I am in the process of planning a trip to Italy for this July. After much research, I have chosen the hotels I want to stay at in Florence and Venice. The rates on Hotels.com are good. They say the cancellation fee is nominal if cancelled far enough out. However, they require full prepayment of the reservation up front. This trip is not for a while. Is it difficult to get your money back or change a reservation with them. Is it worth the extra money to book through a travel agent, even though I know where I want to stay?

Have you tried orbitz.com? They do not make you pay up front, unlike Expeida and hotels.com.

I used Hotels.com way in advance last year. Changes to our travel dates incurred a $25 penalty. I'd see if the hotel itself would offer a comparable rate without the strings. If not, you might try this site--I found the prices to be a bit better and you don't have to pay in advance: http://www.placestostay.com/

At least some PlacesToStay.com locations have a nonrefundable deposit.

WillTravel--that's true. I had forgotten that you had to read the policy of the particular hotel you select on P2S. Glad you brought that up.

Have you already checked with the hotels themselves? I always feel more comfortable making my reservation directly with the hotel front desk staff without a "middleman".

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will look into all of them and get back with you.

I've used booking services and other so-called "middlemen" to book hotels in Europe and never had a problem. However, I agree that you should contact the hotels directly and see if they will match the price you were offered using Hotels.com and you may, or may not, get fortunate.

There are many hotels out there that do not require any sort of upfront fee when you book directly so you can easily avoid that if you wish to...but you may have to pay more in some instances.

Maybe I look at this wrong, but I always book with the hotel directly. I like to stay in small hotels - generally family run. I always figure I'd rather the family keep the booking fee as opposed to any middle person. I've never had trouble - and rarely am asked for more than just a credit card number. I've done this in Venice and Florence... where there are some lovely family run places...

I have already spent tons of hours researching hotels throughout Europe. For every hotel that I'm interested in I compare rates on venere.com, orbitz, expedia, hotels.com and with the actual hotel site.

Then, I email the hotel directly.

Of the approximately 60 emails that I have sent, only <b>once</b> has the hotel offered a lower rate than the &quot;middleman&quot; websites (and I'm traveling low season)!

When I booked a hotel in Florence, the hotels.com telephone representative offered me $10 off each of the two nights that I was staying. I paid $70 for a triple room each night, excluding taxes, for a 3 star hotel in the center of the city.

In Rome, I booked a 3 star hotel triple room for $103 through expedia.

My hours spent online leads me to conclude that the middleman do offer the best rates - just keep searching!

Wow, that was a lot of helpful information. I checked out the placestostay.com website, but my hotels were not listed with them. On Orbitz one of the hotels is significantly more $$ than on Hotels.com. I have only been able to contact 1 of the hotels directly, their price is 20Euros more than on Hotels.com, but I do not have to prepay. However, I am confused how I confirm a booking. I need to fax them my request and they will fax back a reply. I also have to fax my credit card # and info. I'm leaning towards using Hotels.com

Like I mentioned before - Try calling hotels.com before you reserve online and ask the representative if they would offer you a discount. The hotel I booked was a special and in addition I got $10 off just for asking!

There's no rule as to where's the cheapest place. For each hotel, shop around (if you have the time &amp; patience)

Your OP was about website vs TA, so I'll respond to that first. Check out whatever rate the TA offers you against what is available online, and determine what fee, if any, is added. If there is a better online rate you can always ask the TA to match it. If the TA can't, go with the site.
In terms of pre-payment, some sites require this if you are booking a &quot;special rate&quot; - usually a room that they have already purchased and are re-selling. Other times they area acting as a middleman just like any other TA. Still others (such as Hotels.com) tack on a service charge.

When I called hotels.com, they offered me a rebate of $30. However, the hotels that I am interested do not qualify, and can only be booked on line. They only offer a rebate on some hotels, and they wouldn't even book my hotels over the phone.

Hi wet,

Have you also looked up your hotels at www.venere.com or at http://italyby.com/

Yes, I checked on Venere.com, they were not showing availability. Maybe it is too far out. I am going to E-mail the hotel in Venice directly to see if they will match the Hotels.com price. Also, I am going to book with Hotels.com for the Florence hotel because they have been significantly less than everywhere else.

I also prefer to deal directly with the hotels.

I can see the pros for dealing directly with a hotel (you have written or spoken to a staff person directly and know their name) OR using a discount booking website (to save money).

Can someone explain what the benefit of using a Travel Agent and paying a fee would be?

I almost always deal directly with the hotel...check into that before booking anything.