Third-party booking sites like Orbitz, Priceline, Expedia, Trivago and others sometimes offer good deals on hotel rooms. I’ve found after looking at one of these sites for a room, I’m often able to get the same price by booking directly with the hotel.
These sites are popular with senior travelers. However, you may not realize there are distinct disadvantages to booking a room through one of these sites.
- You probably won’t get any loyalty benefits if you’re a member of the hotel rewards programs. I recently stayed at a Doubletree near Newark airport. I had used points from British Airways that were about to expire to book the room. I was surprised to learn I would not get by Hilton Hhonors point and did not even get the normal breakfast included, even though I am at the highest level of Hilton’s Hhonors program. The front desk clerk explained it was because I booked through a third-party. Note: Doubletree manager did over-ride the system and upgraded me to a nice room with breakfast included.
- You’ll get the least favorite rooms on the property. You’ll probably end up on a lower floor next to the elevator. This is a well-known fact among front-desk clerks. They always put third-party bookers in the rooms that receive the most complaints.
- Making changes to a reservation is difficult once you book. All third-party firms are different but most use out of country reps and wait times and usually long.
- Your reservation through a third-party firm does not include a guarantee to a certain room type. When a hotel becomes in danger of over-booking, front desk staff will make sure their most loyal reward customers get the rooms they wanted but they’ll change a reservation if needed on the third-party reservations.
You may book a room through a third-party and have no issues. The above list is not etched in cement.
However, your chances of running into one or more of the above problems is very likely.