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I've just had a torrid time dealing with Hotels.com.
I've had a room booked for weeks, had a confirmation 2 days ago that all was well, and this morning it has been cancelled 24 hours before I need it.
They had a link to a useless chat function that would not consider a refund as I'd cancelled (!) and a phone number that doesn't exist.
I spoke to the hotel directly and they are dealing daily with the same issue. Hotels.com book rooms in their hotel they don't have, and they tried to have their hotel taken off the website without any success. Luckily, they do have a working phone number and after 45 minutes waiting and much arguing, they have agreed a refund. I'll believe it when I see it.
They are part of the Expedia group and I would not touch any of them in future.
Shameful business practice of taking money for a service they can't offer, but they don't seem ashamed of it.
Much like booking.com, there's no real advantage to using a 3rd party site, just more to go wrong (and more ballache to sort out!) Most places prefer to deal direct anyway (more in it for them!) and it's usually the same price or cheaper.
Much like booking.com, there’s no real advantage to using a 3rd party site
If you travel a lot there is. I book all my travel via Hotels.com and every 10 nights I get a free night worth the average of my last 10 stays. I can use that night wherever I want. I've had a lot of free nights away over the past few years.
sure, although that's offset by not being able to use the hotels own reward scheme. Makes sense though if not always using the same chain(s)!
Mate of mine does similar to BB above but I’ve heard that you’re more likely to get a lesser room going through booking.com etc compared to booking direct with the hotel. The room above the bottle bin that gets emptied at 6am every morning 😀
Hotel manager on Jo marler podcast said hotel gets 50% of portal selling price. Always book direct, never had a problem. I d be really miffed at a late notice cancellation as short notice hotel prices have risen.
No advantage to using Booking com? Sadly while I would rather 100% of what I pay went to the hotel they don't all play fair. Last year in Blythe California.
Checking Booking.com I booked the Days Inn 200 yards away for two nights. $115 plus taxes. So I go there. The receptionist can't find my booking. Maybe too fast. She gives me a Queen room for two nights. Total $215.
Woah! Should be way less. She can't match that rate at reception. I find the email confirmation and show her. She finds my $115 booking. She let me in 90 minutes before the official check in time. So kudos for that.
Hotel manager on Jo marler podcast said hotel gets 50% of portal selling price.
Hmm - I’ve booked a lot of hotels for work trips and Booking.com is my usual first step. I then usually try the hotel’s own website but often, not always, find it is more expensive that way. I have even phoned up and asked the hotel for a room at the Booking.com price and they said no!
So in my experience it is sometimes better to book direct and sometimes better to use Booking.com.
PS I don’t use hotel.com but have never had a problem with booking.com.
Hotels.com rewards are about to get a lot worse… their rewards are going down from 10% to 2% - is there another company to use? I travel a fair bit for work
poolmanFree Member
Hotel manager on Jo marler podcast said hotel gets 50% of portal selling price. Always book direct, never had a problem. I d be really miffed at a late notice cancellation as short notice hotel prices have risen
I reckon they Can get more cash from a late booking so if the demand is there they cancel the earlier, cheaper booking. The process is Probably automated so no human decision-making required😳
I use booking .com quite a bit, came back on Thursday from a hotel I booked via it in Lisbon, when doing a big journey across BC it was a godsend for planning; lots of local hotels in one hit, plenty of reviews and all the other information in one place. So definite advantages from my p.o.v
Never had a problem with it or the hotels I’ve booked.
I d be really miffed at a late notice cancellation as short notice hotel prices have risen
The issue is availability. It's for a national sporting event for my daughter and now everything is booked up.
I use booking to find places, then book direct. It's generally the same deal. Or I phone smaller b&bs and ask them what they prefer - generally it's about a 20% cut booking take so it's a no brainer for them. I've had b&b's call me after booking with booking and told me to cancel and they'll book me in direct. It serves a purpose but doesn't feel very wholesome.