online hotels beware

KYCruiseCrazy

<font color=blue>I'll be drooling and dreaming<br>
Joined
May 22, 2003
Messages
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if you get rooms from expedia or hotels.com or even priceline please look at the hotels website and see if its cheaper. i just looked at a few website to get cheaper prices and then double checked the prices on the websites for the acctual hotels and found that the "low price" websites are about 50% higher then what the hotel websites are offering. BUYER BEWARE. so you might want to check your hotel ressies and compare them to your hotel of choice website and see if its cheaper. just a warning to my fellow DISers
 
ive found this to be true as well. Ive had good luck going to AAA's website. I booked a disney resort through AAA and it was cheaper than what disney offered online or what any of the travel sites offered.
 
This is pretty much true. Most of the big hotel chains: Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn, etc... all advertise that they will always have the best rates and this is pretty much accurate (doesn't include Priceline or Hotwire as you don't know what hotel you are going to get, so the hotel chains don't include these in their claims guarantee eg. you find a cheaper room on a legitimate website, they will not only match, but send gift certificates, cash back, etc...). As someone who always plans my own vacations, as well as friends and family, I always get the best rates by booking directly with Hilton or Marriott for example. I find Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity to be more expensive than the actual hotel chains and I've heard too many horror stories from people. I don't understand why you'd want to pay more for a room, plus a service charge and not get hotel points - to me, this is totally silly!

I am loyal to Hilton and Marriott especially, and it pays because they send me weekly sale rates, bonus point opportunities, guaranteed satisfaction, preferred room preferences, etc... As you said, it definitely pays to be an educated consumer, unfortunately these hotel sites have brainwashed people into believing that they are the cheapest, when in fact, they are not!

Tiger:)
 
I've never, ever been able to beat Priceline on a hotel's own website...not even close! And belive me, I doublecheck...as hubby will tell you, I'm a major tightwad (it's the only way to afford 6 to 8 cruises a year). We pay $28 or less for the MCO Marriott, and I've never seen their website offer anything even close to that rate. Once we got the Gaylord for 80-some dollars...again, WAY below anything else I could find. But do your research before bidding...visit www.biddingfortravel.com
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com
 

As I said in my post, major hotel chains do not include Priceline, Hotwire or any other website where you make a bid and don't know what hotel you are going to get in regards to a best rate guarantee. I was talking about Orbitz, hotels.com, Overstock, etc... where the rate and hotel are clearly presented for booking. You cannot count Priceline nor Expedia as they heavily discount based on a variety of reasons and the major hotel chains I suspect couldn't keep up with the rates this way, nor would they be consistent in what rates they could offer guests. I myself have never felt comfortable using Priceline or Expedia as I like to know where I'm staying and I like to get my hotel points for booking with the hotel websites. Plus, I don't think it would be fair to those of us who directly book with the hotels to get the same rate as you for instance who knowlingly bids less for a room based on area and amenities only - you get your room for less because you don't know which hotel you are going to get.

The original poster's warning, as well as mine still stands, but if people want to use Priceline or Expedia, your suggestion to check out bidding.com is a good one as well.

Tiger
 
I just wanted to make it clear as I know that Marriott and Hilton have a Best Rate Guarantee where you make a reservation on their sites, then fill out a claim if you've found a cheaper rate elsewhere. If they deem it to be legitimate, then they will match, plus give other bonuses (I just did this with Hilton as Overstock.com had my hotel room cheaper)! They do not allow you to use Priceline or Expedia for the rate guarantee, and so I just wanted to make that clear so that someone doesn't make a bid on Priceline or Expedia and then take the time to fill out a claim on Hilton or Marriott, because it will be rejected.

I envy people like you who have taken the time to research and learn how to work Priceline and Expedia (and who are not afraid to use them!) - I read all of your posts and you are definitely an expert in this regard! I've always been intrigued with both of these websites, but with a new baby, we like to know the specifics of our hotels/resorts beforehand so that we can plan accordingly.

Tiger:)
 

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