What are the best hotel booking sites?

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johno1234

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#318565 30-Jan-2025 11:55

Trivago came up in the small annoying things thread - and is widely disliked and considered dodgy.

Are there any genuinely independent, broad searching sites that really do find the best deals?

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Networkn
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#3337339 30-Jan-2025 11:57

I've used Tripadvisor a few times, including overseas locations, and I have used Booking.com both in NZ and overseas. None have been a problem, however, I always confirm the booking direct with the accomodation prior to my travel.

I've never had a problem.

These days, I almost always book via the accomodation direct as they almost always have the best price, and whatever the small extra cost is, provides additional peice of mind I am fortunate enough to be able to afford.

eracode

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#3337343 30-Jan-2025 12:01

networkn:

I've used Tripadvisor a few times, including overseas locations, and I have used Booking.com both in NZ and overseas. None have been a problem, however, I always confirm the booking direct with the accomodation prior to my travel.

I've never had a problem.

These days, I almost always book via the accomodation direct as they almost always have the best price, and whatever the small extra cost is, provides additional peice of mind I am fortunate enough to be able to afford.

^^ Yep - and the same with flights. In the past always used Booking for accommodation and Expedia for flights - but not now.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

CYaBro

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#3337346 30-Jan-2025 12:06

Yea, I try to find the best deal from anywhere then contact the hotel directly and book with them, if they'll match the price I found.
Usually they are happy to do it as they don't pay the commission to the booking site.

We have also had free upgrades by booking directly.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

johno1234

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#3337347 30-Jan-2025 12:07

You can usually get the same price booking direct - but with hotels and airlines you still need to be able to compare them - there's so many airlines to choose from internationally. Shame that in NZ there are so many routes that are AirNZ only and horribly expensive.

networkn

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#3337349 30-Jan-2025 12:10

I definitely use booking.com/tripadvisor for filtering and getting recommendations on where to stay.

Tripadvisor on recommendations for restaurants overseas as well.

Stu

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#3337373 30-Jan-2025 12:40

None. I book direct with the establishments and usually that gives the actual best price. Using booking sites means you pay immediately when you book, and the establishment receives payment after you leave. Most of my recent bookings haven't required payment until arrival, and have cost the same as paying in advance (which occasionally gives a small discount).

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johno1234

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#3337374 30-Jan-2025 12:43

Stu:

None. I book direct with the establishments and usually that gives the actual best price. Using booking sites means you pay immediately when you book, and the establishment receives payment after you leave. Most of my recent bookings haven't required payment until arrival, and have cost the same as paying in advance (which occasionally gives a small discount).

The question I meant to ask is which site finds you the best hotel deals for a location search. You can't do that when using a hotel's website directly. But as others have said, no need to book using the aggregator website. Once it has found a hotel then you can switch to the hotel's own site.

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Senecio

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#3337375 30-Jan-2025 12:43

None of them are inherently bad if you replace the phrase "booking site" with "searching site". Booking.com, Trivago, Tripadvisor etc... are all great sites to cast your net wide and see what is available in the city you want to stay on the dates you intend to travel. Once I've done that I always contact the hotel directly to make a booking. I've never paid more than the best price quoted on any of those sites and often pay less or get free extras thrown in.

And as pointed out above, having a booking that is direct with the service provider rather than through a 3rd party gives a piece of mind if you need to cancel or change that booking.

Asteros

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#3337386 30-Jan-2025 13:08

Depends on the region. For Asia, I find Agoda gives me excellent pricing. During the past 5 years I have contacted the same hotels directly and they were unable to match Agoda's pricing. Your experience may differ though.

Oblivian

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#3337389 30-Jan-2025 13:27

Trivago appears to have been slapped The TV spot now states it may not show all deals/hotels or the cheapest but ones they receive a referral bonus from.

I use to go through it for short stays in akl for Armageddon for instance.

But as you say found out you'll either get a bit more perks or freedom going to them directly to match sans the fees. And for small places they can be quite appreciative

Batman

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#3337390 30-Jan-2025 13:28

Asteros:

Agoda gives me excellent pricing. During the past 5 years I have contacted the same hotels directly and they were unable to match Agoda's pricing.

Same. But I got burnt with agoda once when they had a hotel with different tier rooms but on agoda it said room to be allocated on arrival. It turns out I paid for a suite and got the cheapest room. Then I canceled the booking and they said they had refunded but it never showed on my visa. But that time it was past the dispute date.

tchart

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#3337406 30-Jan-2025 14:05

networkn:

These days, I almost always book via the accomodation direct as they almost always have the best price

Agree, its always worth checking direct but check the fine print as sometimes Expedia etc will offer refundable bookings while the hotel doesnt (or vice versa).

BTW in some cases signing up for the chains loyalty club as it can have perks like discounted rates, free bottled water, late checkout etc

nova

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#3337412 30-Jan-2025 14:22

Not a big fan of trivago. I often use expedia and tripadvisor to see what is around, and then search up the best way to pay with it. Booking with the hotel direct and belonging to the loyalty program gives you the best chance of an upgrade, and sometimes the loyalty rates are better than you can get elsewhere. US hotels often have AAA rates which the NZ Automobile Association used to be affiliated to (and might still be, not 100% sure). I've used corporate rates quite a bit, and sometimes affiliate deals can work out ok, like the NZAA offers:

https://www.aa.co.nz/travel/member-deals/aa-member-discounts-on-accommodation/

jonathan18

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#3337438 30-Jan-2025 15:07

Stu:

Using booking sites means you pay immediately when you book, and the establishment receives payment after you leave. Most of my recent bookings haven't required payment until arrival, and have cost the same as paying in advance (which occasionally gives a small discount).

IME, the above text in bold isn’t at all the universal approach with the large booking sites. On Booking.com, which I’ve recently started using over Hotels.com, all my recent bookings are for payment just prior to the dates booked, not at time of booking. Some I’ve seen are payment upon arrival.

When searching for these recent bookings, when I compared prices on the original websites I often found the original sites more expensive and/or not offering a free cancellation (or not stating their policy clearly) - on this basis I’ve simply used Hotels.com to avoid the hassle of contacting them directly to see if I can better deal.

xpd

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#3337463 30-Jan-2025 16:49

My wife tends to find good deals for our local travels on hotels.com. But as others have said, going direct can sometime be better.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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