Why you should never book a hotel room through a third-party website if you want a good view
Hotels often save their best rooms for people who book with them direct
THANKS to the internet, booking a holiday has never been easier. But sometimes it pays to put a bit more effort in.
Next time you go to reserve a hotel room through a third party booking site, try doing it via the hotel instead as you’ll probably end up with a better room.
According to the experts, hotels tend to save their best rooms in every price bracket for people who book with them direct.
That’s because they have to pay between ten and 30 per cent commission to booking sites for every reservation that comes through them – a big chunk of their income.
However, if you book with the hotel direct, all of the payment goes to them.
This means they are far more likely to be generous with upgrades, WiFi and all of the other add-ons.
Shane Lambert, a former hotel manager: "A lot of hotels punish people for booking through third-party sites.
"They don’t like paying the commission and would rather you booked with the hotel directly.
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"The consequence is that you get the worst room within the room category you book a lot of the time."
Additionally, someone who books direct is far more likely to turn into a loyal customer than the person who comes across the hotel by surfing booking websites for the cheapest price.
That is why a lot of hotel loyalty programmes only give you points if you book with them direct.
Not to mention, a lower price isn’t always guaranteed through a booking site.
Often, if you call the hotel direct, they will be more than happy to match the price.