Why Third Party Travel Sites are NOT Always the Cheapest

With advertising like this: "We Promise the Lowest Rates Online or We'll Refund the Difference" staring at you, wouldn't this make you think this site had the lowest rate available for the hotel you want to stay in? It would me. But wait - EVERY Third party site says the same thing. They can't ALL have the lowest or cheapest rate, can they? And what about franchise chain sites that guarantee a free night if THEY don't have the lowest rate available?

Assume for a moment you are looking for cheap luxury hotels or last minute hotel deals. Keep in mind that getting a cheap rate does not necessarily mean you are looking for cheap hotels. I recently searched the major travel sites for Fisherman's Wharf and found a Hotel (which I won't name) listed for $133.75. On the hotels own website, they had a rate of $179.00. It appears the Third Party site DID have a lower rate. But wait! There is a Best Rate Guarantee on the hotel site and it says they will match any lower rate you see on any website - just call them and tell them. Therefore the rates would be identical and BOTH would have the lowest rate available.

Just to confuse matters some more, consider that on a competitor's website, this hotel had a rate of $134.25. This site offers to refund the difference AND will give a $50 travel coupon if they don't have the lowest rate. It may well be a marketing strategy for this site, to grant a $50 coupon for a 50 cent difference. Or perhaps they assume people just don't go to the trouble over 50 cents and will never apply for the coupon, a much more likely scenario.

The bottom line is that for you to find low cost hotels and the lowest ADVANCE rate possible, the cheapest rate you can get almost always comes from one of several other sources. Calling the hotel directly may or may not get you a lower rate - that will depend on their occupancy when you call. At the least they should match the Third Party rate but you need to know what that rate is in order to make sure you get it! You would need to do some minimal research but in the end you will usually save at least 30%, which could be anywhere from $20 up to $100. Not a bad rate of return for 15-20 minutes worth of effort.

My Trip

Why Third Party Travel Sites are NOT Always the Cheapest