Avoid Booking rates – Hotels + cheap

You probably didn't know it, but with Booking, travelers pay more for our accommodations.

let me explain why.

In a few years, Booking has become the portal for cheap hotel reservations number one in the world.

I have used it on many occasions and I would bet you have too, am I wrong? This is normal, given its dominant position in the market.

It is estimated that in the first quarter of 2019, Booking exceeded 217 million hotel nights booked, compared to 91 million for AirBnB or 88 million for Expedia.

It is clear that Booking is an excellent way to book a cheap hotel; It has a large number of offers around the world, opinions on each hotel, search by geolocation, there are no charges in case of cancellation (usually).

This makes the traveler's life easier! There is only one but, they will charge you a commission for each reservation, this commission is already included in the price shown by Booking.

 

Hotels depend on Booking!

 

Over the course of its development, Booking has become a necessity for hotel reservations. Being on Booking, for a hotelier, is a great advantage for their visibility and therefore for their turnover.

Few hoteliers can do without it... if it is not among their plans to become invisible and sink, of course.

Over time, Booking has increased its commission on overnight stays. This varies according to various criteria but, in general terms, it stands at 16.5% in Spain, and may be higher in some cases according to Hosteltour. A real pass!

In addition, Booking charges hoteliers a single fee: it is impossible for them to sell your room for less on their website. In fact, some time ago the hotelier could not use other platforms or sell directly on their own website.

▷ Access the Booking search engine

In addition, in Spain, the hotelier is obliged to pay VAT on the final price (Reservation + VAT), instead of paying only on the price of the reservation. To your credit I must say that it is not the only portal that bills using this method, Expedia invoices in the same way.

This well-known hotel search engine invoices in the same way.

And if the hotelier wants to do without Booking, the process can take several months. Meanwhile, your public profile will remain available in the search engine.

Note*. In a recent post I showed you my own TOP 8 of the best cheap hotel search engines, can read it here.

 

The impact of your commissions in the traveler with Booking rates

 

Now you will tell me: "Yes... I know, but as a result, hotels increase their billing and therefore receive more money." It is actually somewhat more complicated.

The money paid in Booking fees represents an additional expense for the hotel. And the 16.5% is a lot and decreases the profitability of a hotel.

The consequence is that hotels have had to increase their rates, for which you will pay further.

Thank you Booking!

 

The trick pay less for your hotel

 

It is a very simple operation; Skip the reservation process and save money, without more.

Too easy; First, you find the hotels that interest you on the Booking website; then you contact the hotel directly (email, phone call) and you negotiate a lower rate than the one that appears on Booking, taking into account the commission.

If you want to find the best cheap hotel deals look HERE.

If both parties find it beneficial, that will be it.

There is no email on Booking.com: to access it, you must find the hotel's website or Facebook page, or even their Instagram.

I will use this hotel located in Andorra as an example:

Now simply type the name of the hotel into Google to find their website and email and go directly to the hotel. As simple as that! Contact the hotel directly!

You can easily negotiate a discount of 10% on the published price on the site. That being said, if after all you still prefer to book through Booking, be it for convenience, trust, or any other reason.

So far my advice for today. Do not hesitate to share this post on your social networks, few travelers are aware of this reality…

Greetings traveler!