Hotel booking sites

Ah yes... well, I find the deals... then we contact the Hotel directly... mention what we've seen... and ask them if they will match the price if we book directly with them.

They always do... and we've had upgraded rooms, cream teas and bottles of wine as a thankyou.

Works every time.

sue01, thanks for that. Will certainly try your system next time. Not particularly my comfort zone bartering but with actual comparisons to quote it seems easier than simply open negotiating.

Some newspapers can give really good discount rates. Have to confess usually nothing on earth would persuade me to open the DM, but there was one left on our table in a garden centre whilst waiting for our meal.

They currently have an offer for rooms at Green King's Old English Hotels for a hotel room with breakfast from £19.50 per person per night (you have to book two nights). It's valid until the end of November, use the code DM201018 on wwwgreenekinginns.co.uk/offers/DM201018. Have a look!

I have only used a booking website twice. I have been disappointed both times. The standard of room not good. Most hotels have rooms they have not renovated and use these for booking agencies. I have joined hotel programmes and have always got the room I have booked or better.

Terribull Expedia and Booking.com are part of the same company.

I look at the booking sites and comparison sites and it's surprising that sonetimes the comparison sites sjow prices lower than the booking sites are showing themselves. I tend to use Hotels.com as after 10nights booked you get a free night but I wouldn't book through them if I could get it cheaper elsewhere. We tend to stay at Pemier Inn when visiting family in England and our most used one has given us their direct telephone number so we can ask for a particular room before we arrive

We are just back from a few days in the lakes and although we were advised to go through booking.com phoned the hotel direct and got a better deal. On speaking to the owner she told us that they have to pay 18% to booking.com and by booking direct we got an online discount and an upgrade when we got there ?

I look on booking sites, then hotel's own site, then phone to make sure that they can cope with my husband's disabilities and idiosyncrasies. If they sound as if they can't be bothered, I go elsewhere.

Roadrunner, would you elaborate on 'hotel programmes' please? I googled and what appeared seemed only for professionals.

We've used agencies and hotels direct.
I booked via an agency (On the Beach) for a hotel in Egypt we had stayed in several times before.
Booking direct to the hotel was always more expensive so I just went with the agency.
BIG PROBLEM
When we arrived at 10.30 pm the hotel had security waiting for us, the hotel had been closed for over 3 months.
The agency had quite happily taken the full cost of the hotel for the 6 weeks we were to be there and had not known the B*** hotel had closed.
My fault I should have double checked.
Thank goodness we had stayed in the area many time before so knew the sister hotel and went there for the night before booking in at a better located hotel the next day.
I must say though it is the only time we have every had a problem, most hotels will contact you if there is a problem.
Always double check.

how awful! What a nightmare start to a much anticipated holiday.

Before booking any hotel, I always compare rates and which type of the services they provided. Mostly I prefer Booking.com and Expedia for hotels booking. There are also some other sites such as HotelsCombined.com, Trivago, Priceline, Hotels.com, Agoda.com, HostelWorld.com, Orbitz and HotelTonight.

I usually use booking.com for weekend hotels but recently had to book a hotel in Rhyl and there was very little choice. It's my home town and I knew choice would be limited, so I then went on trip advisor and found a premier inn on the sea front. Fairly new, so booked direct with them at a good price.

We booked with Bookings.com to go to Malta .They cancelled five weeks before travel as hotel had closed. The only support they offered was to show us very expensive hotels. We were a party of eight and getting desperate to find somewhere. We took a chance and booked a house on Gozo on Air B&B and it was beautiful. The owner could not have been more helpful.