3rd party hotel booking - won't repeat that mistake

[brett]

Although we prefer to deal directly with the hotel there can be instances when dealing with a third party is beneficial.

We booked a hotel in Panama through booking.com a few years ago. Our credit card was charged by the hotel. A few weeks later we cancelled, well within the cancellation period.

The hotel failed to refund our deposit despite several attempts via emai.

I contacted booking.com by phone. They said they would look into it and get back to me. Within 24 hours I had an email saying that the hotel would process the refund immediately and if I did not see the credit on my account to call them immediately.

I have no doubt that I would never have collected this refund if I had booked directly. So, it can work both ways.

 

[kcowan]

We had a great experience with booking.com in Pula. The hotel turned out to be much below what we had wanted. They reduced our booking from 3 days to 1. In Dubrovnik with hotels.com, no help at all.

 

[brett]

Sometimes we have no choice with the small places since they do not have a web site. If we cannot find them on facebook or on email we are forced to use the third party.

Other times, we have found their respective web sites. We push the button and are forwarded to a third party booking site.

It just depends.

 

[PawPrint53]

We booked a room in Reno once, and were told, gee, we thought you were coming in tomorrow so we only have an expensive suite or the room next to the elevator available. I was, of course, miffed. Couldn't afford the suite, so we got the elevator room. I heard the conversation with the next couple. The clerk said the same thing to them, or a variation along the lines of "We had you down for coming in yesterday." Massively incompetent or just greedy? No more Reno for us.

 

[mpeirce]

I've booked several rooms, whole vacations even including air and car rentals, through COSTCO and every one of them was better than I could have hoped for.

I often use COSTCO for car rentals.

If there is a SIXT in a location, I usually book directly with them. If not, Costco almost always has the best price for a nice car. Never had a problem using them.

 

[Crewer]

I had a business trip to Munich a few years back. A group I was meeting with was staying at a specific Hotel. When I tried to book directly with that Hotel, there were no rooms available. They told me to try a 3rd party site, which I did end up booking thru. Evidently, some hotels reserve a few rooms for the 3rd party players.

Same thing happened to me recently.

Also I've found great hotels overseas using booking.com. I never would have found them otherwise (which is why I love booking). I know the little places need the money but tricky to find them without the aggregator.

We did have a problem with a chain - wouldn't honor my husbands membership perks since we booked with someone else.

 

[ohyes]

At one time, we most often booked through Priceline--almost always felt we got a good deal with decent rooms. (There were a few exceptions.)

Lately, we use Hotwire if we are on the road and needing a room that night. If we are booking from home, I check the hotel rate as well as a few third party sites. Booking directly with the hotel sometimes includes a few perks. Last November, booking directly with Inn of the Governors in Santa Fe meant breakfast each morning and $15 credit per room in the bar/restaurant each day.

When we are barrelling down the highway and using a phone to book a room, I usually just check hotel website vs. Hotwire. I book through ebates to save a few extra $$ in exchange for letting them track our every move.

 

[Red Badger]

We use Hotwire only for highly rated 4/5 star properties. This has gotten us into very nice hotels at some great prices. If were travelling with The Mutt, it's usually La Quinta; otherwise, we'll stay at a Marriott property for the points

 

[Pilot2013]

I have tried the 3rd parties at times, but always found that I could book at the same price directly with the Hotel (almost always use Hyatt since use a Hyatt CC for points), but even before that never saw a benefit vs. my perceived risk of them not caring about you as a customer.

 

[frugal-one]

I didn't know Hotwire did that. Thanks for that information. Priceline does it, but Priceline sucks; I had an instance where they simply would not honor their pricing guarantee.

Concerning the "only one out of 30 instances were ok", one must wonder if that, or something around that, is the rate of failure, is it worth the trouble? Based on the hours I spent to win the battle with Priceline, it probably would be smarter for me to learn the prices from places like Hotwire, then go shop directly and be willing to pay at least a little premium.

Recently did a Hotwire and got a scumbag hotel. IMO you are much better dealing directly with the hotel. That way, you can cancel if needed and you know what you are getting.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I would make it my policy to "avoid hotels that don't honor bookings", not "avoid 3rd-party bookings."
I don't have time to go to a dozen different chains' websites to find a deal. I depend on 3rd party sites, and chains participate with those sites in order to get access to more customers. If they won't honor reservations it seems they're trying to have it both ways.

 

[audreyh1]

Recently got a 5% discount and a 1PM check-in, 3PM check-out for direct booking with the hotel. They explicitly compared to booking.com.

This was the only close cancelable reservation I could find for an apparently very busy weekend in Amsterdam, the weekend after King's day which happens on a Friday the year. All the downtown hotels were only accepting pre-paid reservations, even through hotels.com and booking.com.

 

[audreyh1]

I had a business trip to Munich a few years back. A group I was meeting with was staying at a specific Hotel. When I tried to book directly with that Hotel, there were no rooms available. They told me to try a 3rd party site, which I did end up booking thru. Evidently, some hotels reserve a few rooms for the 3rd party players.

Yes, there are a few hotels like that. The Sheraton in Austin would never show rooms available when I needed but I could get one via Expedia.

 

[audreyh1]

Sometimes we have no choice with the small places since they do not have a web site. If we cannot find them on facebook or on email we are forced to use the third party.

Other times, we have found their respective web sites. We push the button and are forwarded to a third party booking site.

It just depends.

Yeah - I've had a couple of small places instruct us to use booking.com on their website and I am happy to do so.

I've also occasionally seen pre-paid only available via the hotel website, but cancelable if you book through booking.com.

 

[IMATERP]

I have run into problems with air travel when booking with third party. By the way, years ago, my wife missed a connection with her travelocity ticket and it took her 3 days on standby to get a flight back to NC.

Typically, I book directly with the hotel as I take advantage of AARP and Govt ID rates. Can be a lot less expensive.

I

 

[Nomoresnow]

Absolutely loved the " Daryl " reference (Newhart was a funny show), as we date ourselves once again .... Booking.com is everywhere and their customer service is non-existent.