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I've used online booking with no problems except when I went through my AAA account which promised me a discount but the discount didn't show up online when I got to checkout. I went through the process at least 5 times. No luck. Thinking it would be credited at the hotel maybe when I arrived at my hotel, I was sadly mistaken and they had no knowledge of it. I wrote AAA regarding the error and never received a response. I am not going to renew AAA unless the error is corrected. Just don't use any AAA discounts.
Opaque booking sites get a bad rap.. Now, it sounds like for you,.. They're a good deal. Though, I will say, I rarely use them because often I need a specific area and I know NOT to use them when I need a specific area.
Also.. you tell Priceline a 3 star hotel.. Listen, I've seen some nasty and scary "3 star" priceline/hotwire hotels. A hotel down the road from where I work was rated as 3 stars shortly before it was condemned. Not kidding in the least about that. It was three stars, then dumped to 2.5 by the time it was condemned because the health department shut the restaurant down.
I have used Priceline and Hotwire 250+ times since May 2002 and have had exactly one bad hotel over that time. In that particular hotel, the hotel had issues with an electrical outlet arcing. When we complained, Priceline comped the ENTIRE three day stay. If you book DIRECTLY with hotels, there is NO guarantee that won't encounter much worse.
I've used online booking with no problems except when I went through my AAA account which promised me a discount but the discount didn't show up online when I got to checkout. I went through the process at least 5 times. No luck. Thinking it would be credited at the hotel maybe when I arrived at my hotel, I was sadly mistaken and they had no knowledge of it. I wrote AAA regarding the error and never received a response. I am not going to renew AAA unless the error is corrected. Just don't use any AAA discounts.
Simple solution: Book the AAA rate on the hotel's own website. You'll get a confirmation in writing from the hotel. Don't use the AAA booking site.
I don't often use 3rd party sites as I generally find the AAA rates booked directly through the hotel site to be cheaper.
There have been exceptions like Priceline and LastMinuteTravel.com when you join their club (which is actually free). Those 'club only' prices have been remarkably less expensive on several occasiins and are NOT limited to last minute bookings. In fact, booking months in advance offers more hotel choices. Not all bookings are refundable, but MOST are.
Simple solution: Book the AAA rate on the hotel's own website. You'll get a confirmation in writing from the hotel. Don't use the AAA booking site.
I don't often use 3rd party sites as I generally find the AAA rates booked directly through the hotel site to be cheaper.
There have been exceptions like Priceline and LastMinuteTravel.com when you join their club (which is actually free). Those 'club only' prices have been remarkably less expensive on several occasiins and are NOT limited to last minute bookings. In fact, booking months in advance offers more hotel choices. Not all bookings are refundable, but MOST are.
I often check with hotel, but usually cheaper via agoda. It is all automated and uses your stored profile and payment.
Same experience. We usually book on 3rd party site for two days then extend depending on how much we like it and how long we'll be staying. I almost always try to get a better deal prices on extending talking with the owner/manager and while have occasionally gotten a better deal usually the price is about the same or higher in person. Even if same price I'll go through a 3rd party site since would rather pay them than have yet another random person in random country handling my credit card.
It compares prices from the major 3rd party sites, makes it easy. Note = hotels.com has that thing where every 10 stays you get a free night (for avg price of the ten) so take that into consideration when comparing. $70/night at hotels.com is a better deal than $67/night at agoda if you travel enough to cash in your reward stays.
I usually go to Kayak or any number of other sites, but then I go directly to the hotel or airlines website and book directly. I find that the cancellation policies are better if you deal direct.
Depends on where I am staying as another person said. When I got to Vegas I call the hotel directly and get a cheaper rate that way. Many hotels also don't give all available rooms to the 3rd party sites so third party may ay sold out, but hotel directly has rooms.
For other destinations I use Orbitz and have had no issues. They worked with me easily when a flight I had changed, and I earn Orbitz credit that can be used on a future booking. I do check the major third party sites to compare, and all come in about the same.
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I do not use Expedia anymore. I noticed their customer service had really gone downhill the past 5 years or so. I couldn't get a rep on the phone, they would hang up on me, they wouldn't honor their agreement, etc. . . I don't book hotels as much. I prefer booking cabin/condos/apartments through Air B&B and VRBO. My wife and I can get a whole condo or house to rent for the same price as a hotel room. It offers a lot of privacy and much more room for the same price. We've always had great experiences with them, and they have buyer protections.
I haven't used them because, in the past at least, they would not let you specify a non-smoking room.
I just booked a hotel overseas and on every website, every travel site, and on the hotel's own website, room prices were exactly the same. I did book through a travel site, but only because I could pre-pay in dollars to pay for the room and bypass the worries about exchange rates (I hope).
1. There are often amenities you get included if you book direct (commonly wifi access, sometimes breakfast) that you have to pay extra for if you book third party.
2. If you discover one hotel chain meets your needs the majority of the time, it's rare to earn loyalty points or get status perks when booking through a third party site. In our case, it makes sense to be loyal to (and keep mid-level status with) Holiday Inn/IHG because there are a lot of chances to get bonus points and free nights when you book with them directly. And getting the odd comped room upgrade also requires a direct booking on the IHG web site.
Agreed with this.
Also, if you find you have an issue with your reservation, if you have booked directly with the hotel, then they will deal with it. if you booked through a third party, then the hotel will usually make you resolve it with whoever you booked through.
I know someone who has worked in the hospitality industry for a while at several hotels in Vegas and Florida. They have told me that, when assigning rooms, those who book directly usually get priority over those who booked via a third party site (one available room is on the ground floor, facing the parking lot, next to the ice machine and the other is on the top floor with a fabulous view - the latter will go to the party that booked direct). Granted, these were resort properties, not more run-of-the-mill properties like a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, etc. In short, it seems like those who book via a discount, third-party site tend to get treated as being a rung or two down the ladder compared to a direct customer.
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