I discovered that going via the Offial sites of Hotels in Paris (haven't done the test in other cities) is the cheapest way to book a Hotel. All the known booking systems online take up to 40% from the Hotels. So make sure you go via the Official sites to book your hotel in Paris.

Here is a site where there is a list of over 400 hotels in Paris which is directly linked to the official sites in Paris: www.lookotel.com. The rates on this site don't have any commission added.f

what an interesting first post on Fodors! You aren't allowed to advertise on here. I think what you said isn't true, either (that online booking sites all take 40 pct from the hotels).

I have used this service and it is excellent. Booked for the end of May at the Mayfair through www.lookotel.com and received 40% off their internet rates. Highly recommended

thank you for your replies. I don't intend to advertise I just wanted to get the word out. I really have done the test on many hotels on this site. They don't all take 40% but the take between 15 and 40%. This is something hotels have to put up with.

In one instance, I had the impression that I had a much better rate by going to the hotel's own web page, and in the other, the price was the same. The steepest discounts appeared at higher class hotels, which means that this is not for the budget traveler.

"Curious" that QuentinL's only posts since joining this month are referencing back to this post about lookotel. Clearly sounds like advertising disguised as "personal insight" to me...

Hi Canada_V, I only joined this forum yesterday, I thought I would just leave a tip. The only personal interest in this for me is letting people know about what I found. As I can see it already helped somebody.
I saw other threads talking about Paris Hotels so I justed wanted them to know about it. Am I not allowed to?

I checked (or tried to!) a couple of hotels on this site and encountered the slowest, most inefficient site I've ever tried to deal with. When I finally got a price quote, it was exactly the same as the hotel's site. The lookotel site is too cumbersome to be worth the time and effort IMHO.

I didn't say they were cheaper that the hotels site, I said the site is linked directly to the Hotels Site.

I said it is cheaper than Booking Engines. The way Booking Engines make there money is by adding there commission on top of the reservation. So they add anywhere between 15% to 40%.

I think Canada V is being too critical. If you dont like what someone says, just move on..

will do

Thanks for that link, Quentint.

There is never *one* best way to book. I've often booked directly with the hotel, especially when they have internet offers, but other times I have found that certain online vendors offer better rates. Once you hone down on a few hotels, check both their website and reputable online vendors (expedia, orbitz, travelocity, laterooms, venere, etc.).

Arkenge, if you are looking for budget but cental, after exhaustive research on hotel sites and comparing Tripadvisor reviews, we settled on Hotel Familia in the 6eme. We weren't disappointed. Our second choice was Hotel Jeanne d'Arc in the Marais district.