Hotel Bookings
Consumers seeking hotel bookings are either frequent travelers, or the occasional traveler looking to make that one summer trip. Hotels have been more successful marketing to the frequent business traveler than the once in a while traveler, while the online travel agents have branded themselves as the place to book if you are the occasional traveler. The competition is very strong for the consumer’s business, as referral fees that hotels have to pay aggregators and online travel agents amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the past, consumers have felt they could obtain a better price through the online travel sites versus directly through the hotel, but this has been changing recently. Both leisure and business travel has been up, vacancies down, and so rates have climbed lately. Hotel chains have been fighting back with less favorable deals that they make with the online booking sites. They have also improved their software to allow them to better track room availability at the last minute, and therefore can make better last minute adjustments.
This all adds up to fewer empty rooms for the hotels. Empty rooms translate to the best deals for the consumers, so it is harder to find great deals than it has been in the past. There has been a leveling off of discrepancies between the rates that you could find through an online aggregator or travel agency and directly through the hotels.
Still, more and more people are booking online, and the online sites need to be checked for comparison, even if the booking is made directly with the hotel. By tying the hotel stay into a package including the flight, you may come out ahead versus getting your bookings independently. There you can also read reviews, though a better description of the property will be found at the hotel brand web site. Checking also with the area’s Chamber of Commerce or Visitor’s Bureau may give you vital information about the area in which your hotel is located.
Best rate guarantees are found both in the independent hotel sites, and with the online travel agencies. They can be a little confusing or complicated and will require documentation. In general you will find that with the best rates, most of the time they are prepaid and non refundable. Depending on your circumstances, this may or may not be most suitable for your needs.
