Eight out of ten UK hotel rooms are cheaper when booked directly rather than online through hotel booking sites such as Booking.com according to the latest investigation by Which? Travel.
Online travel agents (OTAs) are often thought to be the most convenient way to get the best price on a hotel room, with many comparing the cost of hotel rooms across different websites under the promise of allowing the customer to find the best deal.
However, when Which? contacted 10 hotels to ask if they could offer a better deal than that offered by an OTA or on their own website, eight were able to offer a better price or other incentives such as free breakfasts or upgrades, with the research suggesting travellers are paying up to 12 per cent more for their rooms than they need to.
The research found that it is usually more expensive to book a hotel room online than booking directly by phone or email, due to a combination of commission charged by OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia on every booking made through their websites, and OTAs enforcing ‘rate-parity clauses’ in their contracts with hotels – clauses which prevent hotels from offering lower prices on their own websites than those listed on the OTAs’ websites.
Both Booking.com and Expedia denied to Which? that their commissions are driving up prices. But Which? has found that more often than not, hotels will be able to offer a better rate if they are contacted directly, either over the phone, via email, or in person, as rate-parity clauses only apply to prices offered online.
These rate-parity clauses have been banned in France, Italy and Austria for preventing competition. However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK chose not to ban the clauses in its recent review of the hotel booking industry.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: “Customers shouldn’t be duped into thinking they’re getting the best price from a hotel booking site when more often than not, they can get a better deal by avoiding its commission and booking directly with the hotel.
“Hotel booking sites might be a good place to start your search, but you should always call or email the hotel for the best chance of getting the cheapest deal – even in cases where they can’t offer a better price, there’s a good chance they’ll throw in a freebie or two.”
How to get the best room rate:
- Find a hotel on Booking.com (or similar).
- Google the name of the property (watch out for ads from hotel booking sites hijacking the search results – scroll down to find the official site).
- Email or, better still, call the hotel directly.
- Quote Booking.com’s rate and ask if they can better it.
- Calculate 15 per cent to 25 per cent of the rate. This is the potential saving for the hotelier and an indicator of wiggle room.
A spokesperson from Booking.com said “Properties choose whatever prices they want to list on Booking.com, which they can do at will and free of charge. Then Booking works hard to advertise their property for them to customers all over the world.
“If Booking can indeed find them a customer, the property then (and only then) pays a small fee in exchange for the service. By contrast, if a hotel or small bed & breakfast in the countryside for example, were to advertise on TV in markets all over the world in order to find customers and generate business, it would likely be so expensive that the properties would need to charge even higher prices for their rooms in order to stay in business.
“Booking.com is a much more cost-effective platform for properties to advertise, allowing them to pay only when they generate actual business.”
