Booking Sites for Travel

[Luv2play]

Has anyone used these sites like Booking.com, Hotels.com or Expedia to book travel arrangements recently? I did today for a hotel reservation in Toronto for an upcoming visit. 
They quoted me a rate for a queen sized bed in my favourite hotel downtown for 2 nights at a rate which gave me pause. So I contacted the hotel directly and got a rate half that for a king sized bed. 
As a result I’m paying for 2 nights what Booking.com was offering for 1 night. And to think I used them in October for a 2 night stay in Montreal. I probably got ripped off but I hate to look. 

[Bargara Leatherboy]

Booking.com has always been a go to for comparing nights.

Recently I joined a travel club which can give me up to 82 % of the rate offered on Booking.com.

 

Not every booking but I have seen some great rates.

 

Life is always about finding the improvements 

[Luv2play]

Well I won’t trust Booking.com any longer and if I refer to them for rates, I will check the hotel directly and to see if they offer a better rate for the same night. It may be different in different markets of course. 

[Greg250]

Like you, I’m a comparison shopper whenever I purchase anything… important to do the research to get the best deal. I’ve used Booking.com for travel (never had any issues with them) but I always check with the hotel website as well because they sometimes have good offers during low season travel. 

[Luv2play]

13 hours ago, Greg250 said:

Like you, I’m a comparison shopper whenever I purchase anything… important to do the research to get the best deal. I’ve used Booking.com for travel (never had any issues with them) but I always check with the hotel website as well because they sometimes have good offers during low season travel. 

I had another look at Booking.coms rates today since they sent me a follow up email after I didn’t go through with booking my stay with them. I had made a mistake and their rates weren’t twice those the hotel offered but they were $100 for the 2 nights. 
 

So I’m glad I booked directly with the hotel and got a better room. And the $100 saving will pay for the gas to get to Toronto. Lol

[mike carey]

Not specifically about rates they charge, and yes, I do check different sources before I book. I was looking for hotel rooms in WeHo a week or so back for the last four days. I don't usually look at the usual suspects (booking.com and their ilk) although I knew they provide the search engine for other booking sites (AA I think uses Booking.com). I checked some chain sites for their offerings nearby, and also Qantas and Amex and some individual hotel sites. Amex was cheaper than QF for some of the places I was looking at, and with Australian 'all inclusive' rate rules in advertising, and QF and Amex quoting in AUD it took a bit of work to compare some of the apples and oranges.

I ended up booking via Amex, best deal (I think) and I had a travel credit to use. As I was checking out today, the agent commented that I had booked and paid with Expedia, so apparently Amex uses them. I'd still use Amex rather than Expedia direct because I know that they are more likely to respond with any issues I have. I had past experience where a flight was changed and Amex were ready to take the airline on if I wasn't happy with the alternative flight they offered.

[BuffaloKyle]

I used to work at a hotel and had a lot of Expedia and Priceline reservations. The rates were usually not too much lower than the rate you'd get if you would book direct from the hotel website. I think the best savings are if you're booking for that same day as then the hotel is trying to offload unsold rooms. If you're booking way in advance the hotel isn't going to be offering their rooms too much cheaper.

Edited December 11, 2025 by BuffaloKyle

[+ JamesB]

Many many moons ago I used to book through Travelocity, until one trip where I arrived at the hotel and they had no record of my reservation. The hotel blamed Travelocity, Travelocity blamed the hotel, and I was stuck in the middle with no room. Ever since, I’ve booked directly with hotels, except for the occasional last-minute unplanned stay where I’ve used HotelTonight.

[mizuki777]

Yeah, it's crazy how much those sites mark up the prices sometimes. I always check the hotel's own website or give them a quick call before booking anything now. Usually, they'll even throw in free breakfast or a better room if you book direct.

[+ cougar]

On 12/10/2025 at 11:11 PM, mike carey said:

Not specifically about rates they charge, and yes, I do check different sources before I book. I was looking for hotel rooms in WeHo a week or so back for the last four days. I don't usually look at the usual suspects (booking.com and their ilk) although I knew they provide the search engine for other booking sites (AA I think uses Booking.com). I checked some chain sites for their offerings nearby, and also Qantas and Amex and some individual hotel sites. Amex was cheaper than QF for some of the places I was looking at, and with Australian 'all inclusive' rate rules in advertising, and QF and Amex quoting in AUD it took a bit of work to compare some of the apples and oranges.

I ended up booking via Amex, best deal (I think) and I had a travel credit to use. As I was checking out today, the agent commented that I had booked and paid with Expedia, so apparently Amex uses them. I'd still use Amex rather than Expedia direct because I know that they are more likely to respond with any issues I have. I had past experience where a flight was changed and Amex were ready to take the airline on if I wasn't happy with the alternative flight they offered.

If you have the American Express Platinum card, you can use the two groups they have on their travel website, "Hotel Collection" and "Fine Hotels & Resorts". Once you filter with those two groups, the reservation goes through American Express, and my experience is that any other hotels on their site that is not in one of those groups, they do use Expedia Travel. If I do not use one from those groups, I then go to Hotels.com to find a hotel and then I check the hotel website and almost always book directly through them. 

[mike carey]

22 minutes ago, cougar said:

If you have the American Express Platinum card, you can use the two groups they have on their travel website, "Hotel Collection" and "Fine Hotels & Resorts". Once you filter with those two groups, the reservation goes through American Express, and my experience is that any other hotels on their site that is not in one of those groups, they do use Expedia Travel. If I do not use one from those groups, I then go to Hotels.com to find a hotel and then I check the hotel website and almost always book directly through them. 

That makes sense. I haven't used either of those two American Express hotel programmes, but I have looked at what they offer occasionally. I also tend to book hotels with the hotel sites, in part because they tend to offer the same or a better price, but also for those hotel loyalty programme of which I am a member. If I use Amex (or Qantas) it's usually because they have a particularly attractive deal or there is an incentive (for example extra points or a rebate) available.

For flights, I use Amex more often, the platinum offers can be attractive, but will also check airline sites for comparison, and when I do the comparison on the exchange rate of the day, the fares have usually been the same. While some US airlines, like American, bill me in AUD when I use an Australian credit card, others bill in USD, so booking them via Amex I avoid the 3% foreign currency card surcharge.

My bottom line is to check all options, they each have their plusses and minuses.