On the milesopedia facebook group, Frank asked a question that generated a lot of reactions:
I would like to know what are the best sites for booking hotels without using our points (I keep them for flights)… I use Hotwire, Expedia, Trivago… any other suggestions?
To begin with, let’s develop the advantages of buying your hotel nights, before comparing hotel reservation sites.
For rewards program junkies like us, there’s a perk to paying for your hotel room. This way, we can earn points through our stay and take advantage of promotions!
Also, by using the credit card linked to the hotel’s rewards program, you can earn more points!
In Canada, there are 2 rewards programs offering credit cards:
I detail in this article my strategy on how to easily earn points through the application bonuses offered by these cards.
And on these two pages, you will find a presentation of the two cards:
By booking directly with the hotel, you’ll receive the benefits associated with your status. At Marriott Bonvoy, for example, being a Platinum member entitles you to free breakfasts at most hotels.
A benefit that can save you tens or even hundreds of dollars!
Whereas if you book a stay in a chain hotel through a third-party website, you won’t be able to take advantage of the benefits of your status, in the vast majority of cases. In fact, in order to encourage guests to book directly at the hotel, the hotel gives them advantages. This means they don’t have to pay a commission to the third-party site.
Frequent travelers are well advised to stay in hotels belonging to the same group (Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton, Best Western…). Thus, they earn nights that eventually allow them to reach a higher status.
Most major hotel groups have a best price guarantee policy: if you find a cheaper price elsewhere within a certain time frame, you will get a compensation gesture.
As Caroline notes:
With Marriott Bonvoy, we have the guarantee Look No Further of the same price -25%. It happened to me twice recently when booking with Marriott, making two requests because I had seen the same room at a lower price on the sites above, and having them accepted. So it costs you even less! For example, a $141 room on Marriott, seen at $139 on Hotels.com and that Marriott makes me at $104!
Shopping around and seeing price differences is a good way to save on your hotel room. You can even choose between this discount or 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy points! Simply fill out the form to claim the Best Rate Guarantee. Remember that the analysis of your best price guarantee will be done within 24-48 hours after booking. Therefore, the price may fluctuate slightly.
In the jargon, they are called OTA for Online Tourism Agency. That is to say, online travel agencies that essentially market tourist/travel services provided by third parties. There are hundreds of them so the most famous are: hotels.com, booking.com, Expedia, Hotwire and Airbnb!
We are not talking about hotel groups here. The vast majority of the hotel offer is present on these sites. Booking.com is certainly the one that offers the greatest variety of accommodations. From palaces and bed & breakfasts to youth hostels and private rentals, you’ll find it all!
Here is a testimony from Julie on the Facebook group:
I always book on Booking.com! However, it must be said that I’m not much of a hotel person either. In Bali, it was ONLY through Booking.com, and for my trip to Morocco this summer, it will be only through Booking.com too! The advantage is that you pay once on the spot (so no deposit or payment in full at the time of booking, like Expedia for example), and that you can cancel without charge up to 1 to 7 days before your arrival, which leaves you flexibility (…) I don’t like to stay in big hotels, I prefer smaller places, closer to the local population
Let’s take a look at the characteristics of each of these sites by doing a reservation test on Montreal:
On the Marriott website, this hotel is listed at $383.18 including taxes for Marriott Bonvoy members (free registration).
It’s undoubtedly the best-known… and the domain name contributes greatly to its popularity!
Hotels.com is in fact owned by another major player in the sector… Expedia, which also owns Trivago!
The rates will therefore be mostly identical between all these platforms.
Hotels.com sets itself apart from the competition by offering a rewards program: Hotels.com Rewards. This program is very simple to understand.
Accumulate 10 nights, receive 1 as a reward:
The value of your reward night is equal to the average price of the 10 nights you have accumulated. The advantage? No date restrictions, you choose the hotel where you really want to spend your reward night!
Hotels com Earn Hotels com Exchange
It’s a formula Michel really appreciates:
I use Hotels.com a lot because of their rewards program, which ultimately gives a 10% discount (11th night free). They also equalize prices, but I’ve never used it. To note: when you are registered they present “secret prices” lower than those posted to all.
In addition to this rewards program, Hotels.com offers secret prizes only for members.
Our test hotel costs $403.43 including taxes on hotels.com, about $20 more than on Marriott.com.
The hotels.com rewards program makes a difference. It’s like getting a 10% discount on each of your nights, which is not insignificant.
On the other hand, for the big chains (Marriott, Hilton, Best Western…) do not expect to make a bargain: the price will be identical or higher than the one proposed by the chain.
Recommended use of hotels.com: Non-chain hotels or hotels where you do not have status or do not wish to earn points (hotels.com’s rewards program will be more beneficial).
Booking.com has a wide range of offers. The site is particularly well established in the most remote areas as well.
Like Hotels.com, Booking.com is in the same group as other reservation platforms such as Priceline, Agoda and Kayak.
Here too, prices will be similar between these different sites.
Previously, Booking.com had a referral system. This allowed for rewards to be received. But, of sponsorship program ended on October 15, 2019.
Depending on the country, the price will be indicated including all taxes… or not! Be sure to check the terms and conditions to see what is included and what is not included to avoid any inconvenience once you are there.
Our booking.com hotel costs $403.41 including taxes, a few cents less than Hotels.com. But it is more expensive than a direct booking on the Marriott Bonvoy website.
Booking.com has a similar price to the other third-party sites in our test. However, it does not have a rewards program like hotels.com. On the other hand, it offers a much greater variety of accommodations than the entire competition.
Recommended use of booking.com: hotels / accommodations outside of large chains.
When I can’t use points for hotels, I increasingly use Airbnb instead of any hotel. Maybe it’s because we have kids and the accommodations Airbnb offers provide all the comforts of home.
Just because you rent an apartment doesn’t mean you’re completely out of the rewards program!
In fact, many credit cards allow you to apply points to travel expenses… like Airbnb!
This is particularly true of the Scotia Rewards program with the Scotia Bank Passport Visa Infinite Card…
…or the American Express Membership Rewards program with a card like the American Express Cobalt™ Card.
Here, to offset the $454.41 Airbnb expense, I would need to use 45,441 American Express Membership Rewards points offered by the American Express Cobaltᵐᶜ Card.
Find out on this page why the American Express Cobalt card is the travel hacker’s favourite credit card!
Some travel points rewards programs will allow you to apply your points to travel bookings made on any of these travel sites. Examples include Scene+ and American Express Membership Rewards…. in the same way as reservations on Airbnb.
So this can be a backdoor way to still use points!
For other rewards programs, such as BMO Rewards, you can use your points directly on the booking site, which major players like Expedia usually manage. The price will therefore be the same as what you could find elsewhere.
All the more reason to sign up for the BMO World Elite Mastercard, especially when it’s on special offer with the first year’s fee and lots of points!
The offer of all these sites is vast. But in the end, there are only a few players who share the hotel reservation market. In addition, the prices are ultimately very similar.
Hyacinth sums it up well on the group:
I prefer to book directly with the hotel. Then I look at prices elsewhere to see if I can beat the price offered by the direct hotel. Most offer a best price guarantee so if you find a better price elsewhere, the hotel may offer you a discount.
It will be up to you to make your “small calculations” in function:
And as Sylvain rightly points out
You should also know that you’ll always get the best rooms if you book directly with the hotel, especially if you make specific requests. It is quite well known in the hotel business that “Expedia” customers are given the most ordinary rooms. Booking comes second (because we usually pay up front). Hoteliers always favor their good customers and that is perfectly honorable!
Feel free to join the discussion in the Facebook group on this topic, which is very lively !
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