Hotel Online
Hotel Booking Sites
Millions of Americans are hopping on the hotel-booking craze online for the best deals.
According to Forrester Research, the most popular hotel booking sites are:
Travelocity
Expedia
Hotels.com
Priceline
Hotwire
Cheaptickets.com
Travelweb.com
Booking Hotels Online is Easy!
"You don't have to be a computer expert to figure out how to book online. Usually what I do first is go to a search [box on a hotel-booking site] and I'll put in the city I want to go to," according to Robin Porcelain, who books hotels online.
Become Your Own Travel Agent"If you want to find the best prices when booking a hotel you're going to have to be your own travel agent," says Mark Orwoll, Managing Editor of Travel + Leisure Magazine.
"People just want to press a button and find the best prices," says Orwoll.
But Beware
"Cancellation policies are all over the map... policies can be very restrictive," says Orwoll.
Also..if you book through a 3rd party hotel booking site, and "if anything goes wrong as in you don't get the room your requested, or the rate is somehow different, or you do have to cancel, the hotel will say it's not our problem. You have to go back to the Web site where you booked the hotel originally and deal with them and that's one of the problems dealing with the 3rd party site," says Orwoll.
So, how much could it cost you to cancel? Check out the Customer Care sections of the hotel booking sites. Or Click here!
And keep in mind Some cancellation policies can be difficult to find. So, when booking
You might want to avoid those sites that don't have policies posted clearly.
It's also good if you can find one which provides a 1-800 number you can call with questions.
There may be other fees attached. Web sites may also charge extra fees for canceling or changing your reservation. Travel + Leisure says always read the fine print!
Did You Know? Business travelers frequently book hotel rooms online for two reasons: They already buy other business travel services online – 76 percent of those who book business hotels online also buy airline trips online. Secondly, they can control where they stay, according to Forrester Research.
