We're trying to book a room at a Fairfield Inn for our vacation this summer. When I check w/ the Marriott website, Travelocity, Expedia, etc. it says this property is sold out, but Hotels.com is saying they still have availability. We'd like to book it but I'm a little nervous that everyone else says they're sold out. If I book through Hotels.com, do I need to worry about the room being there when we show up?

Also, what are the "tax recovery charges" and "service fee" that they charge? Does this mean I'm prepaying the room tax?

Thanks

I have not used hotels.com, but it is a reputable company. I have booked a hotel at an extremely good price once through expedia when the hotel itself (by phone and web) said they were sold out for that date. Once booked, I called the next day to confirm with the hotel that I did, indeed, have a reservation. No problems!

I don't know what the tax recovery charge is, but the service fee is a fee that hotels.com is charging you to make the reservation. And I've never booked a hotel through a pre-paid site that didn't also include pre-payment of the taxes.

Hey Julie,
If you will give me the dates and the city, I can check some internal availability 'sources' for you.
You may be able to get it without the hotels.com hassle.
~Laura

I'd call the hotel directly. I've had luck when the hotel website says it's not available but the front desk has found a room. Just make sure they don't transfer you to the centralized reservation number. Call during normal business hours for that location.

You were right, starrsville--I called the hotel directly and they seemed to have plenty of availability. Why that would be I have no idea, but I guess I can't complain.

Thanks

I have used both Hotels.com and Hotelkingdom.com, and both have been fine. Last March I used one (I don't remember which) to book three nights at Universal's Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando when they didn't have any availablity when I called the hotel directly - we got a great room with no problem.

Julie, Glad it worked out for you by calling the hotel directly. Always smart to talk to someone actually at the property you're interested in visiting.

But to answer the question, I've used hotels.com and have had only positive experiences. Like everyone else, I don't like to prepay but I have when their rates were particularly good. One time I had to cancel at the last minute (snow). I called to ask if I could get a credit for half of my unused days. They credited me the entire trip. Maybe I got a soft touch but it kept them on my list of places to check.

I used hotels.com for several hotels during a trip from VA to CA and back and had no problems. The only one with a service fee was the LaQuinta in San Diego. There was no fee for the LaQuinta in Del City, OK.

I may be way off base, but I don't think hotels give up their entire inventory to web sites like hotels.com, expedia, etc. If those sites can't book you I think it just means their allotment is gone. Now of course, the hotel may be booked anyway, but I think that is a different matter. With Marriott's site, I have checked and a couple of times not been able to get a room until I put in our Rewards number, then we got a room.