Travel

Hotel secrets: You could be losing money with this common booking error


Hotels are the epicentre of the holiday experience for many travellers and can be the perfect opportunity to relax at the end of a long day exploring.

With many hotels boasting opulent rooms and services, travellers can end up using a huge chunk of the holiday budget on their accommodation.

A hotel worker has revealed there is another way holidaymakers are sometimes caught out on cost when booking their stay.

While many travel comparison websites help holidaymakers find rooms for the best price, it seems booking through the partner sites could actually end up raising the price more than booking directly through the hotel.

Furthermore, it seems booking online at all can sometimes have added fees.

READ MORE: Never make this mistake if you want a free hotel room upgrade [INSIDER]

“I always found it really frustrating that we could be booking the rooms ourselves and making an extra $20 while saving you $10+.”

Indeed, experts from Money Saving Expert concluded from an investigation that comparison site “sometimes show a price on their initial search results page that is LESS than what you’ll actually have to pay once taxes and resort fees are factored in.”

Guy Anker, deputy editor of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “Our investigation shows that ridiculously you simply can’t always trust the first figure you’re shown.

“It’s confusing for customers and makes doing a meaningful price comparison very hard.

“And as a result, many travellers may end up paying much more than they need to because they struggle to find the cheapest deal.”

“This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use these hotel brokers and comparison sites when booking a room – they may still work out cheapest overall and can narrow down the search for you. But it’s worth an extra click to be sure.”

However, there are some other ways travellers can save money on luxury accommodation.

A seasoned traveller took to Reddit to share their number one money-saving hack, which has helped them save up to “half-price” on hotel stays.

Posting to the forum, aimed at sharing travel hacks, the user wrote: “You can actually haggle at hotels, especially as a late arrival.

“Every night they have an empty room is a night they lose money on that room. I’ve gotten rooms for less than half price doing this.

“You can do this to a lesser extent for plane tickets, but it’s not as reliable as just buying them early, so I’d agree with you on that.”

Of course, upgrades to better rooms can’t always be guaranteed, though there is one member of staff who could hold the key.

It seems the concierge are the ones in the know.

“They are experts on room inventory and availability — and they have time to give you the lowdown,” Stirling Kelso, travel writer and founder of Half Pint Travel, told Business Insider.

However, there is a catch. Kelso added that you should not ask the concierge for an upgrade unless you’ve already established a personal rapport with them.

Requesting a free upgrade out of the blue is unlikely to work and may even be considered presumptuous.



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