Just booked a 3-night stay on wotif - and turns out it's the same as the rack rate! Should I cancel the wotif rate and book through the hotel?

I would search for a deal elswhere, I have glanced at Wotif for our last visit to Australia and didn't find their rates as good as I could get elsewhere, I use others.

I am sure if you tell us the hotel Australia board regulars could tell you the sort of rate to expect elsewhere.

I always use wotif for booking my hotel stays - some hotels have good rates and some don't - it just depends on the hotel and the time etc. Also depends on how long it is before you are going to stay as well because the closer to the time the more likely you are to get the best rate. Also they do not discriminate if the booking was done through wotif. Wotif is a big International booking service based in Australia and listed on the Stock Exchange so it is a respected business. More accommodation places use Wotif than any other online booking system unless of course they are an American Chain Hotel.

This is a useful site that compares most of the deals:

http://www.hotelscombined.com/

puttakka -

I've never had any issues with bookings I've made through wotif. I've found them to be reliable and reputable and I've certainly never felt 'discriminated against' by any hotel I booked through them. In every case I've gotten the room I expected and paid for and was treated just like any other paying customer.

If you haven't done so already, suggest you carefully read the cancellation policy for any accommodation you book on wotif.

It's not like Priceline or Hotwire if that is what you are wondering. You reserve a specific type/class of room through wotif. There can be a cancellation penalty, however. Hopefully you noticed this before making the booking.

One thing useful about wotif is the ability to make an overseas reservation at smaller places that don't have their own websites. However for a large chain such as Millenium I got better rates by going direct.

I'm on my way to Sydney in a few days and browsed the wotif site. One thing I Noticed on wotif is alot of the bookings have no cancellation policy(not all), where as booking direct through the hotel it is usually the standard policy. In saying that, you are fully aware of the cancellation policy for the hotel you have booked. Providing wotif sends you an email with the cancellation (ring them to be sure), I can't see you having a problem.

Thanks for all your replies!!! The wotif cancellation policy is actually better than the hotel's - the hotel has a 5-day policy but wotif has a 2-day one (plus a $25 fee). The worif price is slightly lower. In the US< when we book through expedia or whatever, and especially thru hotwire, hotels sometimes give you a little attitude and are less likely to upgrade you, etc. I read one review of Ravesi's and they said that they were treated poorly because theybooked on wotif(!!!).

Obviously it is going to depend on the individual hotel, but the last time I booked a Sydney hotel on Wotif I got upgraded to a full suite so obviously no discrimination there, and the price for the room that I paid for was less than the hotel's own website deal.

With all these booking services, you really need to do your homework and compare a number of different sites to get the best possible deal. I have as yet to ever find a site that absolutely always offers the best deal - what works one time doesn't necessarily the next time.

When you book through Hotwire, you have no guarantee as to room type, and some hotels have a strict policy to not upgrade Hotwire or Priceline without an additional fee.

Wotif is more like Expedia. You often have a choice of room categories, ie, suite or not, view or not, type of beds.

I notice that the hotel you asked about is "self-rated" on wotif. That's always a red flag for me.

I would not worry about self-rated hotels and accommodation places in Australia as there are a few "schools of thought" on the subject of AAA ratings anyway.
Sometimes you find that hotels are waiting for their official rating as the "rater" only does their rounds once a year or even less and secondly a lot of places do not go in for the rating system 1/ you have to pay for it and 2/ it is a somewhat strange system with more subjective issues ignored and a points system followed whereby those places that have extra values i.e position, view, great food, best beds etc do not have their best best points rated if, say, they have beautiful wall chandeliers in the bedrooms but do not have a bedside light because the system says that its better to have bedside lights blah blah and so on and so forth. You may have to worry about ratings in the US but Australia is different unless of course you are only staying in American hotels - but why would you unless you were using points.

I used wotif for most of our lodging for our five-week trip to Australia in 2006 and was very satisfied with their services. I checked the website of each potential property and booked whichever rate was better; sometimes it was wotif and sometimes the property itself offered a better rate. I also checked the cancellation policy of each property very carefully.

You may find that the rates, both wotif and the property website, become more favorable as you get closer to your travel date. In that case, you can rebook if your cancellation policy permits.

Never felt a bit of discrimination from having booked through wotif and would certainly use them again.

Hi Puttakka,

I've just booked accommodation in Melbourne and Brisbane for a short trip. I received a better rate from the hotels own websites than the Wotif rate.

I started with Wotif because it has such great choice, and when I found likely looking properties checked their own websites and was pleased to find a slightly better rate.

Same experience when booking a Perth hotel in June.

Cheers,


Pol.

The OP's question is somewhat bemusing. Why on earth would hotels discriminate against wotif bookers? The hotel or whatever has to apply to wotif for a listing, which means they see value in filling rooms after paying a wotif commission.

Its well known that sometimes a better deal will be found be contacting hotel direct, this way no commission is payable to anyone.

Sorry you are "bemused" but in the US, hotels are known to discriminate against people who use booking sites like expedia or travelocity rather than booking directly through the hotels - less desirable rooms, etc. Once, I stayed somewhere and the clerk told me that I should book through them next time instead of through a booking service. I also read online one reviewer of the hotel I want to stay at who stated that she was discriminated against because she booked on wotif. So, that's why I asked.

Anyway, I am sticking with wotif to take advantage of the GREAT exchange rate I got last week - who knows if the US dollar might weaken next month.

We have used priceline (the ultimate booking site) many times and have never felt any discrimination.