Mystery Hotel's from lastminute/wotif are they really good deals?

[samillionaire]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone had experiences with "mystery hotel" deals,

any good?is it much cheaper? or better just book the hotel directly.

Cant seem to find any details or resources on how to work out which hotels they are for only some legacy ones posted on whirlpool

 

[kalboy]

You can quite often work it out from the amenities as to what hotel it is I've found. Savings are around the 10% mark i believe.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone had experiences with "mystery hotel" deals,

any good?is it much cheaper? or better just book the hotel directly.

Cant seem to find any details or resources on how to work out which hotels they are for only some legacy ones posted on whirlpool

It's only a 'saving' if you compare apples with apples. 5* with 5* for example.

as kalboy points out... sometimes you can work out the hotel but the agencies are getting smarter to try and hide them these days.

Unfortunately there are some traps. Sometimes the mystery hotel is a 'mystery' because they have building works... or the pool is closed (etc). Or you'll get an unrenovated room. Sometimes the '5 star' is not actually 5 star but 'self rated 5-star'. It might be a 3.5 or 4 star hotel, and by that stage your 'mystery price' isn't really all that great.

 

[vetrade]

Hotwire.com is another one. Agree with MEL_Traveller and Kalboy's comments. Generally rates are cheaper because there is a downside. I just don't think the often modest savings are worth the risk.

 

[OzEire]

Many hotels will match wotif price if you book direct. Saves the bloated wotif booking fee and lets you deal direct with the hotel, plus accrue loyalty points.

 

[eric2011]

Many hotels will match wotif price if you book direct. Saves the bloated wotif booking fee and lets you deal direct with the hotel, plus accrue loyalty points.

Yes and No, I have tried to negotiate direct with the hotel only to be told the rate on wotif is only applicable if booked through wotif and if I wish to book direct with the hotel the price is.....(about $22 more expensive)

I couldn't work that one out

 

[OzEire]

Getting slightly off topic but I have had a different experience with hotels happy to match the wotif price.

On one occasion the res agent told me they have a separate inventory for wotif (and other aggregators) and simply had to select from that inventory to access the rate. Interesting to hear (but not surprised) that the 'earn rate' in their wotif inventory was was even lower to account for the wotif fees.

Ive had less success with big chains where staff have no power or inclination to dig in the system. Also Ive found the big chains already have a prepay rate similar or the same as the wotif rate.

 

[burmans]

Hotwire.com is another one. Agree with MEL_Traveller and Kalboy's comments. Generally rates are cheaper because there is a downside. I just don't think the often modest savings are worth the risk.

I have had 30% off with Hotwire so you can get good deals and have seen 20% off with identifiable wotif/lastminute deals (and yes there are sites which attempt to identify if you google), so the deals are there but there are risks too and the discount does seem to have narrowed!

 

[Alanslegal]

If you use Hotwire make sure you have a second tab open with betterbidding.com to help you identify the 'mystery' hotel on hotwire.

 

[JohnK]

In my experience most hotels, especially Australia, won't match internet price directly.

I don't like lucky dips.

 

[Buzzard]

Got the Pullman Hyde Park SYD on a secret deal. Can't remember the rate but was very happy with the deal.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

was using lastminute.com for hotels in bangkok last month adn they had some pretty sweet deals. The pullma g on silom was around the $100 mark, while the Le meridian was about $130.

The good thing with lastminute is they make it so easy to work out what the secret hotel is.

I've also had some pretty good deals with hotwire as well.

It is a bit hit and miss, but the $$$ savings are generally enough I've not been disappointed (so far) with any of my secret hotel bookings

 

[Revolio]

All hotels aim for 100% occupancy. 3rd party Mystery rooms are generally the worst rooms. Take the discount & pay the price. You get what you pay for.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I'm a huge fan of hotelquickly and hotel tonight which do the same thing. Inventory fillers for distressed inventory at hotels. You do get the worst room but the savings can be huge.

 

[burmans]

If you use Hotwire make sure you have a second tab open with betterbidding.com to help you identify the 'mystery' hotel on hotwire.

There is another site I have used too, biddingfortravel (? I think) which helps narrow down the hotel.

 

[OzEire]

In my experience most hotels, especially Australia, won't match internet price directly.

I agree JohnK, they wont match directly, but may invoke a "best price guarantee" or something similar.

Others will have different experiences, but I have found that it largely depends on the staff member you get on the day. And there's always HUACA.

Alas, getting a cheap deal usually also voids points earning, status building and reduces comp upgrade chances (just like booking on an aggregator site) so I would only be tempted if it was a really good deal.

 

[Ausbt]

I've used Mystery hotels on Wotif a lot. My go-to was Hilton on the Park (now Pullman), which has to be one of the easiest 'Mysteries' to pick. There just aren't that many 5 star hotels in East Melbourne. I just booked another in Brisbane for next week - some are remarkably easy to pick.

 

[Alanslegal]

All hotels aim for 100% occupancy. 3rd party Mystery rooms are generally the worst rooms. Take the discount & pay the price. You get what you pay for.

I would disagree to that based on my dozen or so experiences

Using mystery sites, here are some of the hotels I have stayed in:-

Westin Paris, Westin Regina Venice, Sheraton Waikiki, Movenpick Resort and Spa Cebu, Westin Grand Frankfurt, Hilton Old Town Prague, (previously) Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica, W Hollywood, Le Meridien Barcelona, Sheraton Wall Centre Vancouver, Sheraton Heathrow.

The only negative is that I do not earn any night credits booking through 3rd parties, and have lost around 30 nights that could have been credited to SPG (my preferred hotel group) which would have helped me towards lifetime status.

 

[maureeng]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone had experiences with "mystery hotel" deals,

any good?is it much cheaper? or better just book the hotel directly.

Cant seem to find any details or resources on how to work out which hotels they are for only some legacy ones posted on whirlpool

We got a great deal at The Como in Melbourne for $197.00 around half I was quoted from the hotel directly. Even got upgraded . It said 5 star South Yarra so I knew it would have to be either The Como or The Olsen and I was happy to get either.

 

[burmans]

I would disagree to that based on my dozen or so experiences

Using mystery sites, here are some of the hotels I have stayed in:-

Westin Paris, Westin Regina Venice, Sheraton Waikiki, Movenpick Resort and Spa Cebu, Westin Grand Frankfurt, Hilton Old Town Prague, (previously) Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica, W Hollywood, Le Meridien Barcelona, Sheraton Wall Centre Vancouver, Sheraton Heathrow.

The only negative is that I do not earn any night credits booking through 3rd parties, and have lost around 30 nights that could have been credited to SPG (my preferred hotel group) which would have helped me towards lifetime status.

Thanks for that, I do prefer the experience/advice of someone who actually has the experience!