silver52900

Has anyone used Hotel Reservation Services??

www.hrs.com

We've been discussing if we should use a travel agent or book ourselves through HRS. Me and my fiance have been planning our honeymoon for a few months now and feel we are ready to start booking our hotels now. We heard a rumor that a travel agent locks in the price for a room and we cannot be charged any extra taxes or other fees upon our arrival. Can hotels add charges to our reservation once we've arrived??

Thanks for all your help.

bettyk

We have used booking services on a few occasions for Germany such as www.hotel.de (or hotel.com) and bookings.com with good results.

We have never had any problem with added fees once a reservation has been made.

Sometimes a travel agent can get a better rate, but since so many people book travel on the internet, it certainly pays to check around.

Dutch

I've used hrs several times with no complaints. I have also used Booking.com as well. I prefer the format of the booking site to hrs. Both sites allowed me to reserve a room without charging my credit card to make a reservation - and didn't add any booking fees either.


I doubt that you would have much trouble with the properties they use trying to add charges to your bill.

DAX

Like Dutch, I have used both hrs and bookings.com without any glitch whatsoever. They are both solid and reliable. I have also cancelled my reservations through both companies without any problem.

yk

I also have used hrs (I tend to use hrs.de) and also booking.com for hotel reservations. Obviously, I cross check the rates they quote with the hotel websites to make sure I get the lowest rate.

When you reserve, you just need to make sure you read the cancellation policy. For hrs and booking.com, most of the time one can cancel a booking without penalty if done 48 hours prior to arrival. However, once in a while, you may come across really good rates that are prepaid and nonrefundable. For these, you will pay when you book and you won't get your $ back if you cancel.

Just like booking hotels on any websites, make sure you understand the cancellation policy before you make the reservation.

Mimar

How about contacting the hotels directly -- via their website? Or even by phone. Just like with airlines, at least start out without the middleman.

In general, prices quoted for hotel rooms in Europe include all taxes. If you have an email with a price quote, the hotel will charge you that much for the room and no more. (Now I expect there will be get lots of responses with counter examples.)

traveller1959

I am a frequent user of hrs.com. Very reliable, never any problem.

If you have a reservation at a certain price, the hotel may not charge any additional fees - unless you agree (e.g. by renting a garage or by upgrading).

In European law, a reservation is a binding contract for BOTH parties.

Luckily, the hotels often have a liberal cancellation policy, allowing the customer to cancel without penalty in a certain timeframe.

But the hotel may not cancel the reservation. Even if the hotel is overbooked or closed or burnt-down they have to provide accomodation on the same level of quality for the agreed price (usually they find another hotel with the same or higher number of stars).

catherinehaas

I have used www.hrs.com, www.venere.com, and www.hotel.de for prior trips without issue. I use these sites because I book early and they allow me to change reservations if my plans change. I typically check several sites to get the best rates and use Trip Advisor and read the reviews prior to booking. I prefer to go with others opinions rather than the "star" rating of the hotel. Have been fortunate so far by having nice hotels and not paying a fortune.

Good luck!

nygvic

venere.com is one i have used fairly much. never a problem and usually find very good rates.

Gary_Mc

We also have used hrs.com multiple times for the last couple of years. They seem to negotiate the most flexible cancellation policy with hotels. We have only had one time that we had to cancel due to a flight change, but it worked well.

I used Hrs.com to book all of my stops for a coming trip this December.

We just present our written reply (email) from Hrs and things go well at the hotel.

Regards, Gary

tuscanlifeedit

Just an opinion: I like making personal contact with hotels, especially small ones. Through email, I can get a sense of the management. Sometimes.

Also,I am often remembered at check-in because of some personal tidbit in my emails.

I like booking with hotels themselves.

Larryincolorado

My observations on booking websites (I never used them, but I have done comparisons and know I saved a bunch by not):
I've stayed in 22 towns in 12 weeks in Germany in the last eight years. All of them I found by using the town websites and contacting the hotels directly.

In 9 of the towns, nothing was listed on any website that I could find.

In 12 of the towns there were listings, but they were for more expensive places.

In only 1 town did a booking website have a place I stayed at for a comparable price.