I used to book hotels through third party sites until a mess in Austin

For years I always went through Expedia or Priceline to save like 15 bucks a night. Last spring I booked a room in Austin for a show and they overbooked, left me stranded at midnight with no refund. Now I just call the hotel direct and ask for their best rate, half the time they match the online price and I don't have to worry about getting bumped.

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_knight7022d ago

Three years ago I booked a "great deal" through Hotwire for a hotel in Nashville and ended up sleeping in my rental car because the hotel had no record of my reservation. I have never felt more foolish than when I was trying to fix my makeup in a gas station bathroom at 6 AM after a night in a Toyota Corolla. Now I do exactly what you do - call the hotel direct and ask if they can match the third party price. Usually they can, and sometimes they even throw in free breakfast or parking because they don't have to pay the third party commission. It's like the universe decided I needed to learn this lesson the hard way with a side of bad back from a cramped driver's seat.

james_kim22d ago

Man I feel your pain, learned that same lesson from a Motel 6 in Tulsa at 2am.

wrenh6520d ago

Point out that Grace's story actually proves the opposite of what she thinks it proves. Calling the hotel direct can help, but it still leaves you at their mercy with no recourse if something goes wrong. I'd argue the real lesson here is to just book direct from the start and skip the third party sites altogether, because that safety net of having a direct relationship with the hotel saved her in the end.