Hotels Woo Guests To Book Directly Online With Discounts

• 

In this  photo, floor projection flowers and a waterfall greet guests at... Read more

 (AP) — Hotels are getting more aggressive in their fight to get travelers to book reservations directly with them instead of through online travel agencies such as Expedia and Priceline.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. on Monday became the latest chain to offer guests a discount for booking a room directly on its own website. Members of its Gold Passport loyalty program can save up to 10 percent at hotels in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

The move follows similar campaigns by Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Hotel companies have a tortured relationship with online travel booking sites. They rely on the sites to bring travelers to their properties and fill rooms. But companies like Expedia and Priceline charge commissions of 15 percent or higher. The hotel chains would rather keep that money themselves.


"It costs them less and it gives them a better chance to create a business relationship," said Henry Harteveldt, of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group. "They get our email information and a chance to win our ongoing preference."

Harteveldt noted that fewer than one in four hotel guests belong to a loyalty program.
Expedia said online travel agencies help travelers discover new hotels and offer efficiency.
"The vast majority of travelers coming through our sites are new, brand-agnostic and incremental to the chain's existing loyal customers," said Cyril Ranque, president of lodging partner services for the Expedia Group. "To ask a consumer to search multiple sites for the best price sets the industry back 20 years."
As chains bring hundreds of independent hotels into their booking systems, they are trying to prove their own worth and justify their own management or franchise fees. Part of that process means trying to retrain guests to do less price comparison. The idea is that one hotel company's website should be your only stop when looking for a room, whether in a boxy convention property or a boutique hotel.
Hilton launched a marketing campaign in February called "Stop Clicking Around" promoting its own discount for loyalty members — also up to 10 percent — as well as free Wi-Fi. Starwood offers the same discounts. (Hyatt offers free Wi-Fi to all guests worldwide, regardless of how they book.)
Travelers should note that sometimes a discount for being a senior or AAA member is greater than the hotel's member rate. But not always.

When Marriott launched its member-only rates in March, its global marketing officer, Karin Timpone, said the rates were to reward loyalty.
"We also want to help dispel the myth that other travel websites offer better rates for our hotels. The simple fact is that you will find the lowest rates across our portfolio when you join Marriott Rewards and book direct," Timpone said at the time.

At the time of its campaign launch, Hilton's chief marketing officer, Geraldine Calpin, provided a similar explanation: "Our customers don't need to worry about sorting through a dizzying array of websites, enduring hundreds of clicks and wasting hours of time."

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ

Travelore Tips: 70 Cities You Can Visit On The Cheap If You Know When To Go

© Bastos - Fotolia.com

You can save $193 a night on your next vacation to Miami Beach by simply traveling in September instead of March. It's that easy!

Hotel search trivago.com analyzed the average price per night for hotels in 70 of the world's most popular cities over the past year and found that strategically scheduling your getaways can save you hundreds of dollars.

Of the 30 U.S. cities analyzed above (click here to enlarge), Miami Beach is the destination with the most savings potential. For example: Taking a 7 day/6 night trip to Miami Beach in September verses March can save travelers $1,158 per week. Why so cheap? Fewer families are traveling as school is back in session and hurricane season runs through November in Florida, so potential for a storm exists.

Weather is a major factor in hotel price fluctuation in the U.S. Travelers willing to brave chilly winters can save hundreds by visiting Boston, NYC and Chicago in January/February, while those willing to endure the heat can save hundreds by going to New Orleans, Phoenix and Las Vegas in July/August.

To help you save money no matter where your travels take you, trivago has created Travel Advice Calendars (seen below) for 46 of the world's most popular destinations - breaking down the cheapest and most expensive months to visit.

To start planning your next vacation on the cheap, download/view the calendarsHERE.

Connect with trivago on Twitter: @trivago

Follow us on Twitter:@TraveloreReport

Travelore Tips: 7 Secrets Of The Travel Industry You Should Know

The travel industry seems transparent these days—real people will give you the scoop on your hotel on TripAdvisor, you can compare fares yourself with flight-search websites, and it's pretty much impossible for a terrible tour provider to hide its reputation on the Internet. But there are still a few tricks of the trade that travel insiders and providers don't want to share. Here are seven little secrets you're not supposed to know about.

Two One-Way Tickets May Be Cheaper

You don't have to arrange your departure and return flights to a destination on the same airline. In fact, it may be cheaper to split your trip with two one-way flights from different carriers. Try searching for each fare separately. Kayak and Skyscannerboth automatically compile itineraries that have two one-way tickets on different airlines as part of your booking options.

Lying to the Airline Can Save You Big

You don't want to lie to the airline about your name or birthdate when booking a flight, but fibbing about your final destination can save you a ton of money. Most airlines use hub-and-spoke systems for their flight routes, meaning that the hubs are where most of their nonstop flights begin and end, and flights to the spoke cities connect through the hubs. Naturally, flights to the hub cities are the most expensive, since so many people pass through them.

You can game the system and get a cheaper fare by booking a flight to a spoke city even if your final destination is a hub city. For example, if you want to fly from Boston to Houston, which is a United hub, you may find that a flight from Boston to Austin with a connection in Houston is actually much cheaper than a flight from Boston to Houston. In this scenario, you could book the cheaper one-stop flight to Austin and simply get off the plane in Houston. Of course, you would have to fly carry-on only so that your bag wouldn't get checked all the way through, and you would have to book two one-way tickets (a separate one for your return flight) as the airline will cancel your entire ticket as punishment if you fail to fly your second segment.

This is called "hidden city ticketing" or "throwaway ticketing," and we should stress that it violates the rules of carriage you agree to when you purchase an airline ticket. So we're not suggesting you do this—in fact, do this at your own risk—but we'd be remiss not to acknowledge that savvy travelers have been using this strategy for years.

Hotel-Room Rates Are Negotiable

In need of a last-minute hotel room? Sometimes, walking into a hotel and bargaining with the front-desk agent can really pay off. Most times, the first price you're quoted won't be the last, especially if a prospective guest pretends to walk out and go somewhere else. After all, the hotel makes no money on an empty room, so it's better for the hotel to let a room go at a reduced rate than to let it go unoccupied.

Deleting Your Cookies Can Get You a Cheaper Flight

Ever been shopping for a flight online only to find that after you've checked it a few times, the price has mysteriously gone up? Some travel websites covertly install your computer with a cookie that keeps track of your shopping behavior—and then jacks up the ticket cost once it knows you're interested. Try clearing your cookies and searching again if you don't think the price should have increased that much in a few hours.

Airline Employees Have More Power Than You Think

"In interviews with ticket agents, airline employees, and travelers, I've learned that ticket agents can punish problem passengers in a variety of ways, often without anyone even knowing it," writes consumer advocate Christopher Elliott. "They can exact their revenge on travelers by bumping them off flights, forcing them to check more luggage, or sending them to a security line for a once-over from the TSA." Conversely, being polite to a frazzled ticketing agent could snag you the last seat on the next flight out after yours has been canceled.

Buying Individual Plane Tickets Might Be Cheaper Than Group Tickets

Most things are cheaper when bought in bulk, but that theory doesn't always apply to plane tickets. Sometimes, airline websites will show group tickets at higher rates than individual tickets. Try running a search both ways (as a group and as individuals) before purchasing.

Hotel Receptionists Can Make or Break Your Stay

It pays to be nice (or at least not to be a complete jerk) to the front-desk clerk when checking in. One anonymous front-desk clerk tells Conde Nast Traveler, "Guests don't know it, but we often have a lot of leeway to decide on which room you get right up to the very last minute. If you're impatient or nasty, you'll get a room in front of the elevator or, at our hotel, one that overlooks the street where the tramway runs until midnight. So be nice."

Do you know any travel-industry secrets? Tell us in the comments!

Contributed by Caroline Morse