My attempts at 'booking directly' with hotels for cheaper fares on post-pandemic trips...

I've occasionally found that not all of the rooms at a particular hotel or self catering place show up on booking.com - that some of the higher end rooms are held back (I guess) for those booking direct. Cross-checking both the rooms and the prices on the accommodation website can sometimes, though not always, result in a cost saving ... or sometimes just a better room and more amenities for a similar price.
Has happened often enough that I always double check, though all that said I confess that booking.com is usually my go-to search engine too.

Very infrequently, although I always check the hotel's website first and compare with a third-party like Booking.com. I don't always assume that Booking has the best price because it's not always the case (same is true of Amazon), but it's been the case a clear majority of the time for the hotels I book. I've used other third party booking systems too and had success with them. Rental cars is one area where I've almost never, ever found booking direct to be price-competitive. Much more so than hotels.

I've not used Booking.com, though I may explore that option based on all of your experiences. In the US, when I know a city, I've gotten great (reduced) pricing through Priceline. But recently, US hotels I've used post guarantees on their sites that the prices they offer are/will be the least expensive.

(I'm always leery about booking through a third-party in case something goes awry with the property, airline or trip.)

I haven't found too many cases of significant savings via direct bookings, but I don't always take the time to check. I frequently book only a few days in advance and am aware that the best remaining possibility could be snapped up by someone else if I dilly-dally. I've definitely sometimes found booking.com to be cheaper, but I suspect in some cases that was because the tiniest room with the view of the air-shaft was being offered only on booking.com. (I'm very happy to take that room if it's cheap.)

I've encountered differences in cancellation policies, too; you have to be careful about that unless you're booking very close to your arrival date (and know there isn't going to be a pandemic). And there's also the breakfast-included-if-you-book-direct deal--something else to pay attention to.

One situation in which I think a direct contact may be worth attempting is a longer-than-average stay. I don't know that booking.com gives hotels the flexibility to program rate-reductions for longer stays. I've gotten better-than-expected rates at budget places in London (by email) and Nice (standing at the counter to arrange a long extension) for stays of 10 to 14 days.

Gbrennan, I've had to cancel a few hotel stays through booking.com, and it was super easy. I avoid any sort of prepaid deal unless that's totally impossible, so there really shouldn't be an issue with a cancellation as long as it takes place before a penalty kicks in. It's much easier to cancel on the booking.com website than on the websites of many independent hotels. I always received an immediate email confirmation from booking.com when I have to cancel.

Did you reply back asking them if they would match the Booking price and room? However, it might be that their more budget rooms are attached to Booking therefore, they cannot match.
I also wonder what the impact is with covid. Are they reducing the number of rooms sold? If so, do they choose to not rent the budget rooms so as to try to recoup some of the losses?

does anyone here actually manage to save a lot of money booking directly with such accomodation

I've found very little difference, although I don't check that often. If I find a hotel independent of a 3rd part booking site, I'' check to see if they have online booking, and if they do, and the price seems reasonable, I'll take it and not check Booking.com. If I find the hotel through BDC, I might check to see if they have on-line booking, and compare the price and terms. And so far I've never made a nonrefundable reservation through BDC.

I usually search on booking.com and then when I find hotels I like that are in my budget I check their own website and email direct. I usually find that they are not cheaper but about the same but get more perks for booking direct.
Eg. in Dublin I booked a hotel and they were the same price but if I booked direct breakfast was included and I received a bigger/quieter rooms than the ones on booking. Also when I pay I offer to pay cash and will sometimes get a discount for that.

This is my experience for Europe private run hotels. At home I usually use booking.com as they are almost always cheaper than booking direct (these are chain hotels). I also don’t need a cancellation policy as short as 2 to 3 days before when I’m In europe. 2 to 3 week prior is enough for me. I’ll know before then if I have to cancel my trip for my own reasons, anything after that that’s why I have travel insurance.

A lot of times, but not always, the least preferred rooms are designated to third party sights for sale. If it is only a few dollars difference, I try to use the hotel website and sometimes ask for specific rooms. I rarely use hotel sights where I have to email and wait for a confirmation. It is just my hang-up. I figure if the hotel doesn't have a reservation online sight, they may be way too small to deal with for other issues I may run into. Just my choice.

I mainly book through booking.com and haven't paid much attention to cancelation terms, since I always think I'll end up going.
But, a recent situation with my brother made me rethink booking with booking. com again.

He made a reservation that offered 50% refund if canceled until 12th of July.

He cancelled two days ago and they are not giving him any refund.

He contacted the hotel, the hotel said bookin. com has the money and booking. com haven't replied.

My question is has anyone been in a similar situation? Can they change their cancellation terms whenever it pleases them?

Sorry I don't have an answer to your question.

I hope you will get some good answers here.

I had a trip planned for September in Paris and checked booking.com along with a reservation on the hotel website. I found that booking on the hotel website I got a slightly lower price and 3 days breakfast included. In the US I tend to book at the website because I like accumulating loyalty points but for an overall view of how much a hotel is at a destination nothing beats checking booking.com.

I always start with Booking.com to see what is available (I don't know what I don't Know), must have free cancellation, bathroom in room, breakfast, and be centrally located, once i narrow my choices down in my budget I go to Trip Advisor and read reviews and look at pictures, once that narrows it down I go directly to the website to see if they have a better deal (sometimes they will offer a discount if you book early, more than two night etc). It's a process but I love the hunt! I also have piece of mind knowing I made the best choice and we have never had any hotel where we regretted it, exact opposite, my husband always says "you nailed it" . If the price is close I will book directly with the hotel.

There are other booking sites in addition to booking.com that I use frequently including agoda and hotelkatalig24

I’ve had very good luck with this sites, but I prefer to book directly especially with mom and pop places.

As a booking site, I like Trivago. In my experience, quite a number of searches with Trivago have led me to small, family owned hotels (Budapest, Bucharest, Lisbon, Reykjavik, Paris) all of which were excellent. In Amsterdam, I was able to book a family owned hotel during "tulip time" (April 2018) by direct contact as they were recommended in the RS guidebook. Their hotel did not "show up" in a Trivago search.
During pre and post RS tours, I have found no benefit from direct booking with hotels used by the tour - in fact, I was able to find a lower price at our post tour in Madrid at the very hotel used by the RS tour by booking via Trivago. Not a huge saving, but enough to buy a few bottles of Spanish wine.

I always look to book on hotels own sites if I can. Sometimes the perks are worth it. In Istanbul we received a free dinner at the hotel restaurant which was one of the best in the city. In Barcelona, book direct with a hotel and signing up for their club got us a robe, slippers, chocolates and a bottle of cava, plus two free drinks at the bar.

Unfortunately, post-pandemic I think those perks will lessen as the demand expands.

I go with booking.com / hotels.com for speed and simplicity -- with free cancellation I can book OK accomodations for a 5-6 week trip in one marathon session, then fine-tune for nicer or cheaper places at my leisure (knowing we DO have a place to sleep each night.) Once got an offer from a hotel to book directly with them at a lower price / upgrade. Occasionally have seen better rates on hotel's website for longer stays (3+ nights)

FYI, the cancellation option came in very handy last December when the French strikes turned our Paris/Colmar visit into Frankfurt/Strasbourg and we were able to rebook with no financial penalties.

I use booking.com to search but not to book. I'd rather book directly with the hotel website to avoid possible problems later. I can't remember getting a cheaper refundable rate on booking.com than I could from the hotel itself. I also don't remember any free breakfasts or other perks for booking directly.

Andre, you may have received pricier quotes because you sent e-mails rather than working directly with hotel websites. And perhaps, as you suggest, might have been affected by the institutional address you used that might have implied "someone else is paying."

After a couple of lost deposits I've learned not to book hotels at non-refundable rates. For me the flexibility turns out to be worth the added cost.

My experience with various booking sites have shown me that the hotels you book through them will give you the worst rooms they have. Of course people's definition of "worst" varies, but I always seemed to get rooms that were at some distant end of the hotel overlooking the garbage bins and/or air conditioner compressors or other loud and annoying things, if they have any view at all. Also, the price differentials I found were not enough to make me want to give up the perceived benefit of booking directly where I got better cancellation policies, nicer rooms, my frequent stayer points, and just seemed to be treated better overall by the hotels.

So no, I was not able to get a lower price directly with the hotels over booking sites, but the small amount of difference I have seen at places I wanted to stay (until the end of 2019) never made it seem worth it. Also, I prefer the upgraded rooms that include additional amenities without having to pay for them (parking included, full breakfasts, no charge for phone calls, and so on depending on the location). I was never able to find a way to get one of those unless I was booking directly with the hotel.

The lowest price is not always the best price. :-)

I agree with Ufkak and several times i have been upgraded when booked through Booking.com. i too have looked at booking direct and through 3rd party sights and have never found the prices to be cheaper booking direct.

This is a timely and interesting thread because I think that all of us are going to be increasingly leery of booking through third-party sites. I've experienced pretty much the same thing described by others in the forum, however. When in London, I stay at the same, reasonably priced, boutique hotel. When my husband and I were there in Feb. 2019, they noticed that I was planning on returning for a work trip this summer and said that they could offer me a lower rate than what I got on expedia. We did the math later and realized that what they quoted was more expensive. I've since done those comparisons with other hotels online and found the same. Of course, who knows what will happen post-COVID?

Everyone's definition of "a lot of money" is different, but in my view, any savings is worth it if you have the time and desire to research prices. With that said, I always try to book direct and have been able to save money and have received some nice perks. (upgrades, a bottle of wine etc.) On a recent trip, I checked the prices at Booking.com; Hotels.com and the hotel's website. The hotel's direct price was the same as Hotels.com and slightly higher than Booking.com. I emailed the hotel with that information, and they beat Booking's price by 25 euros per night. (significant savings for me) When at all possible, our preference is for smaller, and often family run hotels, and if we do book a chain, the loyalty points that we acquire are useful for future trips. I usually have the luxury of a lot of time to research hotels and price shop, but if I did not, then I might use Booking.com.

We try to book smaller hotels or B&Bs rather than large chain hotels.
I use Kayak.com for my initial search for lodging. Sometimes it appears that a site like Booking.com is the lowest, but no matter, I then go directly to the site for the lodging.

Most of the time, I can find the same low rate without using a site like Hotels.com or Booking.com.

As a backup, I am a member of the Holiday Inn group of hotels loyalty program and still use them when a suitable small hotel or B&B is not available. For example, we have been on trips to Copenhagen twice in the past few years and I was disappointed with the prices of lodging in the city center area, but found a great deal with the Crowne Plaza, on the main rail line to the airport.

Just to clarify: I did check hotels' online booking engines - I normally do that anyway -, but didn't find, for any of the 16 cases I searcher, comparable and/or better offers on hotel's own websites. It was either similar fares with more restrictions (in particular, demands for payment upon reservation), or higher fares.

Because of the pandemic, for the time being, I will only book hotels that allow free cancelation up to, at most, 7 days before arrival.

For those who asked: when you use Booking.com and prepay the stay with a partial/total refund option, Booking.com, and not the hotel, is the one who refunds your credit card. I have used that option here and there, over the years, and so far never had any problems getting Booking to send me money back.

I am aware that Booking charges 15-35% commissions on listings and that hotels not part of large chains have less bargaining power. Especially at these hard times, I'm willing to go a little extra time-wise and book with hotels directly, but in order to do so, I'd at least expect them to match Booking on price and, especially, on flexibility conditions.

If we’re talking right now, I’m fairly certain the hotel room rate algorithms are all out of whack given the chaos of the past few months.

I’ve booked direct with the hotel exclusively for the past few years and I expect I’ll continue to do so, the only exception being large chains where the individual hotel directs you to the chain web booking form.

I have no idea how the free breakfast perks will work going forward, for the foreseeable future I think those won’t be offered. They have been a nice addition in the past, even if it’s just a pastry or a piece of fruit. But, I’m not a big breakfast person at home and rarely when I travel.

In the USA, even the package deals with the airlines aren’t really great deals these days. But, that’s been the case since way before Covid-19. The days of getting flight/hotel/car for just a little more than the cost of the flight are over, probably because hotels have lost in room movies and minibars as a profit center

Having never been a user of outrageously priced minibars, I welcome the newest trend of minibars that come empty for you to stock, or with just some complimentary water. And I hope and wish 'mandatory resort fees' never make their way across the Atlantic (they would be illegal in several countries anyway).

'mandatory resort fees'

I've heard that term somewhere, but given the kind of places I generally stay at (small, family run places), I've never encountered it.
As to getting more amenities, such as a bottle of wine, by booking direct, again, the kinds of places I stay at don't have "amenities," just clean, comfortable rooms. There is 1 hotel in Bordeaux we've stayed at 3 times, and each time when we left the owner gave us a bottle of local wine. But it wasn't because we booked direct (although we probably did), but because we had spent time talking to him and he realized we liked wine.

It's almost impossible to book a hotel in Miami (and likely other parts of Florida with massive tourists, including international ones) without the awful "resort fees". I was able to find a place but it took a lot of work. Now the hotels I like in NYC have them - it's just a sham tack-on fee, nothing more.

I wonder if (or how) COVID will shake up the third party booking system in the future. I think hotels will need all the help they can get to get rooms filled so I am guessing they will still use third parties like they have in the past. Booking.com and others have served me well, so I'll continue to be open to using them. As long as you know the terms of the agreement are are ok with any risk taken, I don't see an issue.

I called the hotel (Hilton Philadelphia) but it was more expensive than what I booked on hotels.com. Surprised me.

Whenever I see the resort fees or whatever forget about it. I can find a better deal.

Last year, I booked a guesthouse in Iceland for 4 nights in March. Their website recommended booking with them directly because then breakfast was free. Sounded like a good deal, and the room with 2 twin beds was 80€ per night. Along comes Covid, my parents are in quarantine in California and flights are being canceled everywhere. I ask to have my reservation moved to a later date like Oct. Their answer was that the Iceland Tourism Board says they do not have to do any refunds or move any reservations. Frustrated at their lack of cooperation in these rather trying times, I again ask them to reconsider, that yes, we are coming there, please just move our reservation to new dates. Best they can come up with is to offer us 50% off the price for the new dates if we reserve within 24 hours. I look at the price, it is still 80€ per night, so I say ok.
Getting through to Iceland Air in March was unreal and took hours, but finally got through, made new flight reservations for Oct. Went back to change the guesthouse reservation and the price was now 104€ per night! I made the reservation, per their request of doing it within 24 hours, but they will not change the price!.
This is the most frustrating experience for me. I wanted to do the right thing by booking directly with them instead of booking.com and this is how we are repaid. This is not a good way to do business and I wish I had never booked there. My own business is almost non-existent now, we have almost zero income, lost 1000's in bookings and refunds and I am still stuck with a reservation in Oct. that will now end up costing me 130€ per night. Oh, and 2 months ago, Iceland Air canceled our flights for Oct. Getting a refund for this, but still waiting. Cheaper to book a new flight just to Iceland, since we can't go to the US now.

Who wants to guess what kind of a review this place will get after our stay? I did write to them and let them know that this was unfair treatment during this time of a pandemic and they could be more flexible.

I've not tried this comparison based on price, but twice I have found available rooms by calling the hotel directly when the aggregators said the hotel had no vacancies. I like the aggregators for the purpose of evaluating options, but I have no interest in using them to book rooms.

Andre makes a very valid point that booking directly with a property is not necessarily the lowest cost. Andre noted that in his sample, booking service prices were generally more favorable. Rather than argue about direct booking vs booking services pricing, just check both and do what is best for you.

Beyond the pricing issue is service and/or problem resolution. A booking service will need to need to follow contract rules and would be less able to make exceptions favorable to the customer. That said, a booking service should follow the contract rules and be a domestic communication rather than an overseas call to resolve issues.

My March COVID anecdotal story is a discounted no-cancellation booking of a Milan hotel through Expedia. We fortunately did not get on our flight to Milan and I was expecting to write-off the four night hotel booking in Milan. Expedia was able to locate me a couple of days before the Milan booking to advise me that the hotel was closed in response to the COVID-19 lockdown. Expedia offered to try to find alternative accommodations in Milan or to refund the non-refundable pre-paid booking. I chose the later but would have appreciated help finding an open hotel should we have got on the plane to Milan. I'm not sure what would have happened if we arrived at a closed hotel with directly booked pre-paid reservations.

My bottom line is that I was happy to have used a booking services for the hotel reservation.