Hotel.com review

[HappyValley1]

Anyone had experience with hotel.com? How good is the service. Would they cancel the booking without let you know. The price seems cheaper than expedia.ca for a few doller. Your command is appreciated.

[lasallejai]

I have used Hotels.ca 9 times and have not got one problem with them yet. I believe they are owned by Hotwire so the prices are indentical at Hotwire, but the good thing is that with Hotels.ca(com) you get one night free every 10 nights booked and paid for, and the rebated amount is based on the average rate paid for the previous 10 nights. Not all hotel rooms qualify but majority of them are. Also, most of the times the room rates include free cancellation 48 hours before trip so in case something happens you can get your money back without questions asked. It happened to me just last December when I had booked and paid for 2 rooms in Boston for my family, but at the end had to cancel one of them, and Hotels.ca refunded the full amount of about $450 to me. Also, if you have enough to look for a room in the city you visit go to their site daily and check for one day or two day sale. Last Thansgiving I was able to catch their two day sale for a hHilton in Roseville, Detroit, for half price so for two nights and two rooms for my family we saved about $200. Just recently when I was planning for our Montreal trip over the Canada Day long weekend I also caught their two day sale for a Montreal hotel for $99, down from $159 so I booked and paid for the room right away and saved about $70 a night after tax and fee. Enjoy!

[HappyValley1]

I have used Hotels.ca 9 times and have not got one problem with them yet. I believe they are owned by Hotwire so the prices are indentical at Hotwire, but the good thing is that with Hotels.ca(com) you get one night free every 10 nights booked and paid for, and the rebated amount is based on the average rate paid for the previous 10 nights. Not all hotel rooms qualify but majority of them are. Also, most of the times the room rates include free cancellation 48 hours before trip so in case something happens you can get your money back without questions asked. It happened to me just last December when I had booked and paid for 2 rooms in Boston for my family, but at the end had to cancel one of them, and Hotels.ca refunded the full amount of about $450 to me. Also, if you have enough to look for a room in the city you visit go to their site daily and check for one day or two day sale. Last Thansgiving I was able to catch their two day sale for a hHilton in Roseville, Detroit, for half price so for two nights and two rooms for my family we saved about $200. Just recently when I was planning for our Montreal trip over the Canada Day long weekend I also caught their two day sale for a Montreal hotel for $99, down from $159 so I booked and paid for the room right away and saved about $70 a night after tax and fee. Enjoy!

Hi There, we dont travel a lot, may be 2 trips a year. We are going to Fort Lauderdale for cruise on Aug. We need one night before the cruise and 2 nights after the cruise. We check expedia.ca, hotels.com which a few dollar cheaper than expedia.ca. I check hotwire.com and the operator wont tell me the name of the hotel until I book it. Do you have any other web site to book a hotel in FLL. I like Hampton Inn North which provide free shuttle bus pick up from airport and shuttle bus to cruise port. We have 4 people and the free shuttle bus save at $30 for each trip. Thanks.

[matdwyer]

I'm on the fence with all the hotel aggregators - first of all, nearly every hotel chain has a best rate guarantee - so if you find the price on there, you can take it to the hotel and get the priced matched (some will also give you a free night if you find a lower price, or an additional discount, etc). Also you can earn points for your hotel stays rather then nothing with Hotels.com

It's in the hotels best interest to have you book directly and not have to pay the commissions, and I find nearly every hotel has better prices if you're looking for them by a) booking directly or b) using CAA discounts (remember, most hotels give 5-10% discounts for CAA, a basic membership is $35 - it can be worth it even if you don't have a car!)

[HappyValley1]

I'm on the fence with all the hotel aggregators - first of all, nearly every hotel chain has a best rate guarantee - so if you find the price on there, you can take it to the hotel and get the priced matched (some will also give you a free night if you find a lower price, or an additional discount, etc). Also you can earn points for your hotel stays rather then nothing with Hotels.com

It's in the hotels best interest to have you book directly and not have to pay the commissions, and I find nearly every hotel has better prices if you're looking for them by a) booking directly or b) using CAA discounts (remember, most hotels give 5-10% discounts for CAA, a basic membership is $35 - it can be worth it even if you don't have a car!)

So I can call Fort Lauderdale Hampton Inn North to book the room and ask for price match Hotels.com's rate. Then Hampton Inn will give me that rate. I do have CAA and HHonors rewardcard for Hampton Inn. However, Hampton Inn does not have toll free number, I have to call from Toronto.

[matdwyer]

So I can call Fort Lauderdale Hampton Inn North to book the room and ask for price match Hotels.com's rate. Then Hampton Inn will give me that rate. I do have CAA and HHonors rewardcard for Hampton Inn. However, Hampton Inn does not have toll free number, I have to call from Toronto.

http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en...uarantee.jhtml

They'll match + a $50 gift card. Check to make sure that the hampton site doesn't already have a lower price though.

As for calling, call the main hampton inn reservation desk or check online.

[HappyValley1]

http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en...uarantee.jhtml

They'll match + a $50 gift card. Check to make sure that the hampton site doesn't already have a lower price though.

As for calling, call the main hampton inn reservation desk or check online.

Thanks. It really help.

[doberman_baby]

Priceline is another option, but again you won't know the hotel until you've booked.
Personally, I have used hotels.com like 15+ times and no issues. Had my free night stay too. I'd rather know where I am staying than getting a lower price without knowing which hotel.
Booking directly w/ the hotel will give you more room options for sure, but not necessary lower prices (unless price match). However, unless you stay with that hotel chain, the points earned are not too useful. Therefore, I have been using hotels.com most of my last few trips.

[lasallejai]

Hi There, we dont travel a lot, may be 2 trips a year. We are going to Fort Lauderdale for cruise on Aug. We need one night before the cruise and 2 nights after the cruise. We check expedia.ca, hotels.com which a few dollar cheaper than expedia.ca. I check hotwire.com and the operator wont tell me the name of the hotel until I book it. Do you have any other web site to book a hotel in FLL. I like Hampton Inn North which provide free shuttle bus pick up from airport and shuttle bus to cruise port. We have 4 people and the free shuttle bus save at $30 for each trip. Thanks.

Not sure if you know you can also buy knowingly from Hotwire???? Click on the blue tap and you will see all the hotels you can buy through Hotwire to compare. I also use Travelocity.ca for buying knowingly and unknowingly a lot. Try that, and they also give you information about what the hotel offers in terms of room choices and amenities.

[matdwyer]

Priceline is another option, but again you won't know the hotel until you've booked.
Personally, I have used hotels.com like 15+ times and no issues. Had my free night stay too. I'd rather know where I am staying than getting a lower price without knowing which hotel.
Booking directly w/ the hotel will give you more room options for sure, but not necessary lower prices (unless price match). However, unless you stay with that hotel chain, the points earned are not too useful. Therefore, I have been using hotels.com most of my last few trips.

Every major chain has a best rate guarantee - most with a % beating it or with a perk (free night, etc) - there really isn't any reason to book through other channels when you can quite easily get a lower price directly. The free night after 10 is the exception, but remember that means that hotels.com is making at least 10% on your room - if you're going through the hotel, you wouldn't be paying that extra and they can put that in your pocket directly with their BRG promotions.

(as for points, most hotels allow you to earn in airline points instead, it's in your earning profile)

[dawgbone]

I believe they are owned by Hotwire

Close enough. They are owned by Expedia, who owns hotwire.

[itrocks4u]

Has anyone tried their low price guarantee?

[doberman_baby]

Has anyone tried their low price guarantee?

I got a price guarantee for same type of room, same period, but different hotel. The credit was on my credit card statement in 3 days.

[itrocks4u]

Hmm - I actually booked a hotel with them last night. I didn't receive a confirmation email but another email stating that my order is 'in progress' I called them today and after 40 mins of hold they said they are having system errors and the bookings aren't going through yet. They further said that they can't guarantee the pricing till the order is confirmed.

Is this a normal practice for them?

[Manatus]

Hi There, we dont travel a lot, may be 2 trips a year. We are going to Fort Lauderdale for cruise on Aug. We need one night before the cruise and 2 nights after the cruise. We check expedia.ca, hotels.com which a few dollar cheaper than expedia.ca. I check hotwire.com and the operator wont tell me the name of the hotel until I book it. Do you have any other web site to book a hotel in FLL. I like Hampton Inn North which provide free shuttle bus pick up from airport and shuttle bus to cruise port. We have 4 people and the free shuttle bus save at $30 for each trip. Thanks.

There are several websites that will tell you (mostly very accurate) the name of the hidden hotels on Hotwire, Travelocity etc. Try www.betterbidding.com. I've used Hotwire maybe 6 or 7 times and always known what hotel I was booking before I booked it, right every time.