Booking Flights and Hotels Through Agencies versus Direct Booking

I have had enough of booking hotels and flights through agencies that show up on top of the search engine results — and sometimes hidden under the hotel offers. Here are only some of my experiences:

Lousy Hotel in Halifax
It was already 7 pm and heavily snowing when our airplane landed. Living 200 kilometers away from Halifax, I had booked a room in a hotel next to the airport. The regular bus to our town left the airport only once a day — in the morning at 11 am. Calling friends to pick me up was not in my mind. At least I did not want to ask them on this snow day to drive 400 kilometers round trip.

It took about half an hour until the hotel shuttle bus arrived to pick up a group of seven travelers. However, the shuttle did not drive directly to the hotel but to a huge parking area where all others had their cars parked. One couple did not find their car, and the driver patiently cruised around and around until these folks recognized their vehicle under a snow cover. Finally, almost two hours after landing, I checked in and got a room twenty meters from the reception.

Thin walls allowed me to be entertained beyond midnight by listening to arriving guests or phone calls from the receptionist… The short night ended at 4 am when calls by the receptionist (this time another one) woke me up.

I tried without success to continue sleeping. At 6 am I got up, walked over to their desk, and asked for the manager. He would arrive around 9 am, I was told. “OK, then, when and where is breakfast?” “Sorry, but due to the pandemic, we cannot offer breakfast”. “What? Where can I get a cup of coffee and something to eat?” “The next place is a coffee shop at the airport”. At least I could catch the shuttle bus to be driven to and from the airport after a coffee and a croissant back to the hotel.

I opened my laptop to use the time until the manager would arrive. But no luck, the Internet did not work. I packed my suitcase and got ready for departure, hoping that the Internet at the airport would work. In the meantime, the manager (or his junior assistant) arrived at his office, and I complained about my not-so-clean room, about the missing breakfast (which was included in the hotel fee), and about the loud noise that kept me from sleeping. I demanded a discount. 

The manager told me that he could only talk about it if I had booked directly at their hotel (chain) — but not when booked through a third party. I would have to go through Booking, Priceline, Expedia, or wherever I paid for my hotel room. I was furious, but couldn’t do anything other than write a one-star review for this hotel on Google. And I swore to myself never, ever to book through an agency for flights, trains, rental cars, or hotel rooms.

Another Hotel: As I am almost a full-time traveler, my resolutions, however, melted in the sun…

In spring, I traveled near Algonquin Park and in the late afternoon, I discovered an attractive hotel in a small town. I went in and inquired at the reception about a room and its price. A bit shocked by the answer, I gambled and offered a lower price “which I had seen on the Internet”.

The receptionist explained to me that I would have to order it online to get a price like this. “So, you mean I can pull out my laptop and order it online in front of you and get a lower price? Even though the agencies deduct another 15–20%? Why don’t you just give me a lower price?” “No, that’s not possible,” she explained, “due to directions she got from her manager”.

“OK, then please give me your password, and I’ll order online”. “No password needed; you can go directly to the Internet.” So I sat down in the hotel lobby and checked the agency’s hotel prices. To my surprise, it was only ten dollars lower. But at the same time, I saw a bed & breakfast with lots of favorable reviews — and I booked a room there — without an agency. Thanks to the friendly but firm receptionist (or her managers) — they lost a potential customer…

Rental Car Nightmare

Weeks later I prepared for another trip to Europe, and to avoid traveling in trains or buses during the pandemic, I booked a rental car. Despite having paid in full for three weeks through the agency’s website, I was forced to leave a deposit of 2,000 euros. When I returned the car, I demanded my credit card payment back. 

No, they cannot give me the credit back as I had booked with an agency. But I had given my credit card in their office to pay for the deposit in person in Salzburg, Austria. I wanted my deposit back from them! They assured me I would have the credit returned within 3 days by the agency.

Four months later, I still did not have the money back on my credit card, despite dozens of emails, calls, and even a registered letter. I was bounced forth and back from the rental place to the agent and vice versa. 

I then went to the Internet and Social Media and posted the case to several consumer sites, to the Salzburg tourism office, the city of Salzburg, as well as to authorities in Munich where the agency is located. I even sent the case to several daily papers in both cities. I am not sure who or what influenced the agency or the rental office, but finally, five months after the incident, I got my money back.

Losing Hotel Points

On another occasion, during a busy, long travel weekend, I even drove from hotel to hotel in person, but every room in the area was booked. Until my laptop showed me a hotel at Booking.com where one room was available. 

I drove to the place, and when checking in, I showed them my loyalty membership card for their hotel chain. To my dismay, I learned that loyalty cards are not recognized once a guest books through Expedia, Priceline, or Booking.com, and I could not get any points. 

Most hotel brand loyalty rewards programs don’t offer points on stays booked through third-party sites, I learned through my research. On top of this, when I checked the hotel’s website, I saw that a direct hotel booking would have saved me sixteen dollars.

Using hotel agencies, you will lose not only your points from hotel chains but also all discounts for seniors, AARP, military, and membership points from the AAA (US) or CAA (Canada).

Enough is enough! I am done with these agencies and will avoid any of them, and book hotel rooms, rental cars, flights, etc. directly — even if I pay a couple of dollars more. 

Some of the hotels are fed up with agencies and try to lure customers back with price-matching and other perks, such as a free breakfast. Other places are not so smart and lose not only money by paying agency fees but also losing some customers who avoid places where customer service is bounced back to the booking agency.

The travel website Frommer’s stated in an article: “To get the best deal, you should always surf the Web for the best hotel price, right? Well, no, not anymore. Hotels are increasingly trying to sweeten the pot if you agree to book a room directly with them — so long as guests book directly with the hotel.”

“Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which includes Holiday Inn, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, Best- Western, etc., began offering “Your Rate by IHG Rewards Club” discounts for its loyalty members as well. Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott also have similar ‘Best Rate Guarantee’ policies in place.”

Book Flights ONLY Directly From the Airlines Website!

After staying away from Booking.com and similar agencies for a couple of years, I fell into their trap again.

I booked a flight with ITA (formerly Alitalia) from Palermo, Sicily to Vienna at the online booking agency. The flight was split into two legs: first to Rome Fiumicino, and from there to Vienna. 
I stopped in my tracks, and only after I read their guarantee that they would help their customers should anything go wrong with these two flights. So, I used the order button… Big mistake!

Sure enough: The first flight, even though early in the morning, had a delay, and running through the huge airport in Rome, I did not reach the counter to get into the next flight to Vienna. 

The “hotline” of Booking.com didn’t answer my calls, the airline refused to help me, and I had no other choice than to book a new ticket from a travel agency at the airport for more than 450 Euros ($720). 

However, I could not get a flight until the next afternoon, and the only ticket I could purchase was one to Budapest in Hungary, and then I had to purchase a bus ticket for another 50 Euros to Vienna. All this trouble because I had an important meeting in Austria. I came 15 minutes late to Vienna, but it worked out!

Contacting Booking.com after this horrible Journey and reminding them about their warranty didn’t help. They refused and said I would have to contact the airline. ITA refused too and stated that 1,5 hours flight delay doesn’t allow for a refund, a hotel room, or any other compensation.

Facit: 
When the reservation relationship is between the guest and the hotel, car rental company, or airline, it’s clean and easy because there are only two parties involved: the customer and the business. When a third party (booking site) gets involved, things can get messy.

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