[LuganoPirate]

I often use Booking.com and sometimes Hotel.com for my lodging needs, especially if going somewhere where I do not know the area or am looking for a hotel along the route I’m travelling. I’ve also used Michelin.com in the past as well.

Chatting now to a few hoteliers, it seems that booking.com charge them 25% commission on all bookings, and as these sites drive so much business to them they are forced to pay these sums.

Now 25% is a fair chunk out of the hotels revenue so I’m wondering if as a result hotels have to increase their room charge to compensate thus making us travelers effectively pay the likes of booking.com for the use of their services.

Anyone any thoughts on this?

[Cloud-9]

I needed to book a hotel in Memphis TN at *very* late notice and Googled booking.com, hotels.com plus a few decent hotel chains.

Booking.com was best value with the Sheraton (club room etc) so I called the Sheraton to see if they could price-match (to enable me to earn spg points).

The chap was confident he would be able to match by using a combination of offer codes, but failed.

I therefore used booking.com for a great week.

I realise this does not answer your question but it suggest that even travel sites may have unsold allocaions at the last minute

[Gin&Tonic]

It’s now years since I used a booking site for travel or hotel.
What I do use them for on hotels is the great area knowledge they have so you can locate a good hotel, but I always then find a better price direct with the hotel,especially if you book a mid range room and upgrade on arrival.
Flights I can’t remember the last time as they are never as competitive as airlines direct.i honestly don’t understand how they stay in business on flights, and often the restrictions with them for refunds or changes are brutal compared to most airlines. they do a good marketing job, so people believe they have the best deals.

[MartynSinclair]

Similar to airline and cruise “consolidator” sights.

I would never book the QM2 direct with Cunard, when a “cruise club/consolidator” can sell me the same cruise for less 40% of the book price & I still get the Cunard status.

Airline tickets for me are slightly different. I generally do not buy any longhaul tickets from third party web sights. Its either direct with the airline or through my TMC (Tim), for the reasons previously stated (mainly if there are problems with the tickets, far easier to change via airline or TMC).

With regards to hotels, I generally book through either SPG or LHW or direct with a hotel, unless the price difference is so huge, that a web deal is more beneficial.

I do prefer the security of knowing my booking is direct with the service provider, my points and hotel benefits are secure & generally any changes are far easier to be made (even withnon refundable bookings) with direct bookings.

[summerfly]

I use booking .com for research on price, location, ratings, reviews & photos, as I often get better idea & comparison than from hotels own websites and TripAdvisor. I then book with the hotel direct (more likely to get better room etc), but if flexible booking is required or hotel website is not user friendly I will use booking. More recently I have been using booking a lot for convenience purpose.

Of course these hotel websites have to make money (which will impact hotel prices on the whole) but they also create a more competitive environment within the hotel industry that benefits the customers.

[GivingupBA]

LuganoPirate – I always only book directly with hotels, on their website. (I’m sure hotels prefer that, and I do too). My determination to continue doing that has redoubled since reading your post about high commission charges on other sites – thank you for that.

[onajetplane]

One thing that makes me continue to favour booking sites is that their cashback is normally much higher than booking with the hotel directly. I spend a considerable amount on hotels each year, so the cashback quickly adds up! Even benefits of free wifi if booking direct are almost always negated if I consider the amount of cashback I can make. On many occasions (when permissible), I will actually wait for the cashback to go back up to the 12-15% mark if it happens to be lower at the time, just to make the extra.

[JohnHarper]

I only ever book on the hotel website directly for the same reason as I only book airline tickets on their own site. If something goes wrong they can’t tell you to contact your agent to have it sorted out, they have to provide a solution there and then.

[NTarrant]

I often use Agoda or Expedia for non chain hotels. There is one hotel I use which directs you to Expedia for booking from its web site.

They are also a good source of information. But I have on a number of occasions recently had the price increase from selection to confirmation with a message “we hate it when that happens”. Either you have little choice but to book or check the other site.

I would never use the likes of these for flights, either direct with the airline or my agent. On hotels I’d prefer to use my favourite chains IHG, Club Carlson, Accor etc directly but if there are none then as above.

[CathayLoyalist2]

Having worked in this industry, amongst others, hotels have been much slower to adopt the marketing prowess of major fmcg brands plus they do not have the same level of budgets. Hotels got caught with their pants down way back when the forerunner to these OTA’s, Expotel exploited complacency within the hotel industry. Take one step further to the meta search mob i.e. skyscanner, kayak, trivago and they at one site compare all the room rates on the OTA’s. You will be surprised how often ‘Expedia’ will have a lower than booking the hotel direct. The big boys do have the clout to mitigate the OTA’s commission levels but a lot of the smaller/mid size brands struggle to cope. It’s a challenge for those smaller hotels but it makes you wonder how good their CRM system/process is to snare a customer and keep him as a happy repeat client. Not that good I would say. Finally a question . If you were walked into a hotel blindfolded and thee blindfold was removed, assuming no visible branding, would you be able to tell which hotel/hotel chain you were in? Most people can’t and that is because of the lack of consistency and few obvious points of differentiation.

[ccCookie]

I always check the prices both direct and with Booking.com … many times they are identical, in which case I book direct; more likely to achieve an upgrade at the hotel.

However, if you book enough times with Booking.com you become a booking ‘genius’ with them and they provide some selections with a 10% discount. On the other hand, if you book early enough direct, they may also give you a discount.

I agree that sites such as Booking.com sometimes have a great of other information. Especially the reviews that are provided.

I you have a loyalty membership with the hotel, you won’t get the points if you go through something like Booking.com. So, if it is a hotel you intend to stay at frequently, book direct. I get some nights free at Swissotel in Singapore with their loyalty program. Strangely, Booking.com is frequently less expensive for Swissotel in Singapore.

[Selbyjay]

Just to add my comments as someone who works for a TMC; OTAs (booking.com, Expedia etc) have a place but hotels are fast learning new ways to encourage direct business.

The OTAs charge a massive commission (up to 30%). A “traditional” TMC or travel agent will get 8%-10%. A hotel selling via a main GDS will also has that fee to consider, and whilst I cant comment on what that is, I suspect the distribution costs via GDS will be a lot lower than via OTAs.

It’s worth noting that a booking made via a TMC will qualify for status and accrue points in loyalty schemes, whereas bookings via the OTAs generally dont.

The contracts in place between hotels and OTAs generally stipulate that the hotel cant sell a rate cheaper via any other means i.e. own website, phone or another OTA (with the exception of corporate deals). If a hotel cant offer a cheaper rate by selling direct, they’ll reward in other ways – meal deals, upgrades, more points etc. However, these “rate parity” clauses are being outlawed across Europe as they’re seen as anti-competetive.

That’s obviously talking from a business travel perspective. OTAs in the leisure market is a different game and the 2 sides are no longer different since the rise of the internet. Leisure travellers go online nowadays rather than to their high street travel agent. This is why the OTAs have such massive buying power and clout.

In terms of customer service, you’re almost certain to get better service via a TMC if something goes wrong with your stay, especially if that TMC books the hotel in question a lot. Having experienced Expedia’s customer service though; good luck should anything happen to a booking made through them.

[Budgethotels.com]

As an owner/operator of a hotel booking affiliate website perhaps I can add some information.
Firstly don’t believe the 25% commission figure. That may have been true a few years ago, but even then only for some hotels who struggle with their marketing/location. These days the top hotel chain have improved their direct marketing and of course there are so many hotel booking websites, none are dominant (and the ubiquitous Trivago is still to make any profit). This competition from booking sites to have hotels listed pushes the commission rates down. In turn, the competition for customers forces the booking sites to give away their commissions in the form of lower retail prices. You may not appreciate this if you only stick to one brand. Instead check out a hotel comparison site where you will see the prices offered by several brands (booking .com or hotels .com are rarely cheapest). With these sites you just “click thru” to the booking brand of your choice once you have all the prices presented to you. Beware of hidden charges and taxes and always look for a true comparison with all charges included. So to respond to the initial question, in my opinion the market is working quite effectively for consumers and intense competition makes for lower prices.

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