Booking through hotel website vs through online travel agency
- Online travel agentcies are a very popular way to book hotel rooms. If you’re a traveler who’s not particular about exactly when you fly or where you stay, the packages offered on such sites can make a vacation more inexpensive in the long run.
- Booking your tickets for all aspects of your trip such as a hotel, meals and rental cars, a travel agent is supposed to get the best deals and serve as your advocate if anything goes wrong. Online booking will show you the prices of tickets at the moment, but prices may change daily. Some, but not all, travel websites allow you to create a package by booking hotel, airfare, excursions and car rental together.
- To receive the best deals through online booking, you may have to check daily with multiple outlets to find the price that suits your budget.
- The idea that any online company offers the lowest prices across the board is a myth. Websites cannot guarantee the best deal because the price of hotel rooms, airfare and other tickets fluctuates. Airline ticket prices change depending on the day of the week or time of the day, and hotels change their rates due to the day of the week, proximity of the booking to the day of the use, and whether the hotel is part of a block discount.
- A personal touch travel agents can offer is their experience. Many travel agents are required to do a certain amount of travel to be familiar with destinations their clients will be visiting. A travel agent may also be familiar with place markets and can tailor a trip specifically for their client. Websites can approximate this personal experience through customer feedback forums and visitor rankings.
- The more complex the trip, the more helpful an experienced agent will be, an agent can guide an inexperienced traveler through foreign travel or travel to exotic destinations. While the Internet may be bursting with websites and bookings in technologically advanced areas, agents may have more knowledge of travel in areas where tourism is less developed.
- Travel agents are meant to be your vacation supporter. They will find you the best prices, and if by chance something bad happens, they will be there to clean up the mess, and online booking will show you the prices of tickets at the moment, but prices may change daily, travel agents take all of the stress out of vacations. Imagine not having to worry about arranging travel, hotels, meals, and excursions.
- They can also offer insight that a website won’t be able to. An agent can guide an inexperienced traveler through foreign travel or travel to exotic destinations. While the Internet may be bursting with websites and bookings in technologically advanced areas, agents may have more knowledge of travel in areas where tourism is less developed.
- The Internet has brought wonderful accessibility to the process of booking a hotel. From your smartphone or desktop, you can make all the room arrangements for your trip online. And increasingly, sites like Priceline and Expedia allow you to compare hotels and rates, and book online. In most cases, they’re convenient and can save your some money.
- It’s tough, however, to argue with the logic of contacting the hotel directly to make your reservations. This will ensure you get a great deal and are not misled by not seeing fine print. Most indepent hotel websites, like The Executive Innin Freer, TX for example, will give you the upfront cost including taxes and fees. This can save you the headache of any unexpected costs. And if you’re a hotel owner, you don’t have to pay a fee to those online travel agencies. Check out this link to increase direct bookings for your hotel!
- The greatest hotel booking sites will give you an accurate picture of the hotel you want, and they allow you to search through thousands of hotels based on what’s most important to you. Look for a hotel search site that provides plenty information about the hotels that interest you. Guest ratings, images, amenities lists and multiple room booking are key features of these websites.
