The Internet was supposed to change the way we do lots of things, including book hotel rooms. Travel sites like Orbitz, PriceLine.com, Hotels.com and Expedia have sprung up in recent years with the promise of better prices.
But do you really save money? Increasingly, evidence suggests smart comparative shopping can provide the same or better results, with more flexibility than these sites offer.
The business model for these booking sites isn't exactly new and is relatively simple. Hotel rooms, rental cars and airplane tickets are perishable commodities. On any given day, an empty hotel room, an unsold plane ticket or an idle rental car loses all of its value to the hotel, airline or rental car agency. Better to get something, rather than nothing, the theory goes.
Acting as a broker, or middleman, the booking site negotiates a lower rate for these about-to-perish commodities and sells them to consumers for a slightly higher price. The consumer saves money and the broker pockets a small profit. At least that's the way its supposed to work.
More deals for the asking
But in this economy travel and hospitality businesses are more competitive than ever, and many offer very good deals on their own. Josie, of Oakhurst, Calif., owns a small bed and breakfast near a national park. Her establishment is listed with Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak and some other small affiliated booking sites through Bedandbreakfast.com.
"We list through these booking sites only because they seem to be the way everyone is booking these days," Josie told ConsumerAffairs.com.
But she warns consumers this isn't the best way to book a room, at least not at her B & B.
"They list our B & B at about $1.50 less than we advertise," she said. "Usually if anyone asks we'll give them five to 10 percent discount just for asking."
There have been cases, she says, when she does not receive the booking from the booking site and the client is the one who suffers if there is no vacancy. And there have been other problems.
Bad information
"The room descriptions are often wrong ,stating there is a spa tub, or a fireplace or is a pet-friendly room when it is not," she said. "The latest problem we had was a guest who was told by Hotels.com that there was a shuttle from the other side of the park to our B & B which is an hour drive away! There is no shuttle!"
William, a traveler from Keizer, Ore., said he booked two nights at a hotel through Orbitz and paid a total of $220.
"When I got to the hotel I found out they would have charged just $165.57 for the stay," he said. "I called Orbitz and they said the hotel had no right to tell me their price."
Penelope, of Kernersville, N.C., experienced the "lost" reservation so many others have reported in recent months. Having booked a three night stay through Hotels.com, she arrived to find no such reservation existed. The hotel was able to provide a room, but she had to pay for it. Since she had already paid Hotels.com for it, she paid twice.
"I contacted Hotels.com for a refund the next day," she told ConsumerAffairs.com. "I was told the refund was put through. It has been two weeks and I still have not received the refund."
Wrong hotel
Maureen, of Brooklyn, N.Y., booked a hotel using the "name that price" option on Priceline.com. She got her price, but not the hotel she thought she had booked.
"They had a map that had four zones," she said. "I chose zone one and made an offer for a hotel that was accepted. Only problem is that the hotel was not in the area that I requested!"
When a consumers use a booking site to reserve a hotel room, they pay in advance and the payment, in most cases, is non-refundable. But today, many hotels will also give you a lower price if you make a non-refundable reservation.
For example, the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore's Inner Harbor charges $249 for a room, but $199 for the same room if made with an advance, non-refundable purchase. Other hotels, increasingly have similar policies.
Consumers should also remember that using a booking site to purchase a hotel room a month or two in advance greatly reduces any discount the booking site can offer. Hotels are more likely to offer attractive discounts -- both to you and to booking sites -- closer to the arrival date, since they have a better idea how many extra rooms they have and how many with "perish" if they don't book them.
