What hotel booking sites do you use?

[CdnCarrie]

I’ve been loyal to Expedia for years. Book in Canadian dollars before we leave (refundable booking).
Used it in Canada, USA and Europe.

But thinking of branching out and trying a different website like Trivago.

What do you use?

 

[ronandannette]

I’ve been loyal to Expedia for years. Book in Canadian dollars before we leave (refundable booking).
Used it in Canada, USA and Europe.

But thinking of branching out and trying a different website like Trivago.

What do you use?

I search on both Expedia and Hotels.ca and then when I've picked one, usually go direct to the hotel's own site. It's usually a few bucks cheaper and you can sometimes get a benefit from the various brand-loyalty programs. For me though, the most important thing is you get a better response to any problems or issues direct with the hotel.

 

[easyas123]

Much like Ronandannette I may use one of those sites for comparison, but I only book directly thru the hotel. I’ve never had a booking issue but if I did I would not want to deal w/ a third party.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I use Expedia for air travel at times but I don’t think ever for hotels. The man spent his entire working life in hotels while I spent some years in the hospitality industry. Basically that means he in particular knew people to book rooms for us.

 

[ncc1701]

I search on both Expedia and Hotels.ca and then when I've picked one, usually go direct to the hotel's own site. It's usually a few bucks cheaper and you can sometimes get a benefit from the various brand-loyalty programs. For me though, the most important thing is you get a better response to any problems or issues direct with the hotel.

Ditto. If it is somewhere new I use Horels.com to get an idea of what is in the area. Also do a brief check on TripAdvisor.com to get some additional info. But then book direct thru the official website. That way it is easier to see what discounts are available if we book with our AAA or AARP/ Senior . Plus like you, I'd rather be able to deal direct rather than a third party if we have issues.

 

[MillauFr]

Booking via 3rd party sites is just asking for trouble. If anything goes wrong you are going to get stuck between the finger pointing.

 

[_19disnA]

Various sites are helpful for doing comparison when shopping for airline tickets or hotels. However, I always book direct since I don't find the prices to be any lower and not having to deal with a 3rd party if something goes wrong makes things less complicated.

I have found if searching for hotels when there is some large event taking place in that city, there may be available rooms not shown on the search sites that appear when dealing directly with the hotel.

 

[Singinglizzie]

I use Booking.com, when I don't book direct or don't book using my chase points. One thing I like about Booking.com is that I can see a list of all my bookings - either by logging in or by using their app. That's important, since I often travel to multiple cities and if I use make multiple reservations, I don't forgot where the reservation is at. Its also easy to cancel online.

 

[mikehn]

I comparison shop on Expedia. Some times the rates are a little bit lower on Expedia, or the terms are a little better, such as cancel-able. And when I book it on Expedia, the reservation automatically gets added to my hotel loyalty accounts. Not exactly sure how it makes that connection, but it does.

 

[Karin1984]

Trivago.

 

[Moliphino]

I always book direct. I had a bad experience with a third party booking in Ireland years ago (showed up and they didn't have my reservation at all) and don't want to deal with that again.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Like others, I always book direct with the hotel ... Hilton, Best Western, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, etc. The exception is during international travel we often use small independent boutique kind of hotels, and in that case I use Booking.com.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Just wanted to share a recent headache along with a PSA showing which companies are owned by Expedia.



I used to use Travelocity for everything until I realized that I couldn't accrue rewards points in most cases. I also had issues modifying reservations if we needed to check out early. The biggest nail in the coffin for them for us was back in September. The site kept glitching and the dates kept reverting to the next day vs. 3 weeks in the future. I was trying to book a hotel and after several frustrating attempts, I got the screen to show the correct dates. Even the confirm screen just before hitting the book button was right. When it processed and the confirm came up, it reverted to the next day. So, I was charged immediately (I often did 'book now/pay later') because the date it reverted to was less than 24 hours away. I tried to cancel it but it wouldn't issue a refund. I started a chat with their customer service but they refused to do anything and were extremely rude. So, I called my credit card company to explain the issues and dispute the charges. They're still working on the case (it's been 2 months), but I was refunded the amount.

I will still use Travelocity as a search tool and pricing gauge, but I am now boycotting all Expedia owned companies for my actual bookings. I'm either booking directly through the company or trying to do things through Costco or AAA.

 

[DVC-Don]

I always book direct with the hotel chains website. I may look at Expedia/Travelocity type sites just for comparison shopping.

 

[E&Cmom]

I usually book directly but have used booking before.

 

[leahgoogle]

I use hotels.com quite a bit.

 

[Kennywood]

Costco Travel.

Executive members get 2% back.

 

[MIGrandma]

None. I always book directly with the hotel.

Once my friend and I traveled together, we booked our rooms at the same hotel. I booked direct, she used a booking site. She paid more than I did for the same room type.

 

[CynBeth]

Booking via 3rd party sites is just asking for trouble. If anything goes wrong you are going to get stuck between the finger pointing.

I also never use