Hotel Booking Websites

[ClaytonSeymour]

Is it me, or, has anyone else noticed that since several of the well known hotel booking websites were acquired by larger operators i.e. Asiarooms bought by TUI Travel, their rates are not as cheap as they used to be.

I've just been viewing Agoda & Asiarooms & their rates are no longer that much better, than western based sites, as a matter of fact, in some cases they are worse. It seems to me that it's a case of buy up the competition, create a cartel, then fix the prices. Whilst some may feel more secure, in the knowledge that they're using a leading travel company i.e. TUI travel, the bargain bookings that were previously out there are no longer to be found.

[dabhand]

Thats my experience as well.

I find that booking direct with the hotel, either via their website or direct by telephone, gives you a better deal.

If you have advance info on rates, a booking by phone gives a bit of leverage, especially if you are unsure of length of stay and do not wish to pay upfront (except for confirmation of 1st night booking) for what might be a shorter than expected stay.

When in Mumbai (where I am at the moment) I tend to stay in one of the Taj hotels. Their inhouse rates are invariably cheaper than the hotel booking sites. 'Cheaper' maybe not being the appropriate word for hotel rooms in this 'lovely' city!

[ray08]

100% correct ,the best way to book is direct with hotel ,most good hotels on there website gurantee best rate, and i found from experience that once you are checked in,if you booked direct with hotel you can make changes ,with some booking websites you need to change through them ,another waste of time,

What i normally do is go visit a booking website ,see where the prices look good ,them book direct with hotel ,

[think_too_mut]

Is it me, or, has anyone else noticed that since several of the well known hotel booking websites were acquired by larger operators i.e. Asiarooms bought by TUI Travel, their rates are not as cheap as they used to be.

I've just been viewing Agoda & Asiarooms & their rates are no longer that much better, than western based sites, as a matter of fact, in some cases they are worse. It seems to me that it's a case of buy up the competition, create a cartel, then fix the prices. Whilst some may feel more secure, in the knowledge that they're using a leading travel company i.e. TUI travel, the bargain bookings that were previously out there are no longer to be found.

I opened a thread about the same thing back in July 2008. It is only 1 page, in post #16 a professional from ThaiHotels explained how it works.

End of OnLine Hotel Booking

[Shah Jahan]

best way is to use the hotel websites and reviewers to find the one you want and then just book directly

airlines are still usually cheaper through an agent.

[onethailand]

Booking hotels is NOT always cheaper through the hotel website - be careful of that. In fact, only some chains and hotels offer the same "Best Available Rate" on their website as that offered to agents.

However, if you do find the same rate on the hotel site, you need to make sure that taxes and service charges are inclusive (or exclusive), as well as breakfast, when comparing with another booking site.

After all is said and done, if the rate is the same, I would definitely choose the hotel site because you can usually cancel up to the last 24-48 hours or make changes, plus many hotels only require a credit card for confirmation, they do not charge your card.

With regard to some well-known sites being grabbed up by larger business concerns, the answer is yes - their rates do seem to have gone up.

There are, however, quite a few reasons to use an online booking site instead - wider selection of hotels, often cheaper rates (with the exceptions as mentioned above), in some cases wider payment options. Online booking sites should be used as a matter of convenience, not exclusively for cheaper deals. Also, some online booking sites offer instant confirmation and no charge on the credit card (pay at hotel) .