SINGAPORE — The vice-president of Hotels.com Asia Pacific travels two-thirds of the month and hasn’t had a terrible trip yet. He has hardly encountered any bad hotels, too.

Then again, it could be because he plans his accommodation himself. “I think the only time it turns out to be a problem is when I leave the hotel booking to friends. And the hotel service standard is not up to expectations,” said Chowdhry. Now that Hotels.com has upgraded its iPhone and iPad apps with features such as memory services, fellow travellers don’t even have to break a sweat booking a hotel at the last minute, even if scoring an upgrade might still be on the tricky side. His tip? Stay loyal and smile. “A track record of loyalty is the best way to ensure you reap rewards from hotels. Being courteous to the hotel staff can certainly help. A smile goes a long way when you are checking in.”

Q: What’s one underrated aspect of booking a hotel stay?

A: When booking a hotel, users now have a lot to choose from. They can use the full functionality of websites, such as filters, to match their exact preferences. It makes the booking of hotels much easier. Also, they should pay attention to the deals offered by different hotels — at any given time there are usually tens of thousands of deals on a site like Hotels.com. Staying aware of such promotions often means getting more value for money.

Q: Where do you see the most exciting and coolest hotels being built?

A: Dubai. Even with the iconic Burj Al Arab and a host of other unique hotels, thousands of rooms are still being constructed. In such a competitive landscape, there is no doubt that hotels would attempt to differentiate themselves with outstanding, futuristic or even bizarre architecture. Another country that deserves our attention is China. Last year, the construction of an underground five-star Songjiang Shimao hotel inside an abandoned quarry grabbed the attention of globetrotters worldwide.

Q: What are some of your favourite hotels?

A: As far as business hotels go, I look for fairly basic things like professional service, apart from a comfortable bed and work area. I do like hotels that have their own personality, like the Okura Prestige Bankgkok hotel where I recently stayed. I was impressed by the unique minimalist Japanese style of their rooms. Similarly, PARKROYAL on Pickering in Singapore also wowed me with its naturalistic architecture. It’s always the twist in standard business hotels that appeals to me.

Q: Where is one destination that you’ll recommend to travellers?

A: New Zealand is just such a beautiful country. My best trip was spending two weeks driving through the North and South Islands. The North Island has volcanoes and some of the best beaches I have ever seen, and equally breathtaking are the scenic mountains in the South Island.