What's your tip(s) for surviving the cesspool of Hotel booking websites?

[randompunter]

I am trying to find the best way to book a hotel in Dili, Timor Leste. They only use the Booking/Agoda group or Trip.com which seems to be based in Singapore. The local currency is the USD and many places don't take credit cards so I am a bit wary of "pay at property" deals in case the credit card machine isn't working. Has anyone used Trip.com? There rates are cheaper and they offer a prepay online even using Amex.

You are right to be wary. We stayed at the Timor Plaza hotel last June. Used booking.com for a good cash back deal but the pay at property thing got us. Their credit card machine was down or at least not working for our range of cards. Cash from the ATM in the carpark was the solution.

 

[NamarrgonFlyer]

I am trying to find the best way to book a hotel in Dili, Timor Leste. They only use the Booking/Agoda group or Trip.com which seems to be based in Singapore. The local currency is the USD and many places don't take credit cards so I am a bit wary of "pay at property" deals in case the credit card machine isn't working. Has anyone used Trip.com? There rates are cheaper and they offer a prepay online even using Amex.

Cash is king in East Timor. I can't remember as well, but either Visa or Mastercard isn't accepted really at all. Take USD cash. We had trouble getting cash out at ATMs (they all ran out of dollars). This was even a problem at the normally reliable and upscale Hotel Timor. Also, when you go - avoid the yellow taxis. Only take the blue taxis!

Trip.com is fine to use.

 

[Tiki]

Cash is king in East Timor. I can't remember as well, but either Visa or Mastercard isn't accepted really at all. Take USD cash. We had trouble getting cash out at ATMs (they all ran out of dollars). This was even a problem at the normally reliable and upscale Hotel Timor. Also, when you go - avoid the yellow taxis. Only take the blue taxis!

Trip.com is fine to use.

Visa is the only credit card accepted in Timor Leste. That’s not a problem. I’m more worried about the machines not working. I’m looking at the Excelsior Hotel which can be prepaid on Trip.com only. Every other booking site is “pay at hotel”. I was also considering Airbnb but the cheaper ones don’t have WiFi. I can’t find a direct email for Excelsior Hotel and their phone number is $1 a minute and no guarantee the person who answers speaks English. And they aren’t on WhatsApp. We will have cash for local food and buses but not enough to pay 6 nights hotel in USD. I’m wondering how Trip.com can offer pay online when no one else does.

 

[dajop]

Interesting thread. At the moment booking sometime hotels for our Norway trip (some nights as close as next week).

It’s just a fustercluck out there in booking land.

Don’t underestimate the impact of vpn’s. We were looking at an apartment on booking.com. Each country we selected on our VPN gave different prices - ranging from $225 to $268. Same property same booking conditions same night. Then we used the mobile app and it came in at $215.

Then Agoda for a different properly (hotel this time) with variation between $140 and $200) depending on which portal we entered Agoda by. The most expensive one was the ShopBack portal. (Interesting this was a chain hotel but not one I engage with and the book direct price was midpoint in this range).

Here in Singapore there are different bank portals to the Expedia and Agoda (not so much booking.com) and these often give theoretical 9-12% discounts. Agoda often offers inflated prices but Expedia probably more reliably off the price on the regular booking engine). Also I have a credit card that gives 3 Krisflyer miles per dollar on several online booking platforms which factors into the equation as well.

 

[NamarrgonFlyer]

I’m wondering how Trip.com can offer pay online when no one else does.

Trip.com will supply the hotel with a virtual credit card at nett rate and is chargeable upon check in/out.

 

[Tiki]

Trip.com will supply the hotel with a virtual credit card at nett rate and is chargeable upon check in/out.

OK that makes more sense. I wonder why Booking and Agoda don't do the same thing. I was just worried about showing up at the hotel and they don't have the booking showing as already paid. Trip.com doesn't have a lot of hotels listed for Dili so I guess very few can accommodate this system. The Excelsior theoretically takes Visa cards for payment..... as long as the machine is working.

 

[NamarrgonFlyer]

OK that makes more sense. I wonder why Booking and Agoda don't do the same thing. I was just worried about showing up at the hotel and they don't have the booking showing as already paid. Trip.com doesn't have a lot of hotels listed for Dili so I guess very few can accommodate this system. The Excelsior theoretically takes Visa cards for payment..... as long as the machine is working.

I wouldn't read too much into it. The hotel operators probably haven't thought to sign up with Trip.com, and they also maybe don't know they can take VCCs from Booking.com. If they make it pay on arrival, they can charge you the 3% CC surcharge. They also can't apply CC surcharges to virtual credit card payments.

 

[JohnK]

Search hotel on Google and Booking and Agoda come up cheapest. I prefer Agoda as I can use Afterpay and pay 4 instalments starting in 2 weeks.

AUD52/night with breakfast for 2 and fully refundable.

Login to Agoda and rate goes up to $55/night! What? Kidding me right?

Log out, go back to Google, click forward and rate is $52/night, login again and rate remains $52/night and complete booking.

So difficult to keep track of all the different ways to try and reduce rates. Activated Shopback but not sure that is going to stick as going via Shopback increases the rate more than the 5.5% cashback on offer.

 

[SYD]

Search hotel on Google and Booking and Agoda come up cheapest. I prefer Agoda as I can use Afterpay and pay 4 instalments starting in 2 weeks.

AUD52/night with breakfast for 2 and fully refundable.

Login to Agoda and rate goes up to $55/night! What? Kidding me right?

Log out, go back to Google, click forward and rate is $52/night, login again and rate remains $52/night and complete booking.

So difficult to keep track of all the different ways to try and reduce rates. Activated Shopback but not sure that is going to stick as going via Shopback increases the rate more than the 5.5% cashback on offer.

Recently noticed a weird thing with QF Hotels. Price is more expensive logged out than logged in. Never noticed that before and not quite sure why? I’m not aware of any specific member discount?

They also do a deposit system now. Min 20% then pay later. For OS, they take forex risk by quoting in AUD. Which can go either way I guess but so can parking cash in Wise etc.

 

[SydneySwan]

Recently noticed a weird thing with QF Hotels. Price is more expensive logged out than logged in. Never noticed that before and not quite sure why? I’m not aware of any specific member discount?

This is pretty common in my experience.