Where are you seeing the best hotel prices: hotel websites or third-party sites? Let us know!
Yup, usually better prices on third party sites.Yet, I find signing up for the hotels membership and then booking directā¦many times I will get deals near if not as good as the the third party places.
BUT, hereās the big thing, booking direct may get you a better room and treatment. I experience this often.
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It dependsā¦ But rather than guess, why not search for the best 3rd-party deal around and then call the place an see how it compares? I wouldnāt mention that you are comparing prices with the lodging people though, but probably wouldnāt hurt if you did so with the third parties.
I rarely find a better price on a 3rd party site unless it is a bidding site which isnāt a fair comparison. When I have found a better price, I reserve the room then call the hotel. They always meet or beat the better price.
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I worked in the hotel industry and I can tell you that there needs to be parity between 3rd party and direct booking. There is software that inspects it. Sometimes will you find a cheaper rate in either channel, yes, because not everyone follows the rules.
The one exception is loyalty programs. You will always get the best rate booking direct as a member of the loyalty program. It will be anywhere from 5-15% cheaper. You may be able to stack that with something like a special promotion (AARP for example).
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Yes. Better treatment, as in youāre also not the first to get bumped when they take other higher paying bookings!
I have found that a lower price is meaningless if you canāt rely on the 3rd party if thereās a problem. I had an issue with misrepresentation of a property by a 3rd party- so serious that I checked out immediately. It took almost two months to get refunded. Never again!
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Last time we used 3rd party reservation was booking.com When we checked their price against the hotel direct, we were amazed that the hotel price was better. When we cancelled the reservation with booking.com, they refunded the charge MINUS a booking fee of $85. Ripoff.
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Regarding 3rd Party sites !!!
BEWARE of BOOKINGS.COMā¦,
Rip-off specialists, I booked a room for day 1 day stay which Bookings stated ā CANCELLATION and MODIFY FREE !!!
Well, itās a LIE !!!
I booked for the 21st out 22 but when they confirmed in email itwas 23rd out 24th, missed this ( my fault).
When checking in I was advised of mixup in days
Called Bookings and those thieves charge a fee of $100.00 to modify days !!! This is simply a lot of crap since hotel advised NO PROBLEM AS THEY HAD PLENTY OF ROOM !!
Just stick with Priceline or any other STAY AWAY FROM BOOKINGS.COM
I always call the specific hotel, not their national number.
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I donāt even bother with 3rd party bookings anymore. Here is my technique. I use Google maps and/or Trivago to search an area to see whatās there, get reviews and get an idea of prices. Then I call the motel directly and talk to someone at the front desk to check availability and price.
Be sure you are a member of chain loyalty program. Tell them of any discounts you may qualify for like AAA, senior, service member, etc. Be polite. Be friendly. Ask their name and use it. Crack a joke, make them smile. Thatās a person your talking to so be nice, be sincere. If their price doesnāt beat 3rd party, although Iāve found it usually does, tell them. They will most times meet or beat it. āMom & Popā motels almost always do because they donāt like paying fees to the 3rd parties.
This technique also works for a last minute walk-in. Before going in spend a few minutes in the parking lot checking on your phone so you have the info you need.
Donāt be afraid to ask for an upgrade. Donāt be afraid to ask to see your room before booking. At motels with no elevator I ask for first level.
My best technique is to talk to people like an old friend.
I like people. I embarrass my wife with my corny jokes or comments. She is amazed what the person behind the desk will do for us even at large chains. I do this because thatās who I am. If I can make them smile it makes me smile. I can even get a giggle out of my wife. And, that goes a long way to get a good deal and make a better day for everyone.
Third party sites may be cheaper but if you have an issue with your booking arise you may be out of luck trying to get it resolved. The hotel/motel says you have to deal with whatever site you used and at times they can be very unhelpful.
We found out first hand this week, 3rd party is not the best. We booked through booking.com a hotel that doesnt exist. I trusted them. The physical address we were provided was a completely different hotel. They were very kind and explained to us we were one of dozens of people scammed by this hotel. Booking.com totally shut us out. They offered us $61 for a new hotel IF we booked it with them. Our original hotel price was $267. We had to file a dispute with our credit card company. I for one will be booking directly through the hotelin thefuture.
I book direct with the hotel chain at their best rate for pay later that allows free cancelation up to a day or two before reservation date. I then look for a better deal but if I know I will be traveling on that date I will book the pay full in advance (which is usually 5 days ahead of stay) and often save about 25-30%.
Years ago I booked a āstaycationā room for my wife and I on the Country Club Plaza in KC on Hotwire. That was kind of a bidding site, but they offered a room in a āboutiqueā hotel for less than $100 per night, which was great considering the dates were over the Big 12 basketball championship. They didnātā tell me who it was until I booked, but it was the Raphaelā¦a small luxury hotel. WE got a two room suite for that rate. No issues. That was teh only time I did that, usually Iāll book thru the hotel/chain directly, but it was a pleasant surprise.
I booked with Booking.com for a particular trip because it was cheaper and had cancellation free. My plans slightly changed and I got to the hotel a day early. So I asked the hotel if I could move up my two reserved days. At first the desk agent said yes, no problem, until he saw that I had used Bookingcom. He told me I had to contact them because if he changed my reservation that Bookingcom could charge them a penalty fee. So, I went to my car and called Bookingcom to make the change and guess what, I got an automated system that said it could take 24 hours to get back to me and make the change. It really took 48 hours and was an email back. So what did I do? I sleep in my car in the hotel parking lot until my reservation was available. Moral to my story, I would rather pay more to work directly with the hotel and use their loyalty program.
I will look at 3rd party booking sites to get a feel for the prices. Then Iāll go directly to the hotel website and quite often they are as low or lower than the 3rd party. I always ask for AAA or AARP discounts. That usually is good for 10% off.
Direct. I have all the hotel apps on my phone plus Iām signed up with all loyalty programs. I do check Priceline but even if they show a lower rate, their extra fees make up the difference. Iāve had no trouble changing or cancelling reservations when Iāve booked directly but with Priceline and 3rd parties itās a tossup. I donāt sweat a $5-10 difference either. However, any hotel points you get are basically worthless. Lucky if you can redeem them at half a penny. 1000 points might get you $5.00 off.
Booking.com has screwed me too. Never did get a refund. Iāve also gotten the same price at hotel as booking. Ive had a lot of trouble trying to get a hotelās local number. Found a way that often works is to ask SIRI to call the hotel.