Booking websites - Are they conning us?

[Scouse123]

Apart from the fact most booking sites such as Agoda, Bookings .com, etc are sub companies under the same umbrella company, I noticed a few things in my latest round of booking hotels whilst travelling around Thailand and the region.

 

I am a Platinum and a Gold member of Agoda.

 

I have found regularly by clearing my cache, logging out of both my accounts and going to either Google Maps and entering the name of the hotel or trip advisor and doing the same, whilst logged out, I can get offered cheaper rates as a non-member, that outweigh anything they offer me logged in as a Gold or Platinum member, in my view rendering these loyalty memberships useless.

 

Likewise, I have done this lately, booked as a non-member, then when it comes to the payment, logged into my account to get any future benefits they may offer, (Agoda cash etc) and the rate remains cheap.

 

When I book in through my member account, I get quoted more expensive flat booking fees.

 

This has happened about 80% of the time of late.

[GypsyT]

I noticed same last winter. Agoda was the worst.

What I did I booked one or 2 nights with them (using same no-cookies trick) and then made a deal with the owner/manager for same low price for a month.

It worked fine for all Thai owned hotels but some international ones didn't give big discount.

 

[impulse]

My recent peeve (with Orbitz) is selecting a flight, clicking pay now, going through the CC process, and they come back with "that price is no longer available".  Caving, I agree to pay 10% more (+/-), then they come back with "price no longer available" for several iterations, until the price is 50% or more higher.  But if I close that tab and restart the process, they come back with the original price, and that's what I pay.  I don't delete cookies, or anything like VPN through a different country.  Overall, I like Orbitz, but that one's irritating.

 

[Jumbo1968]

I book direct with airlines for long haul, I have been stung too many times using agents, there is a theory if you use a VPN you get better deals if you change your location, never worked for me no matter what location I used.

[Peterphuket]

You get conned everywhere these days anyway, whether the packs are smaller or supposedly 3 for 2 where when you do the maths you don't get cheaper.
Or let's take Hong Tong as an example, where per centilitre the price of a 0.75-litre bottle is cheaper than buying 1 litre, the list is endless and sometimes it also makes you despondent.

[GypsyT]

It's gone down to a few big companies who keep artificial competition between many branches they own.

 

Like;

"Expedia Group, Inc. is an American travel technology company that owns and operates travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Ebookers, CheapTickets, CarRentals.com, Expedia Cruises, Wotif, and Trivago."

 

How is Expedia now days? I haven't used for 20 years.

[freeworld]

They are all part of the same US company Booking Holdings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking_Holdings

 

Take a look at the recent reviews on trustpilot for booking and agoda.

 

There is some interesting info on booking.com wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoda

Edited August 13 by freeworld

[freeworld]

23 hours ago, impulse said:

My recent peeve (with Orbitz) is selecting a flight, clicking pay now, going through the CC process, and they come back with "that price is no longer available".  Caving, I agree to pay 10% more (+/-), then they come back with "price no longer available" for several iterations, until the price is 50% or more higher.  But if I close that tab and restart the process, they come back with the original price, and that's what I pay.  I don't delete cookies, or anything like VPN through a different country.  Overall, I like Orbitz, but that one's irritating.

 

Any reason not to book directly with the airlines? I have always found the prices to be cheaper directly.

[Will B Good]

I've tried booking direct and found it can be cheaper.....but also it can be more expensive.

 

Booking.com is quite good in terms of the site layout, searches and stuff......but "only two rooms left" is usually b******s.

[VBF]

Just my take on this:

Booking sites are agents of a sort. They have to make commission, the airlines do not automatically give them preferential prices so their "commission" comes from the end user (customer)

What they do do is to give the busy (or lazy) customers a comparison that doesn't involve looking at loads of websites.  So a convenience benefit.

There's nothing to stop you finding the cheapest flight on a comparison site, THEN going direct to the airline to compare there.

 

Booking sites have taken the place of travel agents in the modern world, but at least with TAs you could negotiate with a person.

 

This is similar to car insurance (in UK anyway). I used a couple of comparison sites, found the best price, THEN went directly to the same insurance company and got another 5% off the best price.

It was time-consuming but that didn't matter.

 

My personal opinion is that all agents are basically leeches, whether they be travel, employment or estate (realtors to US readers)

They do little that one cannot do for oneself, if one has the time.

[Kalasin Jo]

2 minutes ago, VBF said:

There's nothing to stop you finding the cheapest flight on a comparison site, THEN going direct to the airline to compare there.

I always do that. I've also found it easier to sort out changes directly if I book directly.

[VBF]

8 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

16 minutes ago, VBF said:

There's nothing to stop you finding the cheapest flight on a comparison site, THEN going direct to the airline to compare there.

I always do that. I've also found it easier to sort out changes directly if I book directly.

Absolutely and, if you're a member of the airline's frequent flyer "club" you benefit from booking directly too.

[DanyAsia]

On 8/12/2024 at 1:49 PM, Scouse123 said:

Apart from the fact most booking sites such as Agoda, Bookings .com, etc are sub companies under the same umbrella company, I noticed a few things in my latest round of booking hotels whilst travelling around Thailand and the region.

 

I am a Platinum and a Gold member of Agoda.

 

I have found regularly by clearing my cache, logging out of both my accounts and going to either Google Maps and entering the name of the hotel or trip advisor and doing the same, whilst logged out, I can get offered cheaper rates as a non-member, that outweigh anything they offer me logged in as a Gold or Platinum member, in my view rendering these loyalty memberships useless.

 

Likewise, I have done this lately, booked as a non-member, then when it comes to the payment, logged into my account to get any future benefits they may offer, (Agoda cash etc) and the rate remains cheap.

 

When I book in through my member account, I get quoted more expensive flat booking fees.

 

This has happened about 80% of the time of late.

It seems the loyalty programs and member accounts aren't as beneficial as they claim if you can regularly find better rates by clearing your cache and booking as a non-member. It's frustrating when membership is supposed to save you money but ends up costing more. Good to know checking rates anonymously can help you find a better deal.

[ChrisKC]

Yes, they are!!

 

Businesses, particularly the corporate ones  all over the world have one major objective: "Maximise Profits" They market themselves in ways that are designed to be confusing and misleading. It is difficult these days to to buy anything at the price it is offered at! What irritates me is that sometimes, as a Member, one will see a price for something and in the time one has done some research (just a few minutes) and decided to book the original viewing, the price has increased.

 

With regard to Agoda and Booking dot coms, I have been a Member for fifteen years and until I married my Thai wife seven years ago, I booked under my name with them.

 

Since then, I go to Agoda etc only to look for what I want and when I find it, my charming wife goes direct to the Hotel or resort, does a deal that is nearly always a better one.

 

And you might be surprised to learn that when we check in, they never register me, only my wife; I am talking over the period, about 40 times in many parts of Thailand; hotels large and small.

 

A few years ago, I flew to Shanghai and back to Bangkok. In looking for a good deal, I first went to Thai Airways and obtained a price. Later in my search I went to Indian Airways and got a deal at half the price. Nothing special about that but I noticed that the flight details (Indian) showed that it was exactly the same as the Thai and the same flight number. I did the trip and yes, it was as I understood it - the same flight. same plane.

[retarius]

I don't use them. Too time consuming and adding almost zero value vs calling direct. I saved 5000 baht last week on a business class airfare to Tokyo by calling the airline vs using Skyscanner. If I want a hotel....I scout them out on Agoda or wherever, and then search for the phone number of the one I like and call it direct. 

[Kerryd]

All "search engine" type sites like Expedia, Kayak, Agoda and so on leave "cookies" on your computer. In most cases it's so the next time you visit that site it knows your preferences and what you searched for last time.

And because they know the details (dates, times, destinations, etc) of what you searched for before, they know they can give you similar results - for more money - because now maybe you are a little more desperate.

It was a tip over 20 years ago that you should delete your cache, cookies and browsing history before visiting any of those sites - and again if you go back to one you'd recently visited. (These days it seems it takes an hour to finally delete everything.)

Some years ago when I was booking a lot of flights for myself (working out of  the country) I found a number of tips to make things better.

One time I searched for a flight from Dubai to Bangkok to Manila to Vancouver. The travel website (Expedia or Kayak I think) gave me a price that was $1,200 more than booking it myself through the airline's website(s). And that was after I'd cleared my browser data and after I'd tried different date/flight options.

But I'd learned to only use those sites to search for flights and find the flight/date/schedule that best suits you and note the airline(s). Also pay attention to any "code share" flights and look at where it says "operated by" because that is who you will really be flying with regardless of which airline you booked with.

Then go to the airline's website. Enrol in their frequent flyer progam !!!
They will give you a "temp" card and number and I've found that many of them (outside of North America at least) will give you a bit larger luggage allowance just for being a member.

Then, armed with the flight details from you search, go through the booking process. It's not that hard.
And normally, when booking direct through the airline, you can pick which seat you prefer (a free choice on most airlines) and even your meal preference (if any).
When you get to the "payment" section - look at the difference between their price and the search engine site. The search engine site is usually more.

Fun fact ! Don't be tied down to one airline !! Use the search engines and note what other airlines are flying the same route.

Go to their websites and see what they charge for that flight.

The company used to book me on Emirates from Dubai to Bangkok but that meant I had to sit in the airport for 8 hours before I could even check in for a flight leaving in 11 hours. Then I'd watch how many other airlines departed for Bangkok in that same period and wonder why the company's agent didn't book me on one of those.

I started booking my own and found that Gulf Air out of Bahrain had some super sweet deals. I could fly from Dubai to Bahrain (Business Class), spend a couple hours in the Business Class lounge, then board my Business Class seat for the flight to Bangkok that arrived about the same time the Emirates/Thai Air (codeshare) flight arrived.

And it was only about $300 more than an economy ticket on Emirates !
Way better all the way around, from separate check-in lines, separate Immigration queues, Business Class lounges, priority boarding, larger luggage allowances, better seating of course - and meals. First off the plane on arrival, separate "Fast Trak" Immigration counters.

Another tip. If flying Economy, select an aisle seat on the left side, 2nd or 3rd row from the front.
Planes always load and unload from the left side.

The front row usually has to share a small TV mounted on the wall ahead of you and that is also where they put the "baby bassinets" if there are infants on the flight.

The aisle seat means you are free to get up and go to the bathroom or stretch or whatever without hassle. Being in row 2 or 3 means you usually get served drinks/meals before everyone else as well.

As soon as I feel the plane starting to make it's descent towards the destination airport, I get my carry on and pack everything away and stick it under my seat (or back in the overhead).

When the plane stops at the gate, I've got my carry-on and am standing near the exit door while everyone else starts to think about what bag to stuff what junk in and blocking the aisles for everyone else.

I had one flight where I sat in the Emergency row at the back of the plane. It literally took me 1 hour after the plane stopped before I stepped out of the plane.

But on the first flight where I sat in row 2/left aisle/aisle seat - I was through Immigration and heading for the exit barely an hour after the plane stopped.

Another tip. Everyone and their dog usually starts their holiday "after work" on Friday and has to come home on a Sunday to be ready to go back to work on Monday.

As a result, airlines often (as in - always) charge more for "weekend" flights.

Try to schedule your departure/arrival dates for Tue/Wed/Thu. There's a good chance that not only will the flights be cheaper, but you will have an easier time picking your seats and when it's time to fly, the flights may not be as full (more food and drinks for you) !

People use "booking agents" because they think they are "experts" at finding the best deals.
But they aren't.
Booking agents working for companies like Flight Center try to put you onto flights where they've bought blocks of seats at a discount from the airline and then they have to sell them to try and make a profit.

Their priority is often more about filling those seats than optimizing your travel plans. If they can't sell the seats, they lose the money they paid for them. (And then the airline can maybe stick some standby passengers in those seats.)

Booking agents - and their companies - also get paid to "promote" some destinations more than others. They may get discounted flight deals, hotel upgrades and "companion fares" for example if they can book people into (where ever) on (what ever) airline.

In another case of "shopping around" - I flew Vancouver to Bangkok a couple times on China Air. Very nice airline flying through Taiwan and better prices that Japan Air Lines (or any North American air line for that matter).

But then I found that I could book flights on Philippines Air and for a couple hundred $$ more, fly Business Class !

But the drawback was - the flight to Vancouver had a 22 hour layover in Manila.
But the good part was, the flight from Manila to Bangkok (on the return) left about 3 hours after the flight from Vancouver landed.

(And again, by travelling Business Class, it was much easier to get on/off the planes and go through Immigration.)

(Had to laugh the first time I flew Business Class on Philippines Air. I was looking at how much room there was on the floor between seats and wondering if the cabin crew would have a problem if I stretched out there.
Then the woman across the aisle from me reclines her seat full flat, puts on the (free) eye shades that come in the little kit they give Business Class flyers, wraps a blanket around her and goes to sleep.

And we're still loading passengers ! And the crew didn't make her sit up and "put her chair in the upright position" when we took off either.

Yeah, had a good sleep on that flight.

And time travelled too !
Left Manila on a Tuesday at 16:00. Arrived in Vancouver on the same Tuesday - at 14:00. Went back in time nearly 2 hours.

 

[Sigmund]

Some of these hotel reservation websites refused to refund during the COVID outbreak so I am far more wary to their rules.

 

Often the best deals are with booking directly with the hotel's website.

[Sigmund]

5 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

All "search engine" type sites like Expedia, Kayak, Agoda and so on leave "cookies" on your computer. In most cases it's so the next time you visit that site it knows your preferences and what you searched for last time.

And because they know the details (dates, times, destinations, etc) of what you searched for before, they know they can give you similar results - for more money - because now maybe you are a little more desperate.

It was a tip over 20 years ago that you should delete your cache, cookies and browsing history before visiting any of those sites - and again if you go back to one you'd recently visited. (These days it seems it takes an hour to finally delete everything.)

Some years ago when I was booking a lot of flights for myself (working out of  the country) I found a number of tips to make things better.

One time I searched for a flight from Dubai to Bangkok to Manila to Vancouver. The travel website (Expedia or Kayak I think) gave me a price that was $1,200 more than booking it myself through the airline's website(s). And that was after I'd cleared my browser data and after I'd tried different date/flight options.

But I'd learned to only use those sites to search for flights and find the flight/date/schedule that best suits you and note the airline(s). Also pay attention to any "code share" flights and look at where it says "operated by" because that is who you will really be flying with regardless of which airline you booked with.

Then go to the airline's website. Enrol in their frequent flyer progam !!!
They will give you a "temp" card and number and I've found that many of them (outside of North America at least) will give you a bit larger luggage allowance just for being a member.

Then, armed with the flight details from you search, go through the booking process. It's not that hard.
And normally, when booking direct through the airline, you can pick which seat you prefer (a free choice on most airlines) and even your meal preference (if any).
When you get to the "payment" section - look at the difference between their price and the search engine site. The search engine site is usually more.

Fun fact ! Don't be tied down to one airline !! Use the search engines and note what other airlines are flying the same route.

Go to their websites and see what they charge for that flight.

The company used to book me on Emirates from Dubai to Bangkok but that meant I had to sit in the airport for 8 hours before I could even check in for a flight leaving in 11 hours. Then I'd watch how many other airlines departed for Bangkok in that same period and wonder why the company's agent didn't book me on one of those.

I started booking my own and found that Gulf Air out of Bahrain had some super sweet deals. I could fly from Dubai to Bahrain (Business Class), spend a couple hours in the Business Class lounge, then board my Business Class seat for the flight to Bangkok that arrived about the same time the Emirates/Thai Air (codeshare) flight arrived.

And it was only about $300 more than an economy ticket on Emirates !
Way better all the way around, from separate check-in lines, separate Immigration queues, Business Class lounges, priority boarding, larger luggage allowances, better seating of course - and meals. First off the plane on arrival, separate "Fast Trak" Immigration counters.

Another tip. If flying Economy, select an aisle seat on the left side, 2nd or 3rd row from the front.
Planes always load and unload from the left side.

The front row usually has to share a small TV mounted on the wall ahead of you and that is also where they put the "baby bassinets" if there are infants on the flight.

The aisle seat means you are free to get up and go to the bathroom or stretch or whatever without hassle. Being in row 2 or 3 means you usually get served drinks/meals before everyone else as well.

As soon as I feel the plane starting to make it's descent towards the destination airport, I get my carry on and pack everything away and stick it under my seat (or back in the overhead).

When the plane stops at the gate, I've got my carry-on and am standing near the exit door while everyone else starts to think about what bag to stuff what junk in and blocking the aisles for everyone else.

I had one flight where I sat in the Emergency row at the back of the plane. It literally took me 1 hour after the plane stopped before I stepped out of the plane.

But on the first flight where I sat in row 2/left aisle/aisle seat - I was through Immigration and heading for the exit barely an hour after the plane stopped.

Another tip. Everyone and their dog usually starts their holiday "after work" on Friday and has to come home on a Sunday to be ready to go back to work on Monday.

As a result, airlines often (as in - always) charge more for "weekend" flights.

Try to schedule your departure/arrival dates for Tue/Wed/Thu. There's a good chance that not only will the flights be cheaper, but you will have an easier time picking your seats and when it's time to fly, the flights may not be as full (more food and drinks for you) !

People use "booking agents" because they think they are "experts" at finding the best deals.
But they aren't.
Booking agents working for companies like Flight Center try to put you onto flights where they've bought blocks of seats at a discount from the airline and then they have to sell them to try and make a profit.

Their priority is often more about filling those seats than optimizing your travel plans. If they can't sell the seats, they lose the money they paid for them. (And then the airline can maybe stick some standby passengers in those seats.)

Booking agents - and their companies - also get paid to "promote" some destinations more than others. They may get discounted flight deals, hotel upgrades and "companion fares" for example if they can book people into (where ever) on (what ever) airline.

In another case of "shopping around" - I flew Vancouver to Bangkok a couple times on China Air. Very nice airline flying through Taiwan and better prices that Japan Air Lines (or any North American air line for that matter).

But then I found that I could book flights on Philippines Air and for a couple hundred $$ more, fly Business Class !

But the drawback was - the flight to Vancouver had a 22 hour layover in Manila.
But the good part was, the flight from Manila to Bangkok (on the return) left about 3 hours after the flight from Vancouver landed.

(And again, by travelling Business Class, it was much easier to get on/off the planes and go through Immigration.)

(Had to laugh the first time I flew Business Class on Philippines Air. I was looking at how much room there was on the floor between seats and wondering if the cabin crew would have a problem if I stretched out there.
Then the woman across the aisle from me reclines her seat full flat, puts on the (free) eye shades that come in the little kit they give Business Class flyers, wraps a blanket around her and goes to sleep.

And we're still loading passengers ! And the crew didn't make her sit up and "put her chair in the upright position" when we took off either.

Yeah, had a good sleep on that flight.

And time travelled too !
Left Manila on a Tuesday at 16:00. Arrived in Vancouver on the same Tuesday - at 14:00. Went back in time nearly 2 hours.

 

These crooks also can see through a code if the customer has a PC or a MAC. Obviously, the system calculates a higher rate with a MAC.

 

[Stocky]

I use the aggregator sites to identify suitable hotels, flight options, relative car hire rates, then more often than not book directly through the hotel, airline, hire car website or app, unless Agoda/Booking/Kayak etc prove cheaper. Most of the "lowest rates on the web" spiel is about as accurate as the "this hotel/city is popular right now" and "hurry, last room" pressure selling crap. Agoda were reliable years back, but now there's little real competition as they all belong to the same couple of parent companies.

[Peterphuket]

5 hours ago, freeworld said:

They are all part of the same US company Booking Holdings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking_Holdings

 

Take a look at the recent reviews on trustpilot for booking and agoda.

 

There is some interesting info on booking.com wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booking.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoda

I am sorry to correct you but Booking.com is really a Dutch company, like Philips, Asml and several.

[freeworld]

55 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

I am sorry to correct you but Booking.com is really a Dutch company, like Philips, Asml and several.

Booking.com is a subsidiary of the US company, Booking Holdings, who is the parent and owner of booking.com.

 

"Booking.com is one of the largest online travel agencies.[1][2] It is headquartered in Amsterdam, and is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings."

 

Yes it was founded in The Netherlands and its headquarters are based there but it is now an American owned company.

 

Philips and ASML are Dutch companies.

Edited August 13 by freeworld

[msbkk]

6 hours ago, Will B Good said:

I've tried booking direct and found it can be cheaper.....but also it can be more expensive.

 

Booking.com is quite good in terms of the site layout, searches and stuff......but "only two rooms left" is usually b******s.

I think the "only 2 rooms left" are not related to the overall rooms in the hotels but to the quota of booking.com . They are allowed to sell only part of the overall quantity.

One hotel told me once that 1 entire floor is reserved by agents and the hotel is not allowed to use those on their own. if booking.com holds only 3 rooms in this particular hotel

and 1 is booked already there are only 2 more left even if the hotel is mostly empty.

[novacova]

Book directly from the accommodations website even better just go check in instead of booking if it’s not during a busy period. The same with air carriers as for booking on their website. 

[BangkokHank]

7 hours ago, freeworld said:

Any reason not to book directly with the airlines? I have always found the prices to be cheaper directly.

I had too - until recently. I actually found a flight with Vietnam Airlines that was 15% cheaper when I booked it through booking.com - much to my surprise.

 

That being said, for the same upcoming trip to Vietnam, my six-week stay at a hotel, if booked through booking.com, would have cost just over $2000. I then asked a friend in Vietnam to go directly to the hotel for me and ask the price: Less than $1,300! And no advance booking required, as the hotel said they were nearly empty, as it's their low season.  So my strategy going forward for longer stays in places where I don't have a friend who can go to the hotel to ask the price for me, is to just book the first night or two at any decent hotel, then to walk around and try to negotiate a deal for a longer stay.

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, msbkk said:

I think the "only 2 rooms left" are not related to the overall rooms in the hotels but to the quota of booking.com . They are allowed to sell only part of the overall quantity.

One hotel told me once that 1 entire floor is reserved by agents and the hotel is not allowed to use those on their own. if booking.com holds only 3 rooms in this particular hotel

and 1 is booked already there are only 2 more left even if the hotel is mostly empty.

 

 

Yes....that makes sense....👍

[pomchop]

in spite of all they continue to cry all the way to the bank...

•  
• Booking Holdings revenue for the twelve months ending March 31, 2024 was $22.002B, a 21.07% increase year-over-year.
• Booking Holdings annual revenue for 2023 was $21.365B, a 25.01% increase from 2022.
• Booking Holdings annual revenue for 2022 was $17.09B, a 55.96% increase from 2021.
• Booking Holdings annual revenue for 2021 was $10.958B, a 61.24% increase from 2020.

[Peterphuket]

2 hours ago, freeworld said:

Booking.com is a subsidiary of the US company, Booking Holdings, who is the parent and owner of booking.com.

 

"Booking.com is one of the largest online travel agencies.[1][2] It is headquartered in Amsterdam, and is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings."

 

Yes it was founded in The Netherlands and its headquarters are based there but it is now an American owned company.

 

Philips and ASML are Dutch companies.

Booking.com is a dutch company with headoffice in Amsterdam.

[freeworld]

1 hour ago, Peterphuket said:

Booking.com is a dutch company with headoffice in Amsterdam.

 

Booking.com (subsidiary) of Booking Holdings (The parent)

"A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company^[1][2][3] is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the company.^[4][5]  The subsidiary will be required to follow the laws where it is headquartered and incorporated. It will also maintain its own executive leadership. "

 

From Booking Holdings Investor Relations:

"Corporate Overview

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) is the world’s leading provider of online travel and related services, provided to consumers and local partners in more than 220 countries and territories through five primary consumer-facing brands: Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable."

Edited August 13 by freeworld

[JackGats]

4 hours ago, novacova said:

Book directly from the accommodations website even better just go check in instead of booking if it’s not during a busy period. The same with air carriers as for booking on their website. 

Not sure about that. Often the price on the hotel's website is higher than the price on the booking platforms. Also, if you book through the hotel website there's no cancellation policy except once you pay the money is gone.

[Scouse123]

7 minutes ago, JackGats said:

Not sure about that. Often the price on the hotel's website is higher than the price on the booking platforms. Also, if you book through the hotel website there's no cancellation policy except once you pay the money is gone.

 

Yes,

 

I have seen that too, and some hotels are totally inflexible with their rack rates.

 

I have known me go to a hotel, and they wouldn't budge on their rack rates, and I have booked through Agoda whilst standing in their lobby!