I disagree with the whole "always book directly with the hotel" thing after a mess in Chicago last March

Everyone on here swears by booking direct to avoid third party headaches. But last spring I found a room on Hotels.com for $45 a night in Chicago, same room was $89 on the hotel's own site. The front desk lady actually laughed when I showed her the price difference. She said "yeah we can't match that, that's a loss leader for them." I felt like I was missing out on loyalty points or whatever but I saved like $120 total for 3 nights. Has anyone else had a hotel employee basically tell you to just use the third party because the deal is that good?

2 comments

2 Comments

xenagarcia1mo ago

Getting a laugh from the front desk lady isn't really that big of a deal though. Sounds like you saved a hundred bucks and got a decent room. People act like missing out on some points or a free breakfast is the end of the world, but cash in your pocket beats that every time. I've had hotels match the third party price before, but it took like 20 minutes on the phone. For $45 a night I'd let them laugh all day.

alice_kim1mo ago

Wait, hotels matching third party prices isn't really a guaranteed thing everywhere. Some chains have a "best rate guarantee" that only applies if you book directly through them, not after you already booked. The $45 a night savings is great but you usually have to catch it before you check in, not after you arrive. Also those price match policies usually have a ton of fine print about the exact room type and cancellation terms. So it's not as simple as just showing up and asking for a discount, you know? The front desk lady probably laughed because she knew their policy wouldn't let her match it on the spot.