It can be enticing to book through third-party travel websites to save money. However, there are a few downsides.
“Booking through third parties takes away more than half of the actions we can do to assist you,” said Chase Christian, director of rooms at 106 Jefferson in Huntsville, Alabama. “Often, we aren’t able to refund a night’s stay if your trip was unexpectedly canceled, you may not receive your loyalty benefits, or the third party charges late fees for last-minute changes.”
These issues are all usually avoidable when booking directly through the property.
To help put it into perspective, here’s how Rhiannon Reynolds, vice president of operations at Innisfree Hotels, explained it: “If a front desk agent has one king view room left and has two guests standing there waiting for their room, one of whom is a loyal hotel brand rewards member who booked direct and the other who booked through Expedia costing the hotel a high commission … who do you think has a better chance of getting the king view room that they booked?”
Not doing research ahead of your stay.
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