I used to book hotels through Expedia all the time but now I just call the front desk directly

I used to book hotels through Expedia all the time but now I just call the front desk directly. Back when I traveled to Austin last year for a conference I spent like three hours comparing prices on Expedia and Booking.com before picking a hotel that seemed like a good deal. Then I showed up and they gave me a room right next to the elevator that was noisy and smelled like old carpet. The front desk guy mentioned if I had called them directly I could have gotten a quieter room and maybe even a discount since they don't have to pay commission to those third party sites. Now I always find the hotel on Google Maps first, call them up, and ask if they can beat the online rate. It worked in Nashville two months ago where I saved $30 a night just by asking nicely. Has anyone else had luck getting a better price or a free upgrade by skipping the booking sites?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellyg147d ago

Totally works, I always call the hotel directly and ask for a AAA or military rate.

reese_taylor697d ago

Might depend how serious you look on the phone. I tried asking for the AAA rate once and they acted like I was trying to scam them.