What are your favourite hotel booking websites?

[burmans]

I suspect a thread with discounts (like FT) would be useful, for me the best site changes depending on current best discounts for many places.

 

[JohnK]

It used to be 7% and it was a very stealthy change. Think you still get 7% if you use the app as opposed to the web site. No good for me though as I need to use the web for my 12% cash back which, thankfully, far outweighs the additional 2% in rewards.

Correct. It is 7% cashback with the app.

But I am a stubborn old man and I don't believe in apps or Paypal.

 

[Zampari]

I've used Hotels.com on a number of occasions. The last time I booked with them I got an absolutely fantastic deal on a room at The Oaks Ipswich Qld for the June long weekend next year. I managed to get 3 nights for $411 when that weekend is usually priced in excess of $300 a night. Needless to say I'm very happy with that deal. If I'm unsure I'll often use the free cancellation & pay at hotel options when available. I've had to cancel a couple of times due to changes in plans.

I've used the Qantas website a couple of times. Prices were on a par with Hotels.com on those occasions but did include free breakfast & wifi.

More recently I've booked with Prestigia.com which was through Hotelscombined.com. I'm yet to use that hotel booking so can't offer any recommendations on the website at this point in time. The booking is for the Hard Rock in Vegas. It wasn't my choice in hotels. Just got informed by my travelling companions that was where we're staying so I needed to book.

I did book once before through Bookings.com which was through another website. I had to cancel my booking in order to extend it through the hotel(it's a long & convoluted story lol). My booking came with free cancellation yet they charged me a $25 cancellation fee even though I reminded them their confirmation email did indeed say free cancellation. I was told I was wrong. The website started with A but it wasn't Agoda. The name escapes me right now but needless to say I was not impressed with their customer service at all.

I always check the hotel websites direct too as sometimes you can get a better deal.

 

[canabear]

I find both priceline.com and hotwire.com to be great for getting low rates, especially in North America. You can often deduce which hotel you will get before purchasing using the 'blind' purchase options.

 

[Musongman]

I tend to contact the hotel directly if I have used before and was satisfied. Initially I've used Agoda or Asiarooms etc.

 

[karen blancfield]

Agree, hotwire works well for us and have never had a problem with the hotel allocated.

 

[ChrisDPom]

I book about 40 nights in Europe a year and have for the last few year have had as Baldrick says, "a cunning plan".

I have a specific email address for hotel bookings with its own calendar.

I have joined a number of the above mentioned sites for email subscriptions +signed up free membership with a number of chains over there (Accor/Ibis, Intercity, Travelodge, Leonardo, etc).

I fill in my locations on the calendar and usually list hotels I have stayed with (and liked!!) at the city + any others I find that are well rated in the location.

I have preference for hotels within walking distance of the main city station. No taxi needed, can often leave bag at hotel for quick pickup after checkout and if not, €5 48 hour lockers at the stations.

My minimum standard is air con (must in summer due to humidity); inclusive wifi and breakfast and at least double bed as I am tall (double rooms usually not much more than a single and my lady sometimes joins me at short notice anyway).

I usually travel on a Eurail pass which are excellent value and no res required/ walk up - except SNCF's disgraceful treatment of passes on TGV's (a totally different issue that I could rant about for pages and so just avoid France to keep my blood pressure down).

i usually have my dates set 6+ months in advance so can then wait for deals and fill in the confirmed booking as I go.

Example: Recent August trip included Austria section based at Linz and Vienna. 6 nights in school holidays, so likely to be expensive. Pre-booked some rooms on booking.com at about €70 p.n. With free cancellation option.

The Accor/Ibis special mentioned by someone earlier in the thread popped up on the emails, so I swapped the nights for the IBIS hotels outside the station and got them for €38 a night

Estimated average room rate for average 4 star hotels this year is €46 for 38 nights in Europe and £32 in UK (though I cheat in London as I stay with family). Total taxis taken in Europe this year - none. About €25 spent on station lockers for luggage usually because I was too lazy to leave the bag at the hotel or was visiting sonehwere for half day before proceeding to another city.

Also paid €45 for a couchette supplement on a CNL sleeper train 3 times with my Eurail pass.

Total savings well over $3,000 which is well worth the time used to plan and book.

Cheers

Chris

 

[burmans]

Total savings well over $3,000 which is well worth the time used to plan and book.

Cheers

Chris

Impressive and yes totally worth it!

 

[ChrisDPom]

Just got an email from Accor (Ibis, etc) with a 2 nights for 1 night price.


Germany, Austria and Switzerland covered at 2 for 1 and up to 40% off for France & Benelux countries.


This is a worldwide sale so Oz, Europe, North America and Asia all included.

Not sure if you have to be in their loyalty programme but good for bookings 15/11/14 to 31/08/15.


Offer closes 30 October.


Cheers


Chris

 

[karen blancfield]

Anything on offer in Rome??

 

[ChrisDPom]

Anything on offer in Rome??

7 hotels in Rome and the dates for the Mediterranean section are as follows:

Staying dates by country:
» Italy, Israel, & Greece: from 01/12/2014 to 31/01/2015.
» Spain & Portugal: from 01/11/2014 to 31/01/2015.
» Turkey: from 01/11/2014 to 31/03/2015.
» Morocco: from 03/11/2014 to 08/03/2015.


Discount levels by country and brand:
» Italy: 30% off in ibis and ibis Styles. 40% off in MGallery, Novotel and Mercure.
» Greece: 40% off In Sofitel and Novotel.
» Israel: 30% off in ibis Styles. 40% off in Mercure.
» Portugal: 30% off in Sofitel, Novotel and Mercure.
» Spain: 40% off in Pullman, Novotel, Suite Novotel and Mercure.
» Turkey: 30% off in ibis. 40% off in Mercure and Novotel.
» Morocco: 40% off on all participating brands


Cheers

Chris

 

[CaptJCool]

ah my favourite hotel booking site is the one that delivers the same room for the cheapest price.

in endeavouring to obtain cheaper rooms, please be aware of the earlier research from 2012 where travel website Orbitz


discovered that people who use Macs are willing to spend as much as 30 percent more per night for hotel rooms.


“predictive analytics” is used to increase revenues.
Mac users are also 40 percent more likely to book a four or five-star hotel and tend to stay in more expensive rooms.


while IP addresses can run thru VPNs, alas, other identifiers can give it away eg MAC addresses, or whatnot. Bottom line,


if you’re a Mac user, Orbitz isn’t showing you the best deals.


whats interesting is that no=one seems to see each website as a brand with all roads leading to one of a few big interests


ie are they are independently owned, or do they actually represent the different price point brands of the same


outfit... that would be some interesting research - so i went to Wiki. On December 21, 2012, Expedia bought a majority stake in travel metasearch engine Trivago in a combined cash and stock deal worth €477 million (previously, they had spun off TripAdvisor (and originally started as a division of Microsoft in 1996.spun off in 1999..) see expediainc dotcom expedia-brands


Travelocity was created in 1996 as a subsidiary of Sabre Holdings, itself a subsidiary of American Airlines.


Priceline own Booking.com, Active Hotels and Agoda and now Kayak - these are separately branded for dissimilar demographics. However, each company is regulated and integrated into the Priceline business model.


Originally established through a partnership of major airlines, and subsequently owned by various entities, Orbitz.com – the flagship brand of Orbitz Worldwide – has been in operation since 2001.


Other Orbitz Worldwide online travel companies include: CheapTickets, and the Away Network in the Americas; ebookers in Europe; and HotelClub and RatestoGo, based in Sydney. Orbitz Worldwide also owns and operates Orbitz for Business, a corporate travel company. Orbitz was the airline industry's response to the rise of online travel agencies.

so thats why my favourite hotel booking service is the one that delivers the cheapest price for the same room, or going direct to the hotel!

 

[trippin_the_rift]

There is only 1 way to guarantee you have the lowest possible hotel rate and its not through an online travel agent/third party booking service. I have a consumer service launching soon off the back of stayangel that will make using any OTA service worthless if you want the best hotel rate.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I always use Agoda. Never had even a slight problem

 

[Denali]

I always use Agoda. Never had even a slight problem

Same here but I just had to file a missing points claim because my last stay hasn't come through yet.

 

[saintorsinner28]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone ever used skyscanner.com? I find it cheaper than trivago and booking.com.

 

[pagingjoan]

Hello everyone,

Has anyone ever used skyscanner.com? I find it cheaper than trivago and booking.com.

I use it to identify options - but then usually book with the airline directly. It's not unusual to find a slightly better price that way. And I prefer the certainty of the direct contract, even on those occasions when it may be a few dollars more expensive.
(I know that's not the general view here. )

 

[clazman]

To-date, I found booking directly with the hotel cheaper than using a 3rd party website and fingers crossed never had a booking / room issue. I will use Trip Advisor to find the hotel and then go directly to the hotels website and look at their web deals.

 

[pagingjoan]

To-date, I found booking directly with the hotel cheaper than using a 3rd party website and fingers crossed never had a booking / room issue. I will use Trip Advisor to find the hotel and then go directly to the hotels website and look at their web deals.

Similar to my experience, with both hotels and airfares.

 

[browski]

There is only 1 way to guarantee you have the lowest possible hotel rate and its not through an online travel agent/third party booking service. I have a consumer service launching soon off the back of stayangel that will make using any OTA service worthless if you want the best hotel rate.

Intriguing. Keep us posted.