Preferred way to book hotels

[Infreq]

Acknowledging that motivations vary from best pricing to accessing perks or just greatest convenience, I notice that there is a plethora of options when considering hotels. Most recently I've been looking at hotels in Hong Kong and Shanghai and see all the basic web access sites (hipmunk, expedia, ... ) plus the last minute late rate options (lastminute, wotif ...) and then there is direct booking through the parent program (starwood hilton, IHG, accor ...) or directly to the hotel. Which way to go? Or does it depend on your objective (price, perks, ease)? Oh, and I forgot to mention travel agents of course with wholesale packaging. Sometimes an easy option.
So what do people do? What are the tricks and lessons of experience that are out there?

 

[Archphoto]

I remember looking at one of the sites for a hotel in SYD. The price seemed a little steep to me, so I called direct - saved $50 over the *special deal* price on the hotel/wotif/rooms.com site.

These days I look at those sites first, then send an email direct to the hotel to see if they might have a special offer. And I've found that 9/10 times, those offers aren't always that cheap - my IHG bookings I now do via their website, simply because once I have added all the fees & taxes that seem to accompany wotif, hotel.com etc, it actually works out more expensive. Not by much, mind you, but some extra $$$ in my pocket goes down well in the bar.

 

[markis10]

I use skyscanner to find the cheapest rate then apply the hotel chains best rate guarantee, not unusual to be paying $100 for a room and also getting $70 worth of points for a 5 star.

 

[Melburnian1]

Asia Travel Hotels Resorts Air Ticketing Tours Packages Reservation is not good for Australia or Europe, but it is fantastic for Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore and probably most other countries in Asia.

Look out for the 'crazy rates' which are a smilar concept to 'secret stays'.

 

[quokka77]

I use skyscanner to find the cheapest rate then apply the hotel chains best rate guarantee, not unusual to be paying $100 for a room and also getting $70 worth of points for a 5 star.

I tried this on Wednesday with the Radisson / Club Carlson best rate guarantee, but they couldn't verify my cheaper rate, so I wasted a bit of time. Initially it looked like my cheaper 3rd party room had disappeared but I checked again tonight and its back again. so I have bitten the bullet, booked the cheap 3rd party rate, and will cancel the Radisson direct booking. I could try again, but honestly couldn't be bothered this time around.

 

[Shanye2233]

I always use the hotel chains best Rate gaurantee . I even believe one of the chains (IHG) even changed the rules because of me directly.

If your first starting out I would join HGP first then ring ask them for a diamond challenge before you leave for your trip. Then ring around and start status matching with HH , MR , CC and IHG . So you will earn extra bonus points plus the perks with each rewards program. Then to add the benefits of the hotel chains Brg . Obviously IGH being the best now that rydges have changed theirs . I wonder why

 

[MartinMemo]

I remember looking at one of the sites for a hotel in SYD. The price seemed a little steep to me, so I called direct - saved $50 over the *special deal* price on the hotel/wotif/rooms.com site.

These days I look at those sites first, then send an email direct to the hotel to see if they might have a special offer. And I've found that 9/10 times, those offers aren't always that cheap - my IHG bookings I now do via their website, simply because once I have added all the fees & taxes that seem to accompany wotif, hotel.com etc, it actually works out more expensive. Not by much, mind you, but some extra $$$ in my pocket goes down well in the bar.

I do this also; I call or email the hotel directly to ask them to match the cheapest wotif rate (even if not on the same dates as when I will be there) and most of the time they do. I had issues with Wotif charging a massive booking fee, not being able to change or cancel (which you can do if you book direct) and hotels never being able to find my booking upon check in. 9/10 they will match or better the rate.

Another thing I do is check my employers rate - not sure who you work for but many of the larger companies have contracted rates with some of the nicer and bigger hotel chains usualy between $110-210 a night, average $140. A few examples; SYD - $130 Ibis World Square, $150 Mercure. MEL - $120 Mercure, $155 Citadines, LST - $115 Grand Chancellor, and higher end Crown Melbourne $200 the list goes on. Contracted rates are also fully flexi and as easy as calling the hotel reservations line directly and saying "can i book under my contracted rate".

Finally, I always book flexi (unless the deal is too good to miss) and look around about 2-3 days before I fly on the last min sites... again if there is a deal its as simple as calling the hotel and asking them to match. I have a feeling someone told me today that the website Award Wallet will email you alerts if this happens.

 

[straitman]

Does anyone us pointshound.com :?:

They seem quite generous with points, have referral bonuses and above all quite easy to use.

 

[c814875]

Just advise be careful of the all in one booking engines (virago etc). Last time I booked an Auckland hotel, the hotels.com price shown on the portal was more expensive than going direct to hotels.com - which by the way contacting the hotel directly wouldnt price match. Conversely I have had hotels.com be more expensive than going direct to the hotel too. Message is that it pays to do some research.

If its not your money then I also look at points earn through various players.

 

[Rocket88]

i have been using Agoda for many years and never had a problem, but only for Asia . Their selection of Hotels for Australia is not so good so i will use Last minute or one of the others for Oz.
I was looking for a hotel recently in an area of Thailand that has not a lot of hotels and Agoda quoted me about $50 yet on Expedia it was $130.00 so it does pay to shop around. I have even been in hotels and needed to extend my booking and it has been far cheaper to book with Agoda over the net instead of dealing direct with the hotel.

 

[randomtraveller]

I always look at hotwire.com before any other site. I have stayed at some really good hotels for less than $100 but the catch is you don't know the name of the hotel until you book and you can't cancel - I've had Crowne Plaza, Hilton, Hyatt and boutique hotels. On one rare occasion I booked a hotel in Rome and it was not where it was described on their map. I contacted them and was offered $80 credit if I wanted to retain the booking (it was for a week) or full reimbursement. I chose the latter and it was back on my credit card within 24 hours. I also use them for car rental.

 

[karen blancfield]

I agree, we use Hotwire a lot and never had a problem. You can usually narrow down which hotel it's likely to be too.

 

[Champo]

There is no hard and fast rule about how to book. It depends on value for the dollar. Recently stayed at Hyatt Regency in Perth for 4 nights and was awarded nearly 6000 Qantas FF points thru Qantas who by email offered triple points as a special. Sometimes book thru hotels.com and recently had a free night in Melbourne after having stayed 10 nights thru booking on the hotels.com. Have also had good stays in Brisbane thru wotif mystery deal. I do often book thru my regular travel agent (Flight Centre) if doing an overseas package but sometimes book direct with the hotel or Viator website separate from the package if their deal is much better than the agent.

 

[rtts]

Priceline bidding function: This is for when in US or other area where the bidding function applies (be aware that Priceline has fixed price functions such as Hotwire and will divert to such places if the bidding function is not applicable to the area of the world you want).

This is a real bidding situation and gives the best rates I have experienced. . . . if you can cope with the rules. The trick is to first go to BiddingForTravel.com - The informed Priceline Travel Bidding Forum, and independent user-contributed website that lists past successful bids. I have routinely found $100 - 150 rooms for $40 - 50 in US in smaller cities and country areas.

I have found priceline best when traveling with a car because you are bidding for an unspecified hotel in a given area or sub area of a city (but I gave never been disappointed with the hotel). A further goodie is that it can be used last-minute as you can use this service up to 6 pm on the day you want a hotel.

 

[Muriel]

I always book our accommodation - in a variety of ways, but never through a travel agent. If you are booking through one of the accommodation sites such as Booking.com or Hotels.com, Stayz etc be sure to compare ALL of the sites before making the booking as prices can vary for exactly the same deal. THEN go back to your favourite one and ask them to price match. Hotels.com for example, offer a FREE night after you've booked 10 nights - anywhere & they don't have to be consecutive. Joining any of the sites is free as is becoming a member of any of the hotel chains. If you have timeshare and don't want to use your points or weeks, look at their rental prices on line. For example we booked online, a beautiful 1 bed apartment in South Tahoe for $63 a night then managed to extend it. The housekeeping fee in timeshare can be more than that. Some hotels will not undercut any of the accommodation sites they have connected with many will. You need to ask. Also ask if they do a seniors or RAC discount.

 

[Ultimobo]

in Tokyo we stayed at a number of different hotels - I liked booking.com for it's no-need-to-pay upfront - but then found agoda offered some better prices - checking daily found something like Tuesday as a cheapest day (YMMV) but we had to pay upfront - with that we got one hotel with state of the art brand new renovated rooms for half what we paid for an ordinary room the day before - so we considered that a bargain - some hunting required ...

 

[Memsahib]

I usually check several online booking sites usually hotels.com, booking.com, hotelclub.com.au, expedia.com.au none of which charge booking fees and all seem to have Aussie phone numbers for queries. Once I have found a good rate I then always check the hotel website for their specials and before I book anything check tripadvisor.com. Although some reviews are from grumpy people, most make good points that can be useful. For example someone might say " hotel was in a great position near the nightclubs and bars" - as we prefer quiet places to stay and don't frequent nightclubs that reviewer's positive is our negative, so would avoid booking there. Hotel best rates usually have to be paid in full and often without a refund being available. www.booking.com usually asks for a deposit and final payment made when you arrive at the hotel. The other sites often permit cancellation if within 48 hours.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Like others I used a multitude of sites, then google to see if that site has a currently active discount coupon.

Has helped me save hundreds over the years.

I do try to book refundable rooms so I can keep my eye on hotwire and book something through them if a great deal comes up.

Ratestogo had a very good 20% off late least year and early this year. Am glad I used it to pre book most of this years travel. When I look at rates now I'd be at least another 20% on top of what I paid (assuming the fall of the AUD is a large part of that)

Best bargain I had was for Bali a couple of months ago via asiatravel.com for the harris Hotel Sunset road where I got the room for $18 a day including tax and service charge. Not the most conveniently located hotel, but was only $1.50 to get to the beach so I was well in front.

 

[zainman]

Priceline bidding function: This is for when in US or other area where the bidding function applies (be aware that Priceline has fixed price functions such as Hotwire and will divert to such places if the bidding function is not applicable to the area of the world you want).

This is a real bidding situation and gives the best rates I have experienced. . . . if you can cope with the rules. The trick is to first go to BiddingForTravel.com - The informed Priceline Travel Bidding Forum, and independent user-contributed website that lists past successful bids. I have routinely found $100 - 150 rooms for $40 - 50 in US in smaller cities and country areas.

I have found priceline best when traveling with a car because you are bidding for an unspecified hotel in a given area or sub area of a city (but I gave never been disappointed with the hotel). A further goodie is that it can be used last-minute as you can use this service up to 6 pm on the day you want a hotel.

I can second Priceline. It's the only thing I use and it's amazing. Combine it with topcashback and betterbidding and I can easily find out which hotel I will be getting

 

[BOZZ]

Does anyone us pointshound.com :?:

They seem quite generous with points, have referral bonuses and above all quite easy to use.

I've used pointshound for a hotel booking in Serbia, price identical to the hotel's website ($88). Should receive 250 AA miles for it too. Will wait for the points to credit before I use them again though (it takes up to 4 weeks apparently). Referral bonus is 250 miles.