Interesting Article re: Discount Hotel Rooms...

[ekerr19]

I know this is a bit off-topic, but recently there have been several threads regarding the use of Priceline and other online booking companies such as Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. for booking hotels in many cruise port cities.

I thought I'd share this piece I read this in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, From the Editor Column by Eric Torkells:

I am hopping mad. I went to a travel-industry dinner last night and was told the most appalling thing. Back in our April issue, we ran an item about how people were getting great deals from online booking companies-Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity-at fancy hotels, only to find they weren't treated as well as other guests. We kind of danced around it, because that type of item is a bit unprovable. It's not as if a hotel is going to actually confirm that it behaves badly.

Last night's dinner was held by the BBC, trying to figure out how to make travel television interesting. (Good luck.) The guest to my right was in the sales department of an upscale business hotel in New York City. (I'm not naming it because I can't imagine she thought she was speaking on the record.) She said point blank that the hotel treats customers who book through a third-party website worse than other guests. "If someone needs to be downgraded, we always go for the Expedia guest," she said - with pride.

"But that's horrifying!" I said.

"It's that way at every hotel," she said. "We know you don't want to spend money. You won't spend it on our food and beverages, spa services, anything. If you book that way, you're cheap. And we don't want you."

"Then why do you even take the bookings" I asked

"The economics of running a hotel. We need to fill rooms."

My jaw hit the table. If your job, your raison d'etre, is to treat people well, then wouldn't you treat everyone well?

The Editor continues:

It's not as if Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity-who will surely be dismayed to hear all this-are the black market. Booking through them is a legitimate transaction, and if hotels are going to treat us as second-class customers, they should let us know in advance. Paying less to get something less is something I can handle, getting the shaft when when I think I've roped a good deal is another matter entirely. I suppose I am being a Pollyanna, but every guest who walks through the doors of that hotel-or any hotel-is an opportunity. You never know who's coming back, loaded, and you never know when the economy is going to hit a slump again-which is when business travel tanks.

I've got news for them: The world has changed. Everyone wants a good deal, and only a fool would punish the people who are saavy and dedicated enough to actually get one.

I thought this was very interesting and I thought I recalled a thread offering this same issue for discussion. It seems to me that I should be a lot more careful (in the future) where I choose to spend my hotel dollars.

[gliles]

That is very interesting, it has not yet been our experience and I hope won't be in a couple weeks!

[mmacdcc]

Do some checking. Check the hotel website against Expedia, hotels.com, etc. Chances are really good that the hotel will give you as good, if not a BETTER deal. Remember too, that there are other discounts -- AARP, AAA, gov't rates -- that are excellent deals, and you only get those when you book directly with the hotel.

Our last couple vacations were to Las Vegas and Orlando. Orlando was a family reunion, and I wanted to stay at the same hotel as my sister. On Expedia/Travelocity/hotels.com, it was about $100/night -- and on some of them, it wasn't even listed. When I went to the hotel site (Wyndham), the AAA rate was $90/night.

Same with Las Vegas. I booked our airfare through Expedia, because they had the best rate. But I booked the hotel directly, and not only did I get the same rate ($99/nt), but I ALSO got coupons for meal discounts, match play at blackjack, 15% off spa/salon services.

You often also get frequent flyer miles, points toward free nights, etc.

And lots of hotel chains now will guarantee their web sites have the lowest price -- and from what I've found, most of them do.

[ekerr19]

mmacdcc-

That is what I have been doing lately - the best deals we received have been courtesy of either the hotel website of a phone call or email directly to the hotel.

We booked the Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale for next March through their website, I emailed them asking about the chances of getting a Club level room for the same rate- I was pleasantly surprised when they emailed me back a confirmation. :)

[dakrewser]

Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, PlacesToStay and their ilk rarely are much better priced than the hotel sites. The big advantage is that you can compare prices and availability for a number of hotels in the same general area.


I find the article very, very hard to believe based on my own experience. I've not been treated any differently whether I book with marriott.com, orbitz, expedia, placestostay or priceline. Or thru American Airlines vacations, for that matter.

As to "downgrading", no hotel has ever given me less than I reserved. Some may have tried, but none have succeeded.

-dave

[MISSYLOU]

Generally I have found the rates on Orbitz, Travelocity and the like to be very close to the hotel website rates. I believe sites like Priceline and Hotwire are more of the sites that the article might have been hinting at. At Priceline you can usually get a price about 40 per cent cheaper than the website.

I have only had two clerks make a comment to me about using Priceline and that was at two separate Hilton properties. And all they said was "I see you used Priceline" and then I asked one why he asked and he stated "well I used Priceline once and it was a bad experience so I won't use them again". I don't mean to be smug but there I was having traveled a couple thousand miles to take a grand daughter to Disney World and a desk clerk is making a comment about using Priceline. I just responded well I travel alot and getting a good rate allows me to do so. Now I have never been given a room that I didn't feel was satisfactory but I have read that some folks have.

I wonder why these hotel chains feel so smug about using discount websites when the article states "we need to fill up the hotel." If they don't want folks who enjoy a discount then why list their hotels with priceline, hotwire or any discounter.

[ekerr19]

Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, PlacesToStay and their ilk rarely are much better priced than the hotel sites. The big advantage is that you can compare prices and availability for a number of hotels in the same general area.


I find the article very, very hard to believe based on my own experience. I've not been treated any differently whether I book with marriott.com, orbitz, expedia, placestostay or priceline. Or thru American Airlines vacations, for that matter.

As to "downgrading", no hotel has ever given me less than I reserved. Some may have tried, but none have succeeded.

-dave
Dave-

I have read about this problem on these boards and also in another magazine I subscribe to.

I was very surprised to read of it in a column by the Editor.

You state,

As to "downgrading", no hotel has ever given me less than I reserved. Some may have tried, but none have succeeded.

Not everyone may be as saavy as you - and will (unfortunately) take less than they have reserved. In fact, I have had this happen to me years ago - which is why I seldom (anymore) will tolerate an attitude by hotel staff.

I think it is beneficial for everyone to know they are completely entitled to received the type and quality room they book - regardless of the booking method. :)

[Pudgesmom]

I just had a problem with a ticket on United. I bought a "web special" at the last minute to attend a funeral. They refused to assign a seat at the ticket counter, and at the gate I was told "Someone with 'your kind of ticket' would only have access to center seats in the rear of the aircraft." In addition, I was only offered a seat in the final row on the outbound flight, and or a $25.00 upgrade to the front of coach. i was told the plane was full. It was only 1/2 full.

I guess some coach tickets are better than others! Will cruise fares be the same way soon? Maybe less expensive fares for the same cabin catagory will be offered less popular dining times, or reduced access to shore excursions, other reservations, etc. The airlines call it revenue management.

Beth

[dakrewser]

I just had a problem with a ticket on United. I bought a "web special" at the last minute to attend a funeral. They refused to assign a seat at the ticket counter, and at the gate I was told "Someone with 'your kind of ticket' would only have access to center seats in the rear of the aircraft." In addition, I was only offered a seat in the final row on the outbound flight, and or a $25.00 upgrade to the front of coach. i was told the plane was full. It was only 1/2 full.
This appears to be a United-only situation. I normally only fly AA and Southwest, but a need to go from San Francisco to Denver (without changing planes in Dallas!:eek: ) meant booking United. I noted that the front half of the main cabin was listed as "premium" (or some such term) seating. Maybe more leg room, or better upholstry - who knows? I know that I'm not using United anymore unless I absolutely have to.

[777steve]

It would be (IMO) a little naive to believe that the overall prices can come very far down without a concomitant lowering of the service standards.

I got flamed not too long ago for saying something expecting the "white glove" ... my comment was not that I really cared about the white glove per se but rather this: if you tell me what to expect then I am, as a reasonable person, going to expect it.

I recognize that my Priceline booking (because it pretty much says so) limits my mobility within the hotel's booking/change/upgrade policies. Beyond that, I would be pretty angry if there was a visible distinction in the service level accorded. Personally I don't doubt the information in the "article" at all.

As for the airplanes - Continental and UAL both tout their Premium Rows (more legroom and no automatic booking of the center seats). It's not new at all.Virgin Atlantic has a "Premium Coach" section as well - clearly others do. AA is careful to identify their "more Room" flights because of the same kinds of distinctions (now that thye figured out that more room was not as attractive to keeping customer loyalty as $5 cheaper).

The problem is not whether a certain price point yields a certain service - it's about whether that distinction is disclosed well enough for a consumer to make informed decisions.

If I book a Suite on HAL for a great rate then I've got a great rate for a great service - theoretically. But if they are, without full disclosure, cutting back on a lot of odds and ends in order to afford allowing those prices, then I am rightly entitled to say "unfair". Personally, a lot of the amenities are things I don't really care about - I want space and a big verandah. But I like to believe that the minimum deliverable is consistent.

That said - I like Holiday Inn's old slogan" "The Best Surprise is No Surpise".

Bottom line (IMO): we eventually will have to pay the piper for all of the "great deals". Did anyone with two living brain cells really believe that the airlines could offer $99 transcon fares and not have a corresponding loss somewhere? Premium services and premium goods actually do have a cost.

BUT .. I do believe that honesty would go a long way towards allowing people NOT to be set up for disappointment.

Just my $.02

Cheers

[Nasmas]

I just had a problem with a ticket on United. I bought a "web special" at the last minute to attend a funeral. They refused to assign a seat at the ticket counter, and at the gate I was told "Someone with 'your kind of ticket' would only have access to center seats in the rear of the aircraft." In addition, I was only offered a seat in the final row on the outbound flight, and or a $25.00 upgrade to the front of coach. i was told the plane was full. It was only 1/2 full.

I guess some coach tickets are better than others! Will cruise fares be the same way soon? Maybe less expensive fares for the same cabin catagory will be offered less popular dining times, or reduced access to shore excursions, other reservations, etc. The airlines call it revenue management.

BethI think cruise fares are already there. That's why I won't book thru the cruise line. Last year in Ft. Lauderdale we got awful air tickets thru the cruise line. Our flight didnt' leave until 6:00 though Delta had a flight out at 12:15, since we booked thru the cruise they were going to charge us $500 to take the earlier flight. We were told our 'cruise ticket' was only worth $40. When we got to Atlanta, we were told we didnt' have a seat. We'd been bumped at 11:00 PM. We did get on the plane after someone took their offer, but we were treated very poorly by the Delta staff and the very rude ticket agent in FLL more or less told us it was because we had a 'cruise ticket.'
After writing this, I re-read your post. We're talking differences, but it is still worth noting about the cruise air fares.

[ron46936]

I've always gotten good service at hotells I've booked thru Hotwire and Priceline. By contrast the rooms when I've booked low cost rooms thru the hotel sites have often been among the worst available.

As far as cruises go, we often book last minute reduced fares. As a result we don't get a choice of cabin or dining time. BUT saving enough to take three cruises instead of two makes it worthwhile.

[Budget Queen]

Frankly- IF I get a significant discount via Priceline, hotel web site etc. I EXPECT a lesser room- which is fine by me. I personal travel almost 8 weeks /year and never have been "snubbed" by staff. As my name states- I am a big budget traveler.

[ekerr19]

I think cruise fares are already there. That's why I won't book thru the cruise line. Last year in Ft. Lauderdale we got awful air tickets thru the cruise line. Our flight didnt' leave until 6:00 though Delta had a flight out at 12:15, since we booked thru the cruise they were going to charge us $500 to take the earlier flight. We were told our 'cruise ticket' was only worth $40. When we got to Atlanta, we were told we didnt' have a seat. We'd been bumped at 11:00 PM. We did get on the plane after someone took their offer, but we were treated very poorly by the Delta staff and the very rude ticket agent in FLL more or less told us it was because we had a 'cruise ticket.'
After writing this, I re-read your post. We're talking differences, but it is still worth noting about the cruise air fares.
I hear you! We booked air through HAL twice... our first cruise out of FLL ( nightmare!) They used TWA and had the lamest routing of our flights we've ever seen - missed our connection, did not get home til after midnight. What a horrid ending to a wonderful cruise. The second time, we were embarking in Costa Rica and returning to FLL and couldn't get better pricing than HAL, but the flights weren't as bad as the first time we used them.

We normally get good flights out of Denver booking on our own, also at a much lower price. I know many people swear by HAL's air, but for us is is more effective booking on our own.

We also had the TWA ticket agent tell us the HAL bulk ticket was basically worthless and they refused to consider putting us on another airline. We were forced to wait til the next TWA flight from St. Louis.