Third-party booking sites might yield better deals on hotels, but generally, hotels prefer you to book directly with them. In fact, some hotels even offer perks for you to do just that. Next time you’re looking for lodging, call the hotel directly and ask if they’re offering anything special.
Photo by Evgeniy Isaev.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that many hotels are urging guests to book directly via their websites so they don’t have to pay the 15-25 per cent commission that many third-party sites, like Expedia.com, charge. Here are a couple of examples they call out in the article:
As for the perks, the Hotel Amarano in Burbank offers guests who book directly either a $25 food and beverage credit to use at the hotel’s eateries or a room upgrade. Guests who book directly at the Beverly Hilton Hotel can get free Wi-Fi.
In Hawaii, a hotel management group is giving daily $20 Starbucks gift cards to guests who book directly at the group’s Lite hotels, plus 12 other properties across the islands.
Still, if you want to save money, many times, those third-party sites offer a better deal. However, it can’t hurt to call the hotel directly and ask if they will match the price or at least offer some incentives for booking with them directly. For more detail, head to the links below.
Hotels are using guest perks to battle online travel agencies [LA Times via Consumerist]
Comments
2 responses to “Ask A Hotel If They Offer Perks For Booking Directly With Them”
Now if they just didn’t rip people off in the first place, you wouldn’t hesitate booking directly.
I never even thought of this. I thought not being billed in advance, easy cancellation policies, and not having your booking totally ballsed up in the handover from the third party site to the hotel as perk enough. Not to mention the often bad customer service you get when you book through a third party site.