One of the major peeves in a vacation or in any business trip is finding your self booked in a hotel that does not meet your expectations and most importantly, does not give you the rest that you should get. Whether it is a promise of complete amenities that were never there, a renovation just outside your room that was never mentioned in the ads, there is nothing more that gets to a traveler most than not getting what he expected out of his pay.

So you ask yourself, how could such a nightmare happen? There are several factors, actually. First, you could have just missed that little note under the ad that said “North Wing under renovation” or second, it could have been the hotel's fault entirely.

But to completely avoid these situations form happening to you, here is a list some precautionary measures that you should take. You wouldn't want to waste more of your hard earned money on a bad hotel experience- again.

• Read on everything before booking.

One of the major reasons why we find ourselves in the middle of a bad hotel experience is simply because we did not read enough about the details of the purchase – especially for online reservations. Sometimes, we just miss a bullet point or two that may have said “paid parking” or “pool under renovation.” When we get to the hotel, we whine like a kid to see the pool drained out of water and to see an additional charge for that parking space. That would be pretty embarrassing if you get back to the website and find it all there.

• Reconfirm you reservation before traveling.

Picture this scenario: you just came from a 3- hour drive. You arrive in the hotel at midnight hoping to have some good night's sleep. You walk into the front desk, ask for your key and you find the front agent telling you that your reservation was never confirmed. So please, reconfirm your reservation even before the start of travel. Remember, the hotel is just a phone call away.

• Be aware of extra charges.

When we book reservations online, most of the time, the total amount that we see initially charged to our card is only for the night's stay and perhaps a free meal or two. So for any other services that we use in the hotel, expect a separate charge for that.

• Check billing statements every now and then.

There are some instances where the hotel could double charge you for your stay – especially when you book with a travel agency. But not to worry, most of the time you can have this charge removed by simply calling up your travel agency – who will call the hotel on your behalf to verify the information, and you will get your refund several business days later.

Bad hotel experiences can always be avoided. Just arm yourself with correct and accurate information and you should be able to avoid any peeves while on your stay. So don't think that all hotels want to rip you off the next chance that they get. They too are in need of customers and would always look forward to have a customer come back to their property again.