booking hotel not thru hotel

what have been your experience with booking through sites like Yahoo and Expedia?

I called Royal Sonesta and booked for $129 6 weeks ago. Now their website is $109. But Yahoo and Expedia offer buy 2, get 1 free.

On Yahoo and Expedia, you don%26#39;t get to specify %26#39;king bed%26#39; and %26#39;non-smoking%26#39;. Both are a big deal to us.

On Royal Sonesta%26#39;s site, I can%26#39;t seem to specify %26#39;non-smoking%26#39;.

If I book through one of these, can I specify when I check in? I fear that I won%26#39;t get what I want.

booking hotel not thru hotel

I don%26#39;t like booking through 3rd party sites due to no cancellation and no guarantee on room type. Sometimes even if you book through the hotel, they will not give you what you requested, especially if they are full.

Call the hotel to see if they will match Yahoo or Expedia. Ask specifically if room type is guaranteed.

booking hotel not thru hotel

I used to work in a hotel. Generally I%26#39;d say that the reservations will be fine, unless it%26#39;s a busy night, and the third party bookings will be the first to have either non-preferred room arrangements (double vs. king, smoking vs non-smoking). It might be worth checking out whether or not it%26#39;s going to be really busy in advance, or I%26#39;d recommend arriving early, because you have a better chance of getting everything you requested.

For my own trips, currently I%26#39;m going through expedia because it%26#39;s more than 50% cheaper than booking through the hotel. I feel like it%26#39;s not worth the twice price of the room just to guarantee my preferences.

Im a travel agent in wyoming in my experiance i would have to say call the hotel directly . Ask to speak to the sales department and tell them the offer you found on the 3rd party sites and ask them if they can match it. They should be able to offer you a choice of smoking or non smoking , king bed vs double beds.

It just pays to compare both. I have found large swings both ways.

The advantage of booking directly is that your card is not charged until you arrive (although usually they charge you for one day to reserve the room about a week prior). The hotel sites are much more lenient on cancellation policies as well. You usually have until a week prior to cancel your reservation with no penalty.

Sometimes, I like the flexibility, other times it doesn%26#39;t really matter. I also don%26#39;t like Travelocity and Expedia%26#39;s %26#39;service charge%26#39; which is usually $10 (or more), and they post the full stay to your card immediately.

We booked months ago at Place d%26#39;Armes and got a much better rate directly at the hotel%26#39;s site compared to anyone else.

Your mileage may vary.

I always try to book through the hotel because they will adjust the price if the rate goes down, whereas the 3rd party sites will not honor lower prices posted on hotel websites (I think some may, but for the most part you are locked in).

Another reason to book directly is that the hotels make more money from you so you often get better rooms.

A $200 room booked directly with the hotel nets them $200. A $200 room booked by Expedia, for instance, nets the hotel something like $150. You pay the same either way but you are taking out the ';middle man'; by going direct.

I%26#39;ve booked both ways, and usually I%26#39;ll use Travelocity if I also need airfare and can get a combo rate. Otherwise, I%26#39;ve found it better to book on the hotel website. Sadly, calling the hotel to book is more often a nightmare.