Different Types of Booking.com Bookings

[Renato1]

I mainly use Booking.com for most of my bookings, but the other day decided to check my Association's Member Advantage prices for hotel bookings, which presumably are also available at the respective sites of other Associations and Unions. The hotels that a search on Member Advantage returns mainly consists of Booking.com entries, plus a lesser number of entries from a few other chains. Also, Member Advantage offers specials to members only.

So I did a search for Como Italy at both the Booking.com and at the Member Advantage site, and compared the prices. There were no Member Advantage member specials available, and the prices between the two were not the same, sometimes slightly dearer at Member Advantage's Booking.com listings, though often a tiny bit cheaper.

And then I discovered the main difference between the two types of bookings. At Booking.com one doesn't pay till you actually get there. At Member Advantage, for the same Booking.com booking, one pays immediately.

I guess paying immediately can be useful, as one locks in the rate without having to worry about currency fluctuations. The downside being not earning interest on the money spent at the hotel.

I haven't checked out enough other booking sites to see if this immediate payment of booking through Booking.com is common, though those that I have checked didn't have this feature.
Have you come across it?
Regards,
Renato

 

[purpleparrot]

I don't stay in big hotel chains often as I am happy to save the cash and stay at mid-range slightly out of the way places.

I usually check the prices on trivago first to see what the main sites are charging. Then I usually book using hotels.com or wotif (through cash rewards) which often requires payment up front. I book through booking.com (through Aadvantage emall for AA points) when it offers better value. Usually this payment is made at the hotel itself. From memory Agoda doesn't require upfront payment either.

 

[andye]

I don't stay in big hotel chains often as I am happy to save the cash and stay at mid-range slightly out of the way places.

I usually check the prices on trivago first to see what the main sites are charging. Then I usually book using hotels.com or wotif (through cash rewards) which often requires payment up front. I book through booking.com (through Aadvantage emall for AA points) when it offers better value. Usually this payment is made at the hotel itself. From memory Agoda doesn't require upfront payment either.

Thanks for the AA mall tip! I often use wotif when not using a chain but AS miles might tempt me

I recently made a booking.com reservation, paid by Amex and received an email back saying they only took Visa/MC.
Ended up using the knockback to make a slightly cheaper rate direct with the property. Seems that at least sometimes its the property that gets the CC details and presumably give the commission to booking.com

 

[JohnM]

I use Booking.com quite a lot.

Mostly it is pay at the hotel. However, there are occasions where a range of deals is available and cheaper ones may require immediate payment. You sometimes need to open the information box (? icon in the 'Options' column) to get the full conditions.

On occasions, the conditions are part payment "any time after booking" with the balance at time of stay. Sometimes full payment is or may be taken a day before the date of stay.

So, you generally have choices - and prices that reflect those.

Accepted credit cards are at the discretion of the hotel, but I've often guaranteed with the Amex I keep as default on file even if the hotel doesn't take Amex. Other times, I've had to flick over to the Visa I keep on file.

 

[Renato1]

I don't stay in big hotel chains often as I am happy to save the cash and stay at mid-range slightly out of the way places.

I usually check the prices on trivago first to see what the main sites are charging. Then I usually book using hotels.com or wotif (through cash rewards) which often requires payment up front. I book through booking.com (through Aadvantage emall for AA points) when it offers better value. Usually this payment is made at the hotel itself. From memory Agoda doesn't require upfront payment either.

Thanks for the info about the up-front payment places. I have tried something like your routine for finding places, but then always wind up having to go to Booking.com to read the reviews (since it is their reviews that give me the best idea about the quality of the place). As I tend to go bleary-eyed reading reviews when using Booking.com alone, I have tended to give Trivago a miss most of the time, unless i really can't find much at Bookin.com.
Regards,
Renato

I use Booking.com quite a lot.

Mostly it is pay at the hotel. However, there are occasions where a range of deals is available and cheaper ones may require immediate payment. You sometimes need to open the information box (? icon in the 'Options' column) to get the full conditions.

On occasions, the conditions are part payment "any time after booking" with the balance at time of stay. Sometimes full payment is or may be taken a day before the date of stay.

So, you generally have choices - and prices that reflect those.

Accepted credit cards are at the discretion of the hotel, but I've often guaranteed with the Amex I keep as default on file even if the hotel doesn't take Amex. Other times, I've had to flick over to the Visa I keep on file.

Thanks for that - I guess I must have missed those options.
The only time I've had any payment taken out before my stay, was full payment taken out the day before I arrived was when I booked an apartment in Brisbane.
The oddest payment method I've had at booking.com is where they require cash payment on arrival (it happened in Split, and will happen in Monaco later this year).
The only cards I keep on the Booking.com site are the foreign exchange fee free ones, i'd be too worried to keep an Amex card there, in case they actually used it.
Cheers,
Renato