Making hotel reservations through on-line discount companies?
 

We travel a good deal, but I've never used the discount companies-- have always been kind of "afraid" to do things that way for some reason. But hotels are getting more and more expensive, so if there's a convenient, "safe" way to book on-line, I should start trying to do that. For those of you who regularly book hotels in that manner, can you tell me, please, things to watch out for. And which companies are the best-- most reliable? best prices? etc. In short, anything you can tell me to get me going would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

If you mean websites like Expedia - read their refund policy carefully. I think Expedia charges $25 for cancellation.

Also call the hotel to confirm they got your reservation. Once I reserved 2 rooms for 2 couples, same credit card, and only 1 room went through. I called Expedia, and it was fixed within an hour.

Best prices - you never know! Sometimes it's a discount company, sometimes hotel's own website.

The few times I've found lower rates on those other sites than the hotel's own website, I've called the specific hotel direct (not the 800 number) and asked them if they'd match it. I can't remember the last time any of them refused. I'd much prefer to book directly and not pay a fee or have a limited cancellation policy.

I have been reading alot lately how many of the hotel "chains" are pulling their properties out of the Expedia/Orbitz, etc. search systems. Marriott has been offering "look no further" rates on their website, and not offering any discounts thru the on-line services.

There are search engines like sidestep and kayak which check with many of the hotel's own websites as well as discount travel sites for the best rates.

However, because of these search engines always looking for the lowest "base" price, I am finding lately that the on-line services as well as the hotels are tacking on "nickel and dime" charges which add up to a lot. I just was trying to book a trip through hotels.com. When I went to pay, they tacked on an additional $200+ worth of "service charges, resort fees, etc." for a 4-night stay! Many hotels also add on parking charges, etc.

That being said, I have been booking with Orbitz and Expedia for years with no problems. A hotel I booked on Travelocity, however, had no records of my reservation. I arrived late and there was only a security guard on duty. When I showed him my printout of the reservation, he looked puzzled and asked "is this off of some kind of computer or something?" :B Then we knew we were in trouble!

I use Hotwire or Priceline and those are cheaper because you do not pick your hotel, merely the neighborhood and service/rating level. All is locked in.

Cancellation is a problem and you pay with credit card for full amount when you book. It is not for everyone and there are those who use biddingfortravel.com regularly to know what most people are getting for most bids. I have used that for some markets but not for others. And I have not had Patrick's experience of being able to duplicate the Expedia or Travelocity deal by calling the hotel direct. I have tried three times and never had success with that. Two times they have told me that all the rooms were booked for the night I ended up accepting on Hotwire. One time they told me they could not accept any but their rack rate.

Good luck. Researching will pay off. My success has been about 1/2 to 2/3 of rack rate on average with a couple times getting a rate for 3 days which was a little more than only 1/4 of the rack rate. But some in some markets and with some discount companies, prices are not going that low any longer. If your meaning of "safe" means paying only when you arrive/leave the hotel, than the Priceline or Hotwire choice will not really be for you. I have also used quikbook and hoteldiscount.com where you pick your exact hotel, and you may feel less afraid to try that procedure.

Never had a problem even when we could not use the rt portion of a shuttle ticket from Manhattan to LGA - the credit was issued promptly.
M

Hi poss, I have used hotel.com but I now just check out prices and call direct to the hotel (not the 800#) and have always been able to get the room for the price on hotel.com. Or at least had something added in such as free parking for the car.

I don't like the discount companies because as others have said there are cancellation penalties etc.

I have had great success on Priceline.
Check www.biddingfortravel.com before bidding on Priceline.