Book directly through hotel or through agent
 

Hello,
We have settled on Antik hotel prague. The hotel's rate is 5 euros/night more than what the agent is quoting. Is it better to book through the travel agency (thomas cook) that way if there is a mistake they would be responsible or directly through the hotel (I have requested a room with balcony and the hotel said they would accomodate that, but the agent might overlook my request).
Even if u r not familiar with the hotel, genrerally speaking what would u do?

Thanks again

I have a deal with my TA. If she can make her commission without it costing me anything, I tell her to go for it.

If she can get me an upgrade, or a free breakfast, or some other amenity for the same money I would spend, I tell her to go for it.

Hi L,

> Is it better to book through the travel agency (thomas cook) that way if there is a mistake they would be responsible ...<

Responsible for what?

You think that if you decide that you don't like the hotel that the TA will give you your money back?

Have you asked the hotel if they will give you the TC price?

((I))

Hi Ira,
I meant that if there is a mixup with the rooms they would work it out. personally i prefer dealing with hotel directly, cut the middle man. I have not asked them to give the travel agent's price, I didn't know I can do that.

My experience is that when you work through the hotel directly, you get more respect than when you turn up with a reservation through a consolidator.

I am wondering why you bothered the travel agent if you're willing to bypass the agent, book yourself, and pay more.

Although we have booked rooms on our own, I like the security of being able to call the travel agent if there is a problem with the hotel that we can't fix directly. He or she can save us time by referring us on to another hotel with which the agency has a relationship. Also, wouldn't you think that the risk of losing a relationship with an agency would make a hotel try harder???

zeppole wrote: "My experience is that when you work through the hotel directly, you get more respect than when you turn up with a reservation through a consolidator."

I have never felt that. In general, hotel staff tend not to pay attention to the mechanism of your booking except at the point where it is relevant: settling your account.

I would not like to stay in any hotel where the staff decided to treat some people with either greater or less respect on such a basis. The only justification for withholding respect from a client is if that client behaves badly.

Well, I don't either, but if I book through an agent, I have no idea what the hotel staff is like until I show up.

By less respect I really mean that the best rooms go to the people who booked directly with the hotel, often based on a conversation about their preferences at the time of transaction.

Most hotel rooms I book through agents are one-nighters anyway -- hotels I only need because I'm flying out of town the next day. With rare exception, for anything resembling a vacation stay, I book through the hotel directly, because it's usually a small, family run place or B&B.

Have read on this forum of ones who went through booking agents and were not given a room whereas people who booked directly with the hotel were accommodated.

I email and deal with the hotel or b&b directly and most of the time the rates are a bit cheaper. After a few emails back and forth with a b&b you feel like you know the people you will be staying with.

Seems more personal.

<<By less respect I really mean that the best rooms go to the people who booked directly with the hotel, often based on a conversation about their preferences at the time of transaction.>>

Wow is this way off. It is actually the opposite. Suggest you get with a quality travel agent who is with a reputable company. Quality agents who work for solid travel companies have relationships with tons of hotesl in Europe.(and elsewhere of course) Not only that, they ofetn have contracted rates which are many times lower than what you find on the internet or the hotel's own web site. Beyond that, their contracts and relationships many times get their clients amenities in their rooms and more importantly upgrades upon arrival. With all due respect I do not think you have been hanging out with the right travel agents :>)

Before this turns into a thread on agent bashing , I am well aware that as with any other industry there are agents who are not qualified to handle your needs. The problem is made worse by the fact that there is no licensing involved in becoming an agent. Like anything else ask for referrals and do your due diligence

Sorry, I never use travel agents. I'm not talking about travel agents.

I'm talking about booking using mega-websites.

I've booked both ways and have no preference - good and not so good experience with both. However, I can say that we used Thomas Cook for Prague and found their service excellent. Their hotel recommendation was spot on (I had the usual suspicions). When I first contacted them, I had a few hotels in mind and they steered me to another, giving me useful info on why the ones I thought would be good would not be as good for my needs as the one they suggested. Once in Prague, I visited my original choices and found that the agent (Tomas)was abolutely right. I chose to use an agent for Prague because it was a city I knew little about and had many questions. TC was very prompt in answering all of my emails. Also, since we (2 couples) were staying 7 nights, they arranged private pick up at the airport at no charge (They did not offer, but I asked and they readily agreed). That was really nice. I paid no more for the hotel than if I had booked it myself- I checked.

We also arranged for a half day walking tour through TC and found our guide Charlie to be knowledgable, informative and pleasant. If looking for a tour again though, I would book through the Precious Legacy company. I did not know at the time that one of the principals of the company is someone DW once worked for and I know he has extremely high standards for anything he is involved in.

I think the results vary depending on what kind of hotel you are talking about. For high end hotels, you may get better service and rooms when dealing through a top agent, like one from a company that has a special arrangement with a chain or steers them a lot of business.

That cannot be the case in this situation, and I agree you would get better service dealing directly with a hotel when you book yourself when it is a modest or budget hotel, as this one is.

I know that hotel, I've seen it and it's really cute, but it is a very modest small, hotel. It is an excellent location for convenience and lots of restaurants and cafes around, but it is on a very narrow, high-traffic street with a lot of pedestrian traffic. It's isn't that tall, either. So any balcony room in that hotel could be very noisy. I mean you might like to look out onto the street for some reason (it's not really that scenic at that point, it's a very narrow street with just buildings right there), but I wouldn't care myself (or would want a room that is NOT on the street, if they have them). Maybe that room is nicer than normal in some other way, though, but it is not going to be quiet if you have a balcony room over Dlouha street. Take ear plugs.

I don't know how the agent is going to be responsible if you don't get your balcony room. What are they going to do about it, you wouldn't expect them to pay you for that, would you?

oh, I would say that maybe a travel agent that was used a lot in Prague might have some clout, there are a few (Cedok, etc.). Thomas Cook is pretty wellknown in Prague, I think, so the hotel might deal with them a lot.

I still don't know what they would do if you didn't get your balcony room.

I just read Tripadvisor reviews on this hotel, and assume you know there is no elevator. It is a very small hotel, which I knew, so if you don't like your room, there may be little they can do.

But apparently they do have rooms with balconies over an interior courtyard, not just the street, and that is what I would focus on myself when making room requests, for noise reasons.

I may have erred in my post above. The TA we used was Travel Cook, not Thomas Cook. I am not sure if they are the same company, but my comments apply to Travel Cook.

I haven't used a travel agent for years, so wouldn't be able to compare. But I do prefer to contact hotels directly, especially if I have special requests. I would ask them if they can meet the TA's price - no harm in asking!

We stayed at the Hotel Antik in May (see my tripadvisor review). The atrium area has been renovated, as has been the rooms in the back part of the hotel. Based on the room we had one night, that's where the balcony rooms would be. That part of the hotel does have an elevator. (We tend to not use elevators, but as I recall, I don't think the front part of the hotel, where our room was the other nights, had an elevator.)

Hi Everyone,

I wasn't going to post on this, but as I see there's alot of people posting, and some with misinformation, I feel I should.

I AM a travel agent (or travel consultant if you will).

I think there's alot of confusion because most of the general public don't really understand what a travel agent does, or how they work.

TDudette was on the mark with comments, and was Sam17 - there's a saying in the industry of "without a travel agent you're on your own", and that IS true in many circumstances.

Sam was correct in mentioning contracts and relationships with hotels that the average individual doesn't have.

Most travel agents work with well established wholesalers. And as Sam17 said, these wholesalers have contracted group rates that are less expensive than what you'll find on websites. We're talking VOLUME of business here.

Who's reservation is going to get more attention? The individual who makes one booking, a one time thing for 3 nights or a wholesaler who books hundreds & thousands of nights a year at a particular property? That hotel does NOT want to make them unhappy!

That said, someone also posted about booking specific rooms, and we do that as well. The problem is, someone on the other end needs to scroll down and actually READ that request; and they often don't.

When you book with Expedia or Travelocity or one of those guys, good luck getting a problem resolved. Pick up your travel section of your local paper and read the complaints of clients arriving at a hotel and finding out they have NO reservation! (I'm seeing this more and more btw in my Sunday travel section). People are writing in after being totally frustrated in trying to get a problem resolved and getting nowhere.

When booking through an agent, we're working for you. Hopefully, it's not a one-time booking; we want your repeat business, so not only do we want you to be happy and have a wonderful vacation, we are trying to forge a relationship for future business.

The bottom line is, a really good agent, as someone alluded to, is there for your interests.

No one in this industry is out to become a millionaire - we're just like you - we have a passion for travel - that's why we got into the business in the first place.

I often say, it's like being in the MOB - you try to get out, but you're sucked back in. A really good agent is as addicted to travel and as passionate as you are about your trip.

I have personal relationships with my clients - I know they've saved for a year and they've been looking forward to this trip for months - that's a tremendous responsibility, and one that I take seriously. We deal with people's hopes, dreams and fantasies; it's not to be taken lightly.

That said, on the other end of the spectrum...if you're looking to book a 6 room hotel somewhere you probably ARE better off dealing direct. The wholesalers probably won't have a contracted better rate unless it's some trendy, wanna be there, kind of place.

I hope this clears up some misinformation, and if you need further information, you can always email me.

Best,

Melodie

<grateful to all the REAL specialists on this board who've helped me plan MY trip to Greece in September

Hey, I don't claim to know everything! :)

Thank you wizmatilda, if I've been helpful... I do answer a lot of GReece queries.

I think the reason this question comes up on this forum is that so many of the travelers DO seek out and book the small family-run hotels -- the ones that aren't large enough to attract agents, and don't charge enough to be able to cut deals...

I've taken 7 extended trips to greece and I have NEVER stayed in a hotel with more than 20 rooms -- most of the time it's 12 or under. Many of them do not have websites, some do not even have e-mail, you must fax them. But each family has been so welcoming, it's been a delight.

In another income bracket, going to another country, I surely would rely on an agent or at least a booking service. Of course I also plan far ahead (the daydreams get me thru a winter) so I have time to wait for responses, and even to build a relationship before I even arrive.

We book with whomever gives us the best deal. Sometimes direct and sometimes a booking website. We've never noted any difference in treatment by the hotel staff or in room location/quality.

Hi Travelerjan,

yes, you certainly HAVE been helpful, as others such as Stanbr, Brotherleelove and Heimdall!

Regarding your comment about smaller hotels, a good agent WILL book them for a client even if we're not making a commission. If I'm booking their airfare as well as other items on an itinerary, I would do it as a service and hope for their repeat business in the future.

As you might guess from my screen name, one of my top areas of expertise is Australia. Right now I have an itinerary for a client where I've booked him in a motel that I won't make any compensation and it's not a large booking to begin with; but I also worked on his last trip to Australia - he's been a good client and has referred me to his friends, so it all works out in the end.

Of course, no one can work for free, so if it was a case of just booking smaller hotels alone, I would just explain that to the client and direct them to this board!

Best regards,

Melodie

Sorry, I haven't used a travel agent in the last 15 years, and frankly ,, have found the quality and satisfaction level of my trips has improved because of that. I spend the time to do alot of research on my hotels, (and airfares), I wring out the best deals, I check out many sites, many reveiws, and I also read guide books.
Frankly, I think travel agents are best used for travel on continents like Afican or Asia or Middle Eastern countries, where contacting and dealing with hotels etc is more difficult. Or for business travellers who aren't paying their own way anyways,, LOL

In this situation I would just go with cheapest deal,, what possible difference would it make,, a ta is not going to help you if your room sucks, excpet to rebook you somewhere else ( AFTER you call them long distance and spend money on that) ... and if your problem happens on a weekend, or when your ta is off ( or sleeping, time difference you know) its doubtful many ta's give out their home phone numbers,, ,, well anyways, rambling along, just go with cheapest deal and ALWAYS get hotel to email you a reservation and RATE confirmation which you bring with you,, that has saved me hassle once or twice for sure..

Hi Bozma,

You're someone that I classify as a travel agent wanna-be - you probably COULD be an agent, because you like doing the research on your own trips and the whole planning process.

Thankfully, (for me) not everyone has that luxury or the passion to do it.

As my friend Debra says "I work 50-60 hours a week and when I get home I don't want to be on the computer -that's why I have YOU!"

You were correct in that travel agents don't give out their home phone numbers - geez, do you have the number of your doctor or lawyer? What I do have though, in many areas of the world, is a contact number of our local rep who can handle emergencies for clients.

Please don't think we're not there to help clients when a problem comes up,because we are. A good agent will. I once spent a YEAR straightening out a problem with Sandals resorts for a client - the resort wanted to give them "free nights" which the client was never going to use. I was trying to get them a $375 refund. And I did - but it took me a year of phone calls, emails, faxes, etc.

It's called service and that's part of the whole package.

Regards,

Melodie

I plan my own trips, and make my own reservations directly with each hotel thru their front desk by phone, fax, or email.

I have never had a problem with this method. and never saw a reason to use a travel agent myself.

This thread has kind of split into two. One question that seems to be taking up a lot of posts is whether travel agents are worth it. The other question is whether you get the same service at a hotel when you show up with a booking made online through the various sites (like venere, worldby, orbitz, etc.).

I think these are 2 different things. Since I don't ever use a travel agent I can't comment on whether they are worth it. I did have an experience with a Rome hotel that I booked through an online consolidator. We were supposed to get a double room suite to accommodate 5 people (I knew about it because friends had stayed in this room before). However, when we got to the hotel we were put in a single, dorm-like room and told that there had been a mistake...an overbooking, I guess. And I was told point-blank that it was better to make arrangements to the hotel directly to avoid this type of problem.

However, I recently booked through a megasite again and then had to make some adjustments. The hotel communicated with me directly by e-mail to make sure everything was straight and we had a good experience.

I don't know if you can get the same price by booking directly with the hotel, but I think your best bet might be to figure out what the online services are charging and then tell the hotel you want that price if they are quoting you a higher price for the same type of room.

Travel agents may be able to get some perks, but if you get to the hotel (especially out of US) and there is a problem...just what can the agent do? With time difference the agent mght not be available, or you will get the agency central office, etc. But when this happened to us the agency did make sure the next hotel gave us a very upgraded room. When our hotel in Vietnam was blown away by storm just before we left US...the agent called us and rebooked us in another hotel but that was an agent in Vietnam. Would a US agent have known???

this is a late reply and maynt help the original poster but still may someone looking for accommodation in prague

i like to deal with the hotel directly - just forthat feeling that you have spoken to a real person who actually knows the hotel, works there

so
i spend a lot ofmoney ringing and talking to the people at the front desk
in prague it is hard to get hold of a number for the actual hotel
most if not all are agents who will ask you ' where do you want to stay' and may not even know the hotel very well
so some trickery is needed

i found out the number of the antik hotel- said something about needing to know if there were hairdryers, washing machines and a need for a direct number in case there was a problem getting to the hotel from the airport
and the agent gave it to me
so i rang the hotel and got 20 euros off the original price the agent quoted me
that was terrific
but then
when it came to cancelling the first booking thru the agent ( tentative though it was) all hell broke loose
i was abused for going to the hotel directly and the woman agent hung up

in the end - i was booked into the wrong hotel anyway - the sister hotel hotel antik city which is NOT near the oldtown at all! furthermore the two antik hotels had very similar sounding addresses so we spent a terrible morning looking for it

moral of the story: there are no morals- you just go for it! if you can beat an agent do it- but if i were to travel to the eastern european countries id definitely book with my local travel agency...

We use a corporate travel agent that canoften get us either reduced rates of special add-ons (free upgrades, or use of spa or something). If that's the case we book through them. If not, and we can get better rates ourselves, we book directly.

I have never found any difference between booking myself or through a travel agent. Booking as part of a tour is different. That way you do get shuffled to the back of the line - and how you're treated usually depends on how much effort the tour guide is willing to put forth on your behalf (often not much).

Our most significant problems with hotels were on one package and one tour. On the package the London hotel still didn't have rooms for us after 2 pm (we'd arrived at about 8 am). I finally caused a scene - including demanding the manager - and we got a room. But at 8 pm we were going out to dinner and some group members still in the lobby waiting for rooms. (The "hostess" had left hours before after selling her optional tours.)

On the one tour that I took in one city they attempted to put me (I was single) in a staff bedroom - after a several hour wait. (It was like a dorm room at a really bad college - in a 4* hotel). Again, the tour guide was useless. So I marched down to the manager's office - waving my American Express reservation form (I had bought the tour through them) and they ended up moving me to a suite - but only when I said I would move to a different hotel if they didn't give me a normal guest room. And that I had photos of the room they tried to put me in. (It really was a room for a live-in maid.)

I recently lost a fair amount of money booking through a travel agent/ wholesaler. They originally gave me a much better price than the hotels, so I decided to use them. HOWEVER, I failed to check the wholesaler's cancellation policies, which were much more stringent than the hotels. Although I cancelled well within the stated deadline, I lost money because the agency's charges were nonrefundable. If I had gone through the hotels directly, I would have lost no money at all. My fault entirely for not paying attention, but next time I'm only reserving directly through the hotels.

I think the gist of this thread is this, and yes am a travel consultant. Travel agents are just like most businesses out there where you can have a good agent or a bad one, a good experience or bad one...and these can come whether you use us or not. I certainly have had stories of both. In the end, for those who feel comfortable doing it on their own, I say more power to you and the ones who don't mind giving us a shot, I say more power to you as well. The travel industry suffers from good and bad products just like you can get a good or bad doctor, a good or bad car, a good or bad home/location etc....

The good ones are here to serve their clients and let them focus on what they do best which is travel and let us handle the leg work...no we can't "guarantee" a everything will always go right a 100% of the time but we’ll try our best...

Weadles--there are booking websites that actually negotiate better cancellation policies than the hotels themselves offer. So shop around; don't close out your options in advance.