When travelling on two-wheels, protecting a motorcycle from theft is a continuous source of stress, especially when venturing far from home, perhaps to a different continent. The choice of either a hotel, motel, guest house, camp site, farmhouse, B&B or Airbnb… sensitive to the needs of two-wheel travellers can provide a restful night’s sleep.
The internet features dozens of websites that specialise in offering accommodation especially aimed at motorcyclists and we took some time to take a look.
Online, motorcyclists can find a multitude of guides and facility lists aimed at the motorcycling market. Many are located near race circuits or are convenient for regular gatherings… but more generally the majority of them combine the standard solution of accommodation and meals with the facility of being able to store a motorcycle inside a garage; some even go further by offering technical assistance through direct contacts with workshops, mechanics, dealerships, motorcycle rentals, etc.
We have analysed some of the websites and we present our findings but don’t stop there though, as with a little patience it is possible to find “biker friendly” accommodation in every corner of the world.
Moho Motorrad Hotels
Austrian website which is available in three languages, well-structured and even certified by TUV. It is aimed at motorcyclists who love the alpine passes and therefore mainly lists hotels dotted around the most beautiful regions of the Alps within Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland including Istria (Croatia). MoHo – Motorbike Hotels, place great emphasis on service and advice. Staff know the best tours of the region and can provide useful tips and information on the most scenic photographic stops. Within the hotel search facility, there are 3 categories, not distinguished by stars but by icons in the shape of a helmet in numbers of 5, 4, and 3 which indicate the level of service offered to motorcyclists ie superior, standard or basic.
Motor – Hotels
There are four languages available,French, English, German and Dutch, to help visitors to the site choose from 442 biker-friendly hotels located throughout Europe. Its strength is the structure of the website which is based on a database continually updated with the help of motorcyclists. Currently, the list is a little unbalanced (for example, there are 177 hotels in Germany and there is only one single establishment in Albania, Andorra, Hungary, Romania, Denmark …) but we trust that with time the administrators will be able to increase coverage for the least popular areas. A section of the website features a European map showing the location of major automotive museums (cars and motorcycles). A series of links lead to useful websites useful covering tours, itineraries, traveller tales and general hints and tips.
Bike-stay Worldwide Accomodation for Motorcyclists
The title of the website would lead visitors to think they have discovered the Holy Grail of “biker-friendly” accommodation websites but unfortunately that is not quite the case. Intentions are good but various indicated areas (including Italy), are assigned pages that do not open, which is frustrating. Where the website functions properly and does so well and in detail, are the six areas defined by the menu: U.K., Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. There is no direct reference to Africa, Asia and South America but in the sub-menus there are some establishments located in India and Argentina.
The menu heading “‘EUROPEAN TOURING ADVICE” should also be noted, which details the differences between countries from the point of view of personal and vehicle documents such as the drive-through carnets (carnet du passage)and helpful tips such as ferry departure points etc …
Beds4bikers
The website is designed to take advantage of Google’s automatic translation in every language. There are 3 areas of interest for motorcyclists: Accommodation, Events & Rallies, Biker information
The latter consists of a series of items including forums, tour companies, shops, dealerships and more. The contents of the accommodation, which focuses heavily on B&B and camping, offers establishments in four different areas of the world: Europe, UK / Ireland, USA and Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However, there are few countries covered in a significant manner ie USA, France and the UK.
Kudos for the presentation profiles of the establishments with a photo gallery, services offered, map, etc.
The Biker Guide (accomodation)
A generic motorcycle website with contents similar to those of an online magazine and with a menu that is rich in items related to various aspects of the two-wheeled world, some of which are directly linked to motorcycle tourism. Amongst the latter stands “Accommodation”. The creators of the website consider themselves specialists in “Biker-Friendly Accommodation”, particularly on the European continent… but a more in-depth analysis leads to the belief that coverage is somewhat restricted to the United Kingdom (the website is English after all).
Motogoloco
The number of websites specialising in “biker friendly” accommodation located in the UK make it clear how much this territory is a land of conquest for European travellers.
MOTOGOLOCO offers an excellent graphical interface, useful and easy to use services and a good number of accommodation facilities located mainly in England and Scotland. Wales and the Republic of Ireland are included within the geographical areas proposed but with few proposals of accommodation. The website has earned a space in our brief review for its fantastic inclusive mapping service that can be used to create personal itineraries with the help of interesting ideas from routes recommended by the most popular English motorcycling magazines. The staff is reliable: Clint Smith (aka Mr. Fix It) reiterates that he has personally checked every hotel and that those included on the list have fully exceeded the required criteria.
Motor Bike Hotels
Precious but few. Visitors to this website quickly build an impression that the selected accommodation is subject to meticulous inspection (even hoteliers must be motorcyclists). The countries taken into consideration are Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France and Luxembourg. The website is well constructed and correctly “readable” in 5 languages. The website features a fantastic planning system which enables riders to arrive at their hotel by selecting their preferred winding route.
Bh-bikershotel
This is a historic Italian website, available in 5 languages, well known to motorcycle enthusiasts from all over Europe. There is a wide choice of accommodation available: Hotel, Motel, Camping, Apartment,
B & B, Farms, Houses, Hostel… Its main feature is its database with hundreds of places to stay all located in Italy. But the influence of this community goes far beyond boundaries, thanks to the proposal of accommodation scattered throughout the 22 counties of the Old Continent.
In the profiles of the individual establishments there is no mention of information that confirm the presence of a secure garage or parking space for motorcycles, at least not for those that we randomly viewed, but it is assumed such a requirement is essential.
The updated list of motorcycle-meetings is one of its strong points, along with suggested motorcycle itineraries and the ability to download a hotel guide for each country in a PDF format.
