it’s business card and will tell you a lot about the accommodations beyond their content trying to sell you on the place. If the site design looks dated, has multiple typos, or out of date information – red flag. Since most of hotel bookings take place online, reputable and smart hotels will be a ton of effort into their hotel website. If they haven’t, it’s a clear indication of how much effort they have put into their hotel.

*Photos can be easily manipulated. If you see any signs of distortion, it’s a red flag. Unusual cropping, wide lens shot (fisheye appearance), overly-staged scenes, and close ups of something rather meaningless – like a flower arrangement – are all red flags.

*Also note what you are not seeing in photos. If you are searching for beachfront property, but the site doesn’t provide any views of the beach, it’s another red flag.

*Hotels cherry pick guest reviews that sing the property’s praises to post on their site. It’s obvious you need make sure you look at sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor for guest reviews, but a red flag will be in the manager’s response to any negative feedback. If the response is rude or unhelpful, expect to get the same treatment in person.

Related: 3 Tricks to Avoid Hotel Booking Scams Online

TIPS

*Always research the exact hotel location. In some cities, that hotel with the insanely cheaper rate just a few miles away usually means it’s in a less-desirable area. Perhaps there is some kind of road construction or there is a noisy train track near the hotel. Whatever the reason, do a bit of searching with something like Google maps to check out the area, noting its proximity to your desired attractions. Also do a traffic search by getting directions from the hotel to the nearest airport and note travel times. Google maps will also show you exactly what the hotel exterior currently looks like.

*Look for the facts. Most sites will use ornate and descriptive tones to convey luxury, equating the marbling of the floor as the eight wonder of the world. These are baiting tones writers get paid to conjure up to make something basic appear like a treat. Look for the hotel facts and relate them to what you are willing to splurge on. Do you really care if your bedside lamp sparkles with the light of a thousand fairies? Look for exactly what you want, making sure that description of “Windows that open to let in a refreshing ocean breeze” doesn’t actually mean NO AIR CONDITIONING.

*Look for personal hotel reviews with non-professional photographer taken images. For example, with every review Tourist Meets Traveler conducts, we make sure to take personal photos of exactly what we see and experience. TripAdvisor is another great source of images taken by people who have been to hotel.

*Always search the exact hotel and location at BedBugRegistry.com