# Tip for booking US hotels



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I've been using this trick for about the last 5 years (sometimes it shows up). There are the normal hotel prices you can find through the usual outlets, booking.com, hotels.com, expedia, travelocity. Generally, I will see similar prices when I look at the room prices in USD no matter which web site I use.

However there _sometimes_ seems to be a quirk through hotels.ca, the Canadian version of the site, when I look at hotels priced in CAD. I will sometimes see radically different (much cheaper) pricing, even after you account for USD/CAD conversion.

I've been able to use this at several major hotel chains. Just make sure that you check prices both in USD and CAD. You may find that one is much cheaper than the other. I don't want to post the exact hotel here because I just booked one in California, and the CAD-based price is about 25% cheaper. I know for sure that it's a serious discount because the price is now similar to what Hotwire offers in the region.

Enjoy those US hotels! Here's a chart of the USD falling, now about 5% cheaper than a year ago 
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$USDCAD&p=D&yr=1&mn=0&dy=0&id=p44580144406


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Yes. And the same applies for booking hotels and other travel products outside of North America. We booked a hotel in Portugal and an AI in Greece with a TA in the UK because it was significantly less expensive (adjusted for currency) than booking in Canada or the US. Same with a cruise in Australia. We also find that some of the most advantageous exchange rates are offered by US and foreign airlines.

We travel frequently. IF we narrow down a hotel on say, Booking.com, we will always check with the hotel directly. The price may be the same but often the room is better, a breakfast is included etc. We were in Samara, Costa Rica last winter. We selected a hotel on booking.com. Then we visited the hotel (we were staying on another beach a few miles away), saw the rooms, spoke to the owner, and did a cash deal at a significant discount to their web price. Supply and demand. And cash. Not only that, paying in local currency gave us another eight point edge over their USD price. We belong to the Marriott, Hilton, Accor, Choice, chains. From time to time we get very attractive offers/pricing from them.


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## GeoNomad (Aug 24, 2017)

But you have to check the final price to see if you really saved.

If the final price is in the local currency, that is the number that matters. Not the displayed CAD or USD. You often pay in the local currency and it will convert at your credit card rate at the time of payment.

The USD and CAD hotel price quotes can be misleading by a lot.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We have a credit card that uses FX rates. No 2.5 percent add on. Yes, rates can and do fluctuate. Just depends on how far out you are book and if the booking is non refundable.

We booked a 19 day Australia/NZ cruise while we were in Australia a few years ago. It was booked three weeks before sailing date. The price on the US and Canadian web site was 35 percent higher than the price we paid when booking by phone in Australia.
My sister booked a Baltic cruise. She booked it with a UK travel agent. The price, adjusted for currency, was 15 percent less than the best price she could get from her on line TA. We did a South African safari four years ago. We priced locally. Very expensive. Then we found a recommended South African TA/safari firm. We booked directly with them via email and skype at a substantial saving over what was quoted to us in Canada. We had the same experience in Argentina this past winter.

It really does pay to shop around for travel-especially travel outside of Canada.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Prices for US hotels and US vacations in general are crashing right now 

CAD getting stronger, we're all getting wealthier.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Wanted to mention this, something to watch for. I occasionally use hotels.com to make tentative hotel bookings, and then cancel them for various reasons.

Although I had cancelled a (refundable) hotel and even phoned the hotel to confirm that my reservation was cancelled, I noticed on my credit card statement that they had charged me for a full night anyway. I phoned the hotel and they said they will reverse the charge.

Watch your credit card statements and activity through online banking


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## Wanderer (Dec 13, 2017)

In an episode of Marketplace, they did compare the price on the US and Canadian version of the website. If I remember well, these sites proposed different prices to people depending on their Internet history. You should definitely compare with the price in a private navigation window as well. The price can be different on your cellphone too.

There's an article on the CBC website that you should be able to find on Google about how you can save when shopping online. It's titled How companies use personal data to charge different people different prices for the same product.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Wanderer said:


> In an episode of Marketplace, they did compare the price on the US and Canadian version of the website. If I remember well, these sites proposed different prices to people depending on their Internet history. You should definitely compare with the price in a private navigation window as well. The price can be different on your cellphone too.
> 
> There's an article on the CBC website that you should be able to find on Google about how you can save when shopping online. It's titled How companies use personal data to charge different people different prices for the same product.




Yup. You also get different prices if you first go to the .com site, then switch back to .ca, or something along those lines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZVpbwz6kPk


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Wanderer said:


> In an episode of Marketplace, they did compare the price on the US and Canadian version of the website. If I remember well, these sites proposed different prices to people depending on their Internet history. You should definitely compare with the price in a private navigation window as well. The price can be different on your cellphone too.
> 
> There's an article on the CBC website that you should be able to find on Google about how you can save when shopping online. It's titled How companies use personal data to charge different people different prices for the same product.




Yup. You also get different prices if you first go to the .com site, then switch back to .ca, or something along those lines. Supposedly people on iOS devices typically pay a bit more too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZVpbwz6kPk


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I agree with those methods. When I'm booking hotels and flights, I try switching back and forth between different versions of the sites. Even with AC, I found a big discount this time buying from the .ca site since they had a sale that the US site didn't have. And it goes both ways.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Although I used to regularly use hotels.ca, lately I have been having better luck with booking.com

Just thought I'd share. Booking.com has treated me well both in Canada and some other countries (Caribbean & Australia). Always shop around! As a bare minimum, I always check hotels.ca, booking.com, hotwire.com

I always start by making a totally refundable booking. As the date approaches, I check Hotwire or Priceline to see if I can get a much better last minute non-refundable deal. If I can get one of those, I then cancel my earlier refundable booking.

Recent example... I first found a good Vancouver hotel for $694 at hotels.ca (4 nights, with taxes). When I checked booking.com I found the same hotel for $616. That's nearly $80 savings for the same thing. Make sure you always compare hotel prices using the total after taxes & fees.

Now as my travel date approaches I will attempt Vancouver using Hotwire secret hotels and Priceline bidding. It may get even cheaper.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We have used Priceline extensively in the US and Canada. Hotwire to a lesser extent. We typically bid four star hotels. You can obtain lots of advice and information from biddingfortravel.com and betterbidding.com. Indeed, we have sometimes been able to identify a hotel prior to booking or to at least narrow it down to one or two properties. We only use the bidding section on Priceline.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I've used Priceline too, but I've often found that bidding is not a worthwhile experience. There are many steps to do this, including retrying over multiple days (and yes I am aware of the free re-bidding trick). With time and patience you can get great results, I agree.

Over the years I have found that Hotwire is much faster and easier and often ends up with something nearly as good. Priceline bidding is just a time consuming process... maybe the payoff is greater at 4 stars, but for 3 stars I haven't found that effort worthwhile.

That being said, I will try Priceline again for this Vancouver trip


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We have also had excellent results bidding Priceline four star properties in London, Paris, LHR, GTW, and CDG.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

As an aside, PCLN is also one of the best performing stocks in the last decade. 15 year return of 43% per year according to Morningstar.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

james4beach said:


> As an aside, PCLN is also one of the best performing stocks in the last decade. 15 year return of 43% per year according to Morningstar.


yeah....coulda woulda shoulda ...years ago!!!


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

james4beach said:


> As an aside, PCLN is also one of the best performing stocks in the last decade. 15 year return of 43% per year according to Morningstar.


I guess Priceline flew a bit under the radar as their biggest revenue source is Booking.com. I hadn't heard much about Priceline since the days of the Shatner commercials and was surprised by their current stock price. But since they own Booking.com and Kayak, it now makes some sense.

I wonder if Shatner still has his Priceline shares.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Just FYI, a sale has started at Hotels.ca using coupon code: VICTORIA

It looks like this has knocked another 8% off my upcoming Las Vegas hotel. I'm going to cancel the earlier refundable booking and simply book again with the coupon.

This is another one of these cases where Hotels.ca (the Canadian edition) results in a price that's cheaper than US hotels.com, booking.com, expedia, etc -- even after converting to the same currency.

*Edit*: Plus another sale for Hotwire using code MEMDAYHOTEL


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## new dog (Jun 21, 2016)

Thanks James I need a hotel in the US in August and will look into some of the lies you mentioned.


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## lonewolf :) (Sep 13, 2016)

Meridian credit union has the best fee visa card I have seen. 

Listed some of the perks

Best available price guarantee on visa luxury hotel collection automatic room up grade upon arrival free Wi Fi complimentary daily breakfast for 2, late checkout when available, 25 dollar complimentary food or beverage voucher.

Other benefits 4% cash back on groceries & gas, 2% cash back on utility bill payments & pharmacy purchases on first 25,000, 1% cash back other spending

travel insurance

purchase protection & extended warranty for electronics & appliances

If buy cell phone or tablet or make all wireless bill payments through meridian visa card up to $1000 protection if lost, stolen, accidentally damaged or experiences hardware failure

Credit card fee first year free
$99 after 1st year

Meridian also has a free credit card that has cash back. 

Since credit unions are member own will probably always find the best credit cards through credit unions.

A few weeks back purchased 5 year redeemable GICs that payed 4% annual from a credit union. Nothing from a bank even close.


There is a reason I often recommend go with credit unions.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We use biddingfortravel and betterbidding as aides prior to using Hotwire or Priceline. Very helpful. We only use Priceline bidding, not the other parts of the service.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I used to do Priceline bidding a lot but have somewhat given up on it. Over the last 2 years, I'm not finding nearly as many good deals, and often I get a price that isn't too different from Hotwire. Maybe it's just the cities I'm traveling to, but Priceline (bidding) is losing its magic, for me.


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## BC Eddie (Feb 2, 2014)

james4beach said:


> I used to do Priceline bidding a lot but have somewhat given up on it. Over the last 2 years, I'm not finding nearly as many good deals, and often I get a price that isn't too different from Hotwire. Maybe it's just the cities I'm traveling to, but Priceline (bidding) is losing its magic, for me.


I have had the same experience with Priceline + Better Bidding. Back when I traveled every week I must have saved $thousands by using these sites. More recently I am finding I can get a better rate by contacting the hotel directly.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

One absolutely has to check both hotels.com and hotels.ca (CAD version) in addition to booking.com. Try both currencies. It's amazing how various specials and promotions rotate through them.

Here's how the prices looked for the exact same, refundable reservation, after taxes:

*$270 USD from hotels.ca in CAD mode* (says $270 to be paid in hotel's currency)
$417 USD from hotels.com in USD mode
$417 USD from booking.com in USD mode
_and for comparison_
$461 USD for cheapest Air B&B (entire place) in region

That's 35% cheaper, a price only seen when you switch to CAD mode. I've been finding deals like this for 5 years now, in several US cities.

At this property, that's 5 nights at $54 USD/night after taxes. Cheaper than Air B&B and VRBO.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

I never use any third party booking parasites (pun intended) for hotels or air travel. I always book direct with the hotel by phone.

A couple of years ago I did a little experiment when going on a road trip from Ontario to New Mexico and back. About 2 months before departure, I went online and checked prices on a series of chain hotels along the route I intended to travel. I checked prices on a couple of third party sites as well as the hotel chains member site and finally on the hotel's own specific site. I wrote all the prices down. When I started out on the trip, I checked again online for prices for the location I was likely to stop in on our first night. I wrote the prices down. Finally, I drove up to the hotel door and negotiated a price as a 'walk-in'.

In total, we stayed in 13 hotels. In no case, was the earliest price or the day before price on any of the online sites lower than the price I negotiated as a 'walk-in'. In only 2 cases was an online price the same as the price I ended up paying as a walk-in. So much for online parasites and their advertising, 'we get you the best price.'

Third party sites simply make money on a transaction between you and a hotel. Common sense should tell you that is not what a hotel would prefer and that there is room for you to negotiate if you cut out that middle man. Recently, hotels have begun to fight back against third party site bookings with a 'Best Price Guarantee'. Accor Hotels for example will not only match but beat by 10% any price you find online. https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/supp...ed/faq/what-is-the-best-price-guarantee.shtml Makes sense for them to do so when third party sites are getting 15% or more of *your* money when you book with them. Hilton will match any price you find and give you a flat $50 discount per night.

And before anyone asks, no, none of the hotels was full when I got there despite third party sites that show you, 'only 3 rooms left'. All that means is that the third party site only has 3 rooms available *to them* for booking.

That brings us to just what rooms do third party sites have to offer you. Often, they do not have access to all the rooms in a hotel and that is why they may show 'no availability for your chosen dates', when in fact the hotel does have rooms available, just not available through that booking site. On a recent trip to Switzerland, I phoned and made a reservation with a hotel we have stayed at before, for 10 nights. On the usual suspect third party sites, the only rooms they showed as available were the 2 most expensive rooms in the hotel. That was because the hotel has no problem renting all of their first two classes of rooms directly and only makes the third (most expensive) class of room available to the booking sites.

Now consider what you might see and conclude if all you did was look at the third party sites. You would see a room price of $300 per night as the only availability for that hotel. While in fact, a phone call would let you discover that there was a room available for $100 and another for $200 at the hotel for your dates.

Meanwhile people are talking about, 'site x says $300 and site y says $280, so I went with site y'. I booked the $200 room and as a returning guest was not surprised when on arrival we were upgraded to the $300 room. 

It's worth reading about why booking with third party sites may not be your wisest choice. https://www.google.ca/search?rlz=1C....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..7.4.864....0.K9WiotYYY6c


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Another good way to score a deal is to call after 5PM. If we are travelling by car, or if we do not have a reservation for the night we will note the names and phone numbers of a few places that look good. DW will call, after 4:30/5 while we are on the road, and ask the reservations clerk for their best room price that night. The person knows that if they have unsold rooms they only have once chance at scoring a customer. It us often reflected in the price that they give. OR we will simply walk in, purposely have the car running outside with either me or DW in it, and then ask for the best price. It works. More than once we have done a quick tour of motel parking lots to see how busy they were prior to calling. Gives one a heads up as to anxious they will be to provide a great rate and/or an great upgrade.

It can work anywhere. One time we rolled into Kelowna quite late at night the rate quoted was $149. It was supposed to be $199 so the clerk said. I said my company does not pay that much. Without blinking the clerk said 'how about $99? We registered.

Hotel rooms are like airline seats and cruise ship cabins. The inventory gets stale in a hurry and has zero residual value. That spells opportunity for the careful traveller.

The other thing we do in large cities is to book on the weekend, Friday thru Monday AM. We go on line to some very nice business class hotels. They often run very attractive weekend specials. Empty rooms because of no or few business travelers so they want to blow them out.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

ian said:


> Another good way to score a deal is to call after 5PM. If we are travelling by car, or if we do not have a reservation for the night we will note the names and phone numbers of a few places that look good. DW will call, after 4:30/5 while we are on the road, and ask the reservations clerk for their best room price that night. The person knows that if they have unsold rooms they only have once chance at scoring a customer. It us often reflected in the price that they give. OR we will simply walk in, purposely have the car running outside with either me or DW in it, and then ask for the best price. It works. More than once we have done a quick tour of motel parking lots to see how busy they were prior to calling. Gives one a heads up as to anxious they will be to provide a great rate and/or an great upgrade.
> 
> It can work anywhere. One time we rolled into Kelowna quite late at night the rate quoted was $149. It was supposed to be $199 so the clerk said. I said my company does not pay that much. Without blinking the clerk said 'how about $99? We registered.
> 
> ...


I agree 100% ian. The only caveat I would add to your comments is to get used to not using the words 'best price'. Many hotels have a list of rates that include specific names like 'senior rate', 'corporate rate' and 'best price rate'. When someone asks for their 'best price', they may get quoted that listed rate. What we really want is the 'lowest price' they will quote us and that is often an entirely different thing sometimes in 'hotel jargon'.

You may get the lowest rate in the majority of asks when asking for their 'best price' but you may also not get their lowest price in some cases when asking for their 'best price'. I really stay away from using the term 'best price.'

I also always speak directly to the individual hotel reception desk. I never speak to a booking office even the hotel chain's central booking office. I find that if you can get the reception agent to laugh, it often gets you a lower price. If I had my wife phone (she doesn't, that's my job), I'd tell her to say something like, 'I have a problem, I need your help. (Those are also known as the 8 magic words, it turns the request into a personal request for help.) My husband wants me to stay in a Motel 7, what's the lowest price you can offer me to save me from that?'


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

james4beach said:


> One absolutely has to check both hotels.com and hotels.ca (CAD version) in addition to booking.com. Try both currencies. It's amazing how various specials and promotions rotate through them.
> 
> Here's how the prices looked for the exact same, refundable reservation, after taxes:
> 
> ...


james, i know you've mentioned this .com vs .ca pricing before.
I havent read all your posts, but have you ever actually booked hotel(s) based on this type of price dicrepancy? and had it actually resulted in the savings expected?
I just find it a bit " too good to be true" to think US hotels (or websites) would end up offering better pricing to canucks than yanks...
Not doubting what you're saying....just curious....

(reminds me of back in the day, when wewent to florida a lot. i'dgo to my local RBC , give them $125 cdn. & get back $100 us. My friends said i was stupid. They went to the banks down in florida, give them $100 cdn & get back $75 us. And they thought they were getting a better dea!)


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> james, i know you've mentioned this .com vs .ca pricing before.
> I havent read all your posts, but have you ever actually booked hotel(s) based on this type of price dicrepancy? and had it actually resulted in the savings expected?
> I just find it a bit " too good to be true" to think US hotels (or websites) would end up offering better pricing to canucks than yanks...
> Not doubting what you're saying....just curious....
> ...


I know this was for James, but yes, we have done this for years. It doesn't work all the time, and sometimes the US rate is better than the Canadian, it depends on what is happening with the US-CDN currency. We actually have one computer we use for US price research, and one for Canadian. There is also something with the cookies that store your information, so my spouse will clear out the cookies and do something to our system when booking. This applies for flights too.

You definitely need time to research, and the rule we have learned is if you a deal that seems to good to be true, especially early on in your research, BOOK IT. We have lucked out on hotels and flights where there was some thing too good to be true, called a friend (travelling with us) or even gone on the other computer, and it's gone. So we will leave the one computer up.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

jargey3000 said:


> james, i know you've mentioned this .com vs .ca pricing before.
> I havent read all your posts, but have you ever actually booked hotel(s) based on this type of price dicrepancy? and had it actually resulted in the savings expected?
> I just find it a bit " too good to be true" to think US hotels (or websites) would end up offering better pricing to canucks than yanks...
> Not doubting what you're saying....just curious....
> ...


Jargey3000, have you ever heard the old, old story of the 2 guys who went to a farm and bought a wagon load of watermelons for 10 cents each. Then they drove the wagon into town and sold all the watermelons for 10 cents each. When they sat down and added up the money, one said to the other. Doggone, we've got the same amount of money as we started out with and we still have to pay for feed for the horses, we're gonna have lost money on this.' The other guy replied, 'I told you we should have got a bigger wagon.'

Whenever people talk about saving money on a hotel room, I always wonder what they are comparing with. What difference does it make if the .ca site has a lower price than the .com price? One third party site might just as easily have a lower price than another third party site, regardless of the .ca or .com. And then, the guy who just drives up to the hotel and walks in to reception might get a lower price than any of them. But who saved money? The guy who walked in didn't save anything, he just spent less than someone who booked online. Meanwhile the guy who booked on .ca thinks he saved money compared to the price on .com. 

So my question is always 'saving' compared to what? Compared to the guy who paid more than you or the guy who paid less than you? 

Anyone who hasn't already read Jacob Tomsky's 'Heads In Beds' and spends much time in hotels, should do so. If you want to know how best to deal with hotels, then it makes sense to listen to people who *work* in the hotels, not listen to third party parasites. Any hotel industry insider will tell you some basic truths. The guest who books direct with the hotel property itself by phone (not central reservations) is more likely to be treated better than someone who books online. 

If you don't believe that, then try to refute the following statement. No online method of booking can get you a better price, better room, or more perks than the person behind the Reception Desk can if they *choose* to do so.

The key is to get them to choose to do so obviously and you cannot do that online. You can only do that by actually speaking to the person.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

Don't know about the US but more than once we have had a better internet rate than what the front desk could offer. Two years ago we were in Nha Trang, Vietnam. We wanted to change hotels. Narrowed our choice down to one. Went into reception and asked to reserve for the next three nights. Price quoted on their own website was about 25 percent highter than what reception quoted. We told them about the internet rate. No change. The gentleman on the desk showed us the hotel guest computer station and suggested that we make the on line reservation then and there. We did, and at 25 percent less than the desk was offering. My guess, the desk did not have management available and thus could not lower the rate for us.

We usually shop on Agoda, Booking, orbitz etc. Once we decided our practice is to always deal with the hotel. Usually the price is better OR we get an upgraded room with additional benefit such as breakfast or a better cancellation policy. There have been a few times when the booking.com or the agoda.com rate has been much better than the hotel direct rate. I have been told that in some instance these firms actually buy blocks of rooms to re-sell. Not certain if this is so but certainly we have experienced this on a few ocasions.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Longtimeago said:


> Jargey3000, have you ever heard the old, old story of the 2 guys who went to a farm and bought a wagon load of watermelons for 10 cents each. Then they drove the wagon into town and sold all the watermelons for 10 cents each. When they sat down and added up the money, one said to the other. Doggone, we've got the same amount of money as we started out with and we still have to pay for feed for the horses, we're gonna have lost money on this.' The other guy replied, 'I told you we should have got a bigger wagon.'
> 
> Whenever people talk about saving money on a hotel room, I always wonder what they are comparing with. What difference does it make if the .ca site has a lower price than the .com price? One third party site might just as easily have a lower price than another third party site, regardless of the .ca or .com. And then, the guy who just drives up to the hotel and walks in to reception might get a lower price than any of them. But who saved money? The guy who walked in didn't save anything, he just spent less than someone who booked online. Meanwhile the guy who booked on .ca thinks he saved money compared to the price on .com.
> 
> ...


i basically agree with that long, calling direct has worked for me over the years in getting a better rate, or atleast getting them to match the best 3rd party rate.
im just a bit intrigued by the currency flucuation pricing outlined above.
most times, i dont give a hoot about how the hotel "treats me" as long as i get a satisfactory clean room at what i feel is a good rate... 😍


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Longtimeago said:


> Whenever people talk about saving money on a hotel room, I always wonder what they are comparing with. What difference does it make if the .ca site has a lower price than the .com price? One third party site might just as easily have a lower price than another third party site, regardless of the .ca or .com. And then, the guy who just drives up to the hotel and walks in to reception might get a lower price than any of them. But who saved money? The guy who walked in didn't save anything, he just spent less than someone who booked online. Meanwhile the guy who booked on .ca thinks he saved money compared to the price on .com.
> 
> So my question is always 'saving' compared to what? Compared to the guy who paid more than you or the guy who paid less than you?
> 
> ...


 I compare calling the hotel directly, .ca and .com and a few other sites, plus we are affiliated with a lot of companies through work when I make a decision on the hotel. I use the internet to help me get a price range and research. then will call the hotel to find there price directly. The fact is I have gotten better deals online, I would guess about a third of the time I will get a better deal online by more than 15% from calling the hotel directly. It is not ALWAYS true that online is inferior. 

If it’s really close, I will book directly with the hotel. You are totally correct, you can get more perks with the hotel, so when it’s that close I will go through the hotel directly. 

So my comparison saving is against the directly what I can get from the hotel. My point in posting is that there often discrepancies in the us and Canadian site, so to properly see where the best deal is, you have check both.


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## robfordlives (Sep 18, 2014)

Sorry if not mentioned directly but with credit card hacking, easy to get around 15 free nights per year with best western, marriott, etc. Not everyone's cup of tea but at say $200 per night on average it beats a kick in the pants.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> I compare calling the hotel directly, .ca and .com and a few other sites, plus we are affiliated with a lot of companies through work when I make a decision on the hotel. I use the internet to help me get a price range and research. then will call the hotel to find there price directly. The fact is I have gotten better deals online, I would guess about a third of the time I will get a better deal online by more than 15% from calling the hotel directly. It is not ALWAYS true that online is inferior.


I can't remember the last time I got a better rate by phoning a hotel directly. I just tried it right now with my upcoming reservation. The hotel's reservation line just sends me to a call center (in the Philippines, if I had to guess) and the rates are same as the hotel web site.

I know that every situation is different but in recent memory, I have not encountered a better price directly at the hotel, versus the hotel's web site or web sites like booking.com, hotels.com.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

I think it's situation dependent. Personally, I prefer to book through the hotel because I do think they can offer a better rate or perks (breakfast, transfers, etc) by cutting out the middle man. Less complexity too.
But similar to J4b, for some of the chains, I've tried calling the hotel directly and they just tell me to call their toll free for their corporate call centre that does all the bookings. We've arrived at a popular destination once without a reservation and walked to a few hotels and was only able to save a few Euros off the booking.com price only by eliminating the complimentary breakfast. You also can encounter shady business practices booking directly. The missus booked directly ahead of time for a specific place once in HCMC and once in Prague where they tried to walk them over to a different (sister?) hotel, likely because they overbooked expecting cancellations. 

I think some booking sites might be able to offer a better deal (price or perks) by booking a block of rooms with hotel/resort. 

We haven't scored a lot of deals recently by bidding for a room on Priceline, and have gravitated away from it due to the effort of needing to constantly rebid. 10 years ago during the great recession, we were getting some great deals on rooms in the US.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

you have to phone DIRECTLY to the physical hotel itself and speak to somebody actually AT the hotel
you wont get much from a 1-800 number or a chain's central reservation number.


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## BC Eddie (Feb 2, 2014)

james4beach said:


> I can't remember the last time I got a better rate by phoning a hotel directly.


Well I did not call but I emailed a Vancouver hotel this past July for a three day stay prior to a cruise. I found a seniors rate on Zoomer magazine but was not able to book it via the web site due to some bug. I ended up dealing with the reservation manager. They not only gave me a better rate than the Zoomer rate but than gave me a huge discount on top of that due to my inconvenience.

I have to rave about this hotel (Loden Hotel on Melville street) because it was probably the best hotel I have ever stayed in and I have traveled quite a bit for work and pleasure. Great location, rooms, restaurant, and fantastic staff.


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## tdiddy (Jan 7, 2015)

My most frequent site is hotels.com/ca, at the very least you are getting 10% off with their program

There are some hotels where you can get a better deal calling, in my experience this is the minority and often it is significantly more expensive but doesn't hurt to try if you have time I suppose. 

One tip I can add, If you are booking luxury properties for a short stay, try using a Virtuosso agent, you can get serious perks + room upgrades that are a pretty good deal.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I think these kinds of "deals" at the front desk are much more likely with expensive properties that are already so heavily marked up. I looked up rooms at a couple examples cited above and those are high-end hotels, quite expensive.

Rooms that are more budget or value oriented, and already showing as some of the cheapest available on hotels.ca (or Hotwire) probably can't go down any further. I seriously doubt that a front desk manager has discretion to reduce those rates.

For example, my mom sometimes tells me how she negotiated a better price at a downtown Toronto hotel. However, when I look up the same properties at hotels.ca/booking.com or equivalent star ratings at Hotwire, I always find cheaper rooms. In other words there is more room to "negotiate" when the price is already high, but bargain/value internet listings are probably already as low as it goes.

The prices I'm able to book for downtown Toronto are consistently lower than anything my mom negotiates in person for her stays. Sometimes her negotiations get down to the same price I'm paying, but I don't think she's ever been able to go lower than my internet rates. Same story in downtown Vancouver.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I did a little experiment with a US hotel I was considering. The cheapest hotels.ca price was $887 USD all-in for the stay. Calling the front desk, I was quoted $834 USD so actually 6% cheaper. So yes -- I see that it's worth checking.

That being said, I'll probably book this level of hotel using Hotwire and the price for that will be $500 to $600 USD, significantly cheaper in any case.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

james4beach said:


> Here's how the prices looked for the exact same, refundable reservation, after taxes:
> 
> *$270 USD from hotels.ca in CAD mode* (says $270 to be paid in hotel's currency)
> $417 USD from hotels.com in USD mode
> ...


jargey asked if I've actually ever booked and stayed successfully at these rates. The answer is yes... I just finished the stay and did, in reality, pay $261 US after all taxes and fees. That price was only visible through the CAD portal of hotels.ca.

This is down from $270 earlier. I noticed the price drop on hotels.ca so I cancelled the first one and booked again to save $9.

That's $261 for a 5 night stay or about $52 USD/night after taxes. Unbelievable. Cheaper than any other hotel in this vicinity by a long shot, cheaper than Hotwire, Air B&B, and cheaper than USD based pricing. I'm typing this from a parking lot looking out towards the Pacific ocean, and I'm about to hit the beach. It's 23 C out there 

I feel bad for housekeeping because those workers can't be making any money. I've been leaving 2 USD/day in tips. I also think there might be something happening where this hotel chain advertises to Canadians specifically. The hotel is nearly empty but I ran into one guy from Alberta, one from Vancouver.

When deals like this pop up (and I've now done this CAD trick several times) they are way, way cheaper than anything else. I did try phoning hotels in this area, talked directly to the front desk, and the prices were still around $500 to $600 all-in. So I went with the $261 instead, online.

The moral of the story is, always shop around, try both currencies, try phoning the front desk. And if you see what looks like a great deal, BOOK IT for gosh sake!


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## fireseeker (Jul 24, 2017)

james4beach said:


> When deals like this pop up (and I've now done this CAD trick several times) they are way, way cheaper than anything else.


James, pardon me if you outlined this previously, but do you clear cookies or use incognito mode when checking .ca vs .com?
Or do you find it works regardless of cookies?


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

fireseeker said:


> James, pardon me if you outlined this previously, but do you clear cookies or use incognito mode when checking .ca vs .com?
> Or do you find it works regardless of cookies?


As a matter of habit, I always delete all cookies and browsing traces between sessions. I don't know if this trick depends on doing that.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I just made another booking for a US hotel. Here is where I shopped around and how the prices compared, for the same property. The prices are all-in totals, same currency. In this case the CAD trick didn't give a benefit.


* phoned hotel directly
high $400's

* Hotels.ca (CAD mode)
$413 non-refundable

* Hotels.com (USD mode)
$409 refundable

* *Hotwire with coupon code
$367 non-refundable*

* Priceline (same stars, same zone)
bids that totalled $340 and then at $350 failed


As the trip is only a week away, I figure that I don't need the ability to cancel, so Hotwire was the cheapest. I usually just google for 'hotwire discount code' and try various coupon codes that I find, and something often works.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

is the $367 hotwire price in $Cdn or $US.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

I think it should be made clear that comparing a Hotwire bidding site price is not apples to apples. You do not know what hotel you are bidding on. 

Second, comparing non-refundable prices to refundable prices is again not apples to apples.

Third and most objectionable to me, is the room you get and the amenities included are likely to differ as well. Ask any hotel industry insiders (by that I mean those who work in hotels, not those who work for third party sites) and they will tell you that however much some might try to deny it, third party bookers are bottom of the list for what they get.

I would never book a hotel 'blind' as you do with Hotwire. If price is your only criteria and any bed will do, then I can see why someone would but price is not my only criteria and any bed will certainly not do. Ending up in a room next to the elevators or ice machine is not my idea of a 'good deal'.

Focusing on price alone may be a popular thing to do, it doesn't make it the best thing to do however.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I agree that my list does not show apples to apples. Some are refundable, others are not. Some are higher preference bookings (like directly at the hotel).

However this is a location that I know extremely well, so I happen to know exactly what the (blind) Hotwire booking is. Every property in that list I posted is the same one. Since I bought the Hotwire one in the end, I can confirm it's the same property. I just wanted to illustrate the range of prices that resulted.

The way I do my hotel shopping around is, I collect a few prices and write them all down on a sheet exactly like this. I mark which ones are refundable and non refundable, mark which ones are unknown properties. Then I look at the sheet and squint and figure out which one I like the best. Usually I go with the lowest price option, but not always -- because as you say Longtimeago they are not exactly equivalent.

Jargey: I converted all prices to USD in this case, and everything is after taxes and fees. This is total cost for 4 days so the cheapest Hotwire one was 92 USD/day, for a pretty good Holiday Inn.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

^^
I'd go for that too!


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

I need to book a hotel in Ft Lauderdale for 1 night , Nov 14, for a pre-cruise stop. I tried yout hotels.ca method for C$ vs US$ for a hotel i wanted. Got $C182 vs $US139. ....seems about right, exchange- wise. whats the big deal?


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

jargey3000 said:


> I need to book a hotel in Ft Lauderdale for 1 night , Nov 14, for a pre-cruise stop. I tried yout hotels.ca method for C$ vs US$ for a hotel i wanted. Got $C182 vs $US139. ....seems about right, exchange- wise. whats the big deal?


There won't always be a price difference, but I've seen it happen occasionally. It's just worth checking.

I typed Ft. Lauderdale into Hotwire for November 14, and see a 3.5 star hotel (80% recommended) in the "FLL Intl Airport - Port Everglades area" area for 121 USD/night.

This is very likely to be "Crowne Plaza FT. LAUDERDALE APT / CRUISE PORT"... no guarantee, but very likely... for a total cost of $148 USD or $195 CAD after all taxes. You might want to try phoning them directly to see if they can give you a good price.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

yes, thanks for that.
i got the same info thry betterbidding.com...

jeez, fll hotel prices seem a bit high
seems to me, last time we went, i paid under $100us for a decent 3 star


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> yes, thanks for that.
> i got the same info thry betterbidding.com...
> 
> jeez, fll hotel prices seem a bit high
> seems to me, last time we went, i paid under $100us for a decent 3 star


Hey Jargey, 

Earlier this year we stayed here before a cruise. Basic but clean & comfortable, cheap, free shuttle from airport (must call) and to cruise port; restaurant fine and economical. 
For Nov 14 it shows $62 USD about 2/3 of what we paid in Feb. We've done worse at a lot more money. 

https://www.redcarpethotel.com/
updated: will return here


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Just FYI everyone, on my current Hawaii trip, I got a better price through Hotwire vs Airbnb. I did actually book the Airbnb to try it out and see what all the fuss is about (even though it meant paying a bit more).

The 3* Hotwire booking turned out to be superior to the Airbnb, and cheaper. The Hotwire bookings are nonrefundable but the Airbnb bookings often have limited refundability as well.

I still don't see what what all the Airbnb excitement is about.


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## robfordlives (Sep 18, 2014)

Researching possible snowbird destinations - on AirBnB anything decent for a month in Arizona is going for about $4000CAD which seems kinda high. Are there other sites to be checking out besides AirBnB and VRBO? I'm not looking for anything extravagant - just something with decent bathroom and kitchen and not a "casita" which is basically a guesthouse in someone's backyard.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I suggest looking at booking.com and filtering for "Apartments" or Apart-hotels. These will have kitchens.


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

https://www.kijiji.ca/b-vacation-rentals-arizona/c819l0

In Canadian $$$ so 30% off already.

Try the local craigslist down there as well.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

robfordlives said:


> Researching possible snowbird destinations - on AirBnB anything decent for a month in Arizona is going for about $4000CAD which seems kinda high. Are there other sites to be checking out besides AirBnB and VRBO? I'm not looking for anything extravagant - just something with decent bathroom and kitchen and not a "casita" which is basically a guesthouse in someone's backyard.


The problem with most people is that they want someone else to do the work for them. That's why booking sites make money off you. 

You say nothing about what you want in terms of interests in the area where you would stay. What criteria then are you 'researching'? My guess is that 'research' consists only of looking at listings on Airbnb etc. and 'destinations' consists of no 'researching' other than the usual places most people go, like Phoenix or Yuma.

If I am looking for a place to spend a couple of months snowbirding, the first thing I do is ignore third party sites. Then I compile a list of things of interest to me that are going to cover what I DO with my time when there. So for example, in our case, top of the list is always hiking. So then I go to a site like this one: https://www.desertusa.com/thingstodo/du_ttd_hike.html I look at the various areas and do some reading on each if I am not already familiar with them. I see which ones look appealing to me. 

So let's suppose I pick under California, the Anza-Borrego State Park area. Then I look to see what kind of accommodation is available in the area. I don't look on the usual suspect third party sites. I look for more local and direct websites, like this one: http://borregocondo.com/detailsrates-2/ And voila, I find a 2 bedroom condo for under $2000 USD. And I can assure you that there are plenty more in that area for similar prices in at least a dozen mini-'communities' all within a few miles of each other. 

I few years back, my wife and I visited that area and found a 2 bedroom in the gated community of Ram's Hill. It is the pre-eminent golfing community in the area. You can see some pics etc. here: https://www.ramshill.com/stay-and-play/ We arrived with no reservation, walked in to a local Real Estate Office and said we were looking for a 2 month rental. A few phone calls later, we followed the agent to a rental at Rams Hill like this one. https://www.rentbyowner.com/propert...fQ5alUIqn2fBF_PysluyNA-qDVhbiVgUaAt63EALw_wcB
We paid under $2000 per month.

So what are your interests and what destinations that fit those interests are you looking at?


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

In the past we have had very good success in Fll using Priceline. Hilton Marina, Embassy Suites, Renaissance on 17th, Westin on the beach, Courtyard Marriott on the beach, Renaissance Plantation, Hyatt Place. We have stayed at all of these properties and a few more on Priceline wins at very attractive Priceline wins. Also had very good wins in Napa and Scottsdale.

Prior to booking cruises or hotels in FLL/MIA we always check to make certain that we are not going during the boat show or some other event, sporting or otherwise, that causes prices to jump up. We typically only bid four star and resort.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Yet again, third party booking sites have been called to account for their misleading and false business practices.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47141538

In most of Europe, there has been major pushback in the form of legislation to stop 'rate parity' as well. Last summer the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, came right out and advised Australians to stop using third party sites and phone the hotels directly. Also alluding to 'rate parity'.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/...-than-rely-on-booking-sites-for-cheaper-rates

That article gives very clear picture of the impact on the hotel industry that third party parasites now have. But the only beneficiary is the booking sites, not the hotel and not the consumer. Reading that article, I cannot help but think than anyone would conclude that the right thing to do is get rid of the OTAs and go back to booking directly with the hotels. 

The idea of getting a reduced price on a hotel room that still had some rooms available at the last minute was a good one and the internet was what made getting access to them possible. No one is going to phone around 10 hotels to see if they have a room they will let go cheaply at the last minute. But being able to go to a website that did that legwork and then listed what all 10 hotels were offering a room for and it only then required you to click on your choice to make a reservation, was a great idea. It was good for the hotel and good for the consumer and neither minded the third party website making a few bucks in the middle for brokering the deal. But that was back in the mid-90s. 

Now 25 or so years later, the entire picture has changed. Now, most hotel bookings are through OTAs. With that being the case, it is the OTAs who hold the POWER. If a hotel doesn't list with them, the hotel suffers from much lower bookings as the article above describes. It also means the OTAs can and do demand higher and higher percentages of commission for their bookings. They now charge as much as 30% for a booking. Again, the hotels suffer and make no mistake, the hotels do not suffer alone. That 15-30% commission is money out of YOUR pocket.

Why do you think a hotel chain like Hilton now advertises to 'price match' any online price you find on another site AND give you a 25% discount from that price!!! Because, they want to get back to you booking with the hotel and stop paying that middle man. Even a small independent hotel can have their own online website these days for little cost to them. The need for the OTAs that existed in the mid 90s to provide that access is no longer there! But we now have an entire generation of people who grew up knowing no other way to think of booking a hotel and have bought into their hype that 'we get you the best price.'

Ian above, touts Priceline. Why? Besides owning other major OTAs, the Priceline website itself operates on the basis of 'blind bidding'. Why do they want to use 'blind bidding'? Do you really think it is because the hotels want it that way? I can assure you it is not. Priceline does it that way to appeal to your greed. You believe that it gets you a lower price and it is blind so that other people will not know they paid more while you got a 'real bargain'. Poppycock. What is really happening is that Priceline is using their huge booking POWER to beat up the hotel for a price that the hotel can in fact not really afford to rent a room for. And while you may feel you got a bargain, what you also got was a hotel that resents your having booked that way(and may treat you accordingly) and eventually the demise of small hotels which will of course limit your choices even more than they are now limited to.

The current culture of booking hotels based solely on where the lowest price is to be found, is the same as the same culture of booking airline flights. Just as we see people complaining about now being nickel and dimed to death by airlines for a pillow or a drink or a checked bag, no refund on cancellation, etc. which the airlines have to do to make any money as they are not making it on the booking of the seat, we now see hotels adding charges for a sun bed by the pool or a 'resort charge', non'refundable rate, etc. etc. to find a way to make a profit as they are not making it on the room. 

In regards to airline fares, people are now beginning to refer to it as the 'race to the bottom' and it is no different for hotels. You can't keep paying less and not expect you will be getting less in return. The basic equation is constant, price minus cost equals profit. You can't expect a hotel to stay in business if they are not making any profit and if you reduce price, in order to maintain a profit, the hotel must reduce costs. That means you will get less of a product.

I have spoken to hotel owners and managers who talk of not buying new mattresses (just as an example of having to cut costs) because they needed to reduce costs. So we the consumer end up with a lesser product obviously. The same is happening with how often a hotel does a 'refurbishing' and 'freshening' of their rooms. Hotel room carpets, bedding, paint, etc. need to be done every couple of years if they are not to start looking worn, tired, used up, etc. That gets delayed in order to maintain profits. The hotel has very little in terms of an alternative. Who then has to stay in that tired, worn out room, why we do of course. Do the OTAs care? No of course not, they are making their money and adding very little value at all to the equation of a hotel and a guest.

What started out as a good idea has morphed into a giant industry that now dominates hotel bookings to the DETRIMENT of both the hotels and the consumers, US. Now it is just a question of the 'race to the bottom' and how low that bottom will end up being.


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## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

We have had excellent results Europe-London and Paris in paricular. In London we have had Marriott Kensington and Marriott Maide Vale numerous times. 

We have had Priceline wins at many Marriott brand(s) hotels including Reaissances and some Courtyards. We have always experienced the same levels of service and rooms as we did/do when we booked direct with Marriott at regular rates.

We have always been pleased with the hotel and the price. But we only bid four stars and above. We also do our research on booking.com and betterbidding.com. For Hotwire you can often determine the hotel that you will get.

I am not in the hotel business but I do know that the inventory, like cruises and airline seats, has a short shelf life. I do not care why hotels do this. I suppose it is the same reason why seats to Sydney or Melbourne return are selling for as low as $825 cad return.

Bottom line is that I am a consumer. Currently traveling spontaneously now. Some accommodation booked direct, others through third party when there are language issues oe email delays. Whatever works. The inkeepers business model is not our concern.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

WRT “the race to the bottom”, the business model is pretty much happening in many industries. Yes, you’re basically seeing a decoupling of services and having to get nickelled and dimed in exchange for a low base rate/fare. Personally, I don’t mind paying for the things I want/value and not having to pay for things I don’t want/value. As LTA mentioned, companies need to make a profit, and it's basically a shell game in terms of where and how those dollars are extracted from you. The key is getting personal value in what you pay for. You’re also seeing companies offer multiple sub-brands that offer different tiers/category of service so that customers can choose the option that best meets their needs/preferences.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

milhouse said:


> WRT “the race to the bottom”, the business model is pretty much happening in many industries. Yes, you’re basically seeing a decoupling of services and having to get nickelled and dimed in exchange for a low base rate/fare. Personally, I don’t mind paying for the things I want/value and not having to pay for things I don’t want/value. *As LTA mentioned, companies need to make a profit, and it's basically a shell game in terms of where and how those dollars are extracted from you. * The key is getting personal value in what you pay for. You’re also seeing companies offer multiple sub-brands that offer different tiers/category of service so that customers can choose the option that best meets their needs/preferences.


It's also a question of WHO is extracting your money from your pocket milhouse. In a direct exchange between a buyer and a seller, you hope to have a transaction that is win/win. You as the consumer get value for your money and the seller gets a profit. In this case however, the business model in its race to the bottom is only resulting in the third party making a profit and both the consumer and the hotel losing.

Unfortunately, just as with the airlines, the consumer can't seem to see beyond that first 'lowest' price to the bigger picture.


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