Better To Book Hotels Directly or A Booking Site?

[luckydude]

Thanks for that hint. Maybe they're getting to the point that the room might end up vacant and are willing to mark the price down, especially for a rate that doesn't include loyalty points.

Yes, that's possible, but I've noticed that the higher-end rooms aren't listed on Booking.com even when I was trying to book a room for the following night.

I have noticed this with enough higher-end hotels at popular locations (e.g CBD, airport, etc.) that this can't be a coincidence or oversight.

For mid-ranged or cheaper chain hotels, all rooms are always listed on Booking.com based on my experience.

 

[explanade]

A different question for folks.

Are you booking more refundable rates now instead of non-refundable?

I used to book non-refundable because I couldn't fathom not going after booking expensive airfare, which before the pandemic wasn't easy to change, not without a lot in change fees and fare difference, which could run into 4 figures.

But of course, I had a lot of booking for all of 2020 which I'd made in late 2019 and early 2020.

Some I didn't think to ask and some I did ask and some lodgings did give me cash refund back even though they weren't obligated to do so. Most offered hotel credits.

I used most of those credits in 2021 and some in 2022.

A couple outright were telling me basically "TS, you're SOL." So I didn't keep an avoid list but I mentally made that note.


Now I"ve been booking refundable, even though most pandemic restrictions have gone away. I don't think there's the threat of being quarantined, though maybe still in some Asian countries. For instance, Thailand required you to get insurance with a company operating in Thailand which would cover quarantine costs at some special lodgings, which didn't sound appealing at all.

The difference between non-refundable and refundable can be a couple hundred over a few days stay but for now I'm paying refundable.

 

[sleddy]

I use hotels dot com because I do a lot of last minute (day of) booking. I also do not like where the website is going but use it for now. If I am booking in advance I use capitalone travel portal because of my venture card and points. I like it but don't do a lot of comparison shopping with hotels.

 

[Chuckanut]

A different question for folks.

Are you booking more refundable rates now instead of non-refundable?

No. Because I never booked non-refundable rooms except by accident. Once I learned to watch for non-refundable rates I avoided them. Most do not save me enough money to make it worthwhile. And they add a lot of risk to vacation plans made well ahead of time.

Often, I will book a room in an area, then later get a recommendation for another place to stay that is cheaper and/or better located and/or includes breakfast and/or is just a nicer place to stay. So I cancel the first reservation and make a new one. It only costs me some time.

 

[audreyh1]

I never book non-refundable rooms. From the terms I have read, you don’t get credit if you change your mind. Unlike non-refundable airline tickets where you do get credit you can apply to another flight.

 

[athena53]

I never book non-refundable rooms. From the terms I have read, you don’t get credit if you change your mind. Unlike non-refundable airline tickets where you do get credit you can apply to another flight.

I'm not sure the latter is true for all fare classes and all airlines. I believe some actually are "use it or lose it".

I rarely book non-refundable hotel rooms unless it's very last minute and I'm 99% certain I'll be there. Unless booked through the hotel web site, they may also not carry loyalty points or perks. It may not matter to you but it means the rates aren't exactly comparable to what the hotel offers directly.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm not sure the latter is true for all fare classes and all airlines. I believe some actually are "use it or lose it".

Well yes, since they introduced “basic” fares which I keep forgetting exist nowadays.

 

[easysurfer]

An update to this thread.

I've been driving myself crazy looking at all the different sites (wanting to use an organized like Booking.com or Hotels.com but also one that shows AARP discounted hotels). I use using Booking.com to do my searches and then going to the hotels' sites directly to get the AARP discounts. But this method was driving me crazy as that means I had to have many accounts for each hotel.

Finally, I then went with the AARP Travel site which is powered by Expedia. But then found Expedia-aarp.com (I know a bit of redundancy) which gives me what works best for me now. An organized site similar to Booking.com but also has AARP discounted hotels. This doesn't give the hotel site's points I don't think but I don't travel enough so that's a non-issue plus not worth the headache for me to manage.

 

[Montecfo]

I use sites like hotels.com and kayak to find food values.

Then I go to the hotel sites which is where I book. Often you get the same or better rates there and better cancellation flexibility.

But not always. Sometimes I will find a substantially lower rate through Priceline. If meaningful then I book through them.

For hotels I think booking is the best site to compare rooms-so much info including room sizes, etc.

But at booking the best rates often have far worse cancellation terms. I avoid booking there if possible.

 

[easysurfer]

I use sites like hotels.com and kayak to find food values.

Then I go to the hotel sites which is where I book. Often you get the same or better rates there and better cancellation flexibility.

But not always. Sometimes I will find a substantially lower rate through Priceline. If meaningful then I book through them.

For hotels I think booking is the best site to compare rooms-so much info including room sizes, etc.

But at booking the best rates often have far worse cancellation terms. I avoid booking there if possible.

Your approach sounds similar to what I was doing. But for me found that too exhausting with all the different accounts, websites and points to keep track of.

 

[Sunset]

I use sites like hotels.com and kayak to find food values.

Then I go to the hotel sites which is where I book. Often you get the same or better rates there and better cancellation flexibility.

But not always. Sometimes I will find a substantially lower rate through Priceline. If meaningful then I book through them.

For hotels I think booking is the best site to compare rooms-so much info including room sizes, etc.

But at booking the best rates often have far worse cancellation terms. I avoid booking there if possible.

+1
Much what I do

This time on a road trip, I booked the hotel directly by phone with the owner and on the return trip requested the exact same room.

Same rate as the lowest internet rate I could find, and only $85 + tax.

 

[DrRoy]

We have done some direct and some on Booking.com. Booking once did a fantastic job of taking care of a cancellation, even paying the upcharge for a new res. I'll have to take a look at Expedia-aarp.

 

[easysurfer]

We have done some direct and some on Booking.com. Booking once did a fantastic job of taking care of a cancellation, even paying the upcharge for a new res. I'll have to take a look at Expedia-aarp.

Aside from Booking not having the AARP discounts, I really like how they do things. Expedia-aarp is functional too but one thing I noticed is I have to be careful to not book non-refundable rooms by mistake. Whereas I think in Booking, all are cancellable, book first, pay at hotel.

 

[audreyh1]

No-refundable rooms are a real problem. You have to be so careful.

I ran into trouble for Berlin, booking way in advance, but a couple of choice hotels in my area of interest only gave non-refundable options - took me a while to realize it. I finally found a good hotel nearby that gave the regular pay on arrival option and minimal cancellation restrictions.

 

[FIREd]

I've had a pretty bad experience with Booking last year and I'm now more likely to book directly from the service provider instead. In my case, I booked a flight and not a hotel.

I used Booking and everything went smoothly. Then, a few weeks later, the airline (Turkish Airlines) sent me a message to inform me that the flight that I had booked had been canceled. I was flying to Turkey and the airport I was flying into had been heavily damaged during the 2023 earthquake but it was scheduled to reopen before my flight so Turkish Airlines was selling tickets to that destination. But the reopening was delayed. I called Turkish and they said that they couldn't do anything and that I had to go through Booking to change my flight. But it was not just a rescheduling issue, I had to change destination entirely (to another airport in Turkey) so I couldn't modify my reservation by myself online.

Anyways, trying to get a human being on the phone at Booking was nearly mission impossible*. I used their "chat" customer service system and it was appallingly bad. After a couple of frustrating days, I finally found a Booking phone number reserved for professionals and I was able to get someone on the line that transferred me to the proper service. They were useless as well, telling me that there was no availability on flights to my new destination when their own website showed plenty of availabilities. I got so annoyed that I told them to cancel the whole thing and I rebooked directly with Turkish Airlines (and yes there were plenty of availabilities). The only positive is that they reimbursed me fully pretty quickly.

* I'm in Europe so that may be a factor

 

[brett]

We do both. Prefer direct. We can often get a better price or a good upgrade if booking direct.

We do book non refundable SOMETIMES. It depends on the discount and how many days we are away. But...the discount has to be substantial. Not a measily ten percent. Usually 20-25 percent or we will not bother with non refundable.

 

[Chuckanut]

Expedia-aarp is functional too but one thing I noticed is I have to be careful to not book non-refundable rooms by mistake. Whereas I think in Booking, all are cancellable, book first, pay at hotel.

You can book non-refundable rooms on Booking. I did it once and learned my lesson. Also watch for excessively long cancelation deadlines that can be over a week before you arrive. I like 24-48 hours at most. I will go longer IF, I am near the arrival day and the path looks clear to all things going well, and the discount for the risk is substantial - say 1/3 off the best price with a more generous cancellation period.

 

[tulak]

I always book directly with airlines. It’s just easier overall. DGF booked flights through Expedia that had to be cancelled due to covid restrictions. It was a pain to get reimbursed, since Expedia and the airline pointed at the other.

I usually book directly for hotels too (and car rentals). My general philosophy is that if something goes wrong, they’re more likely to be helpful.

 

[brett]

We have done countless bookings over the years with booking.com, hotels.com, agoda.com, expedia, travelocity, Priceline, hotwire, etc. And of course direct.

Never had an issue with any of them.

We almost always book air direct. The only exception is on occasion when we may purchase a one way consolidator fare to or from Europe. The few times that we have done this have worked out well. Oddly enough the carrier has always been British Airways.