Travel sites can show you offers from many hotels at once and sometimes offer excellent discounts, but the idea that that’s always where the best deals are is travel industry mythology.
“It is easy to assume you get the best rates through a third-party booking site,” said Alexandra Dubakova, a travel expert who’s visited countries including Indonesia, Austria, Turkey, Albania and Greece, worked in the solo travel safety and travel insurance sectors, and is currently CMO at the travel site FreeTour.com.
“But it is rarely a steal. The best thing to do is to get in touch with the hotel directly. Most hotels — InterContinental, Starwood, Wyndham — guarantee their clients the best rate if you book through them. You get to take advantage of offers the hotel might have and other advantages like complimentary drinks as you wait in the lounge, etc. Getting in touch with the hotel directly will give a personal touch to the customer service you get. You also stand a better chance of getting a better room that fits your liking.”
