I don't know about Hotels.com, but I have had generally good experience
with priceline.com. Sometimes I've stayed at the Hilton for much less
than what it costs to stay at a Motel6. I don't pretend to understand
the inner workings of hotel booking, so I don't know how they priceline
is able to offer these rates. When I am traveling, I am looking for
convenience, clean, fast and cheap. I am not looking for an exceptional
hoteling experience. Independently run hotels may be a great bargain,
but they are not well known outside a small circle. Some independent
hotels may cater to a specialty crowd with exceptional service, such as
Jay's hotel, and may be well known within that circle. But the average
traveler outside that circle may not have the time or patience to seek
out such hotels.





"Jay Honeck" wrote in
news:uxEgd.274280$wV.218211@attbi_s54:

My point is that one can spend a lot more money by ordering over the
Internet
than going directly to the motel.

Hank, you have discovered the reason we (and many lodging
establishments) do NOT use booking agents like "Hotels.com" and
"Priceline" or "Travelocity". Like so many things that seem too good
to be true, these companies are just another rip-off. Each of these
glorified booking agents demand up to 30% of each reservation, which
means that you, the consumer, are going to pay more for those rooms in
the long run.

I especially cringe at the commercials that portray "Hotels.com" as
some sort of an organization that goes out and checks each hotel to
make sure that they meet some sort of consumer standards. What a
joke! All they want is money, and they will say anything you want
them to say in exchange for cold, hard cash.

Take my advice -- follow these steps to get the best possible room
rates at any hotel, in any city:

1. Go on-line to the local Convention and Visitor's Bureau for the
area you wish to stay. (Smaller towns may only have Chambers of
Commerce) 2. ALL reputable lodging establishments belong to one or
both of these groups.
3. You should be able to find any local hotel's website or phone
number at either of these two sites.
4. Find the LOCAL hotel number -- never call the 800 number.
5. Ask to speak to the owner or manager when you make your
reservation. Only they are authorized to give you the best rate.

Avoid the chain motels at all costs -- they are the biggest rip-off of
all. (See: "Holiday Inn Express" for the most blatant rip-off in the
history of lodging.)

Any hotel with an extra couple of words in front of the chain's name
(I.E.: "Plaza Center Holiday Inn" or "Five Seasons Hilton") is going
to take you to the cleaners worse than a turboprop FBO -- avoid them
at all costs. Seek out the privately -- and locally -- owned hotels.
Call the Convention center and ask the people who answer the phone
which hotels are privately owned AND OPERATED, versus which ones are
run remotely by a chain through an on-site manager. They will know,
and this simple difference in management makes all the difference in
the world.

Chain hotels, by definition, must send between 10 and 15% of each
booking back to the chain owner. Now combine this with "Hotels.com"
and you are looking at paying 40% to 45% MORE to stay in an equivalent
room at a chain hotel, as compared with a privately owned hotel.
The math is simple, and it is only the genius of marketing that has
blinded the consumer to this fact.

Finally, aside from the price, you get the coolest stays in privately
owned and operated hotels. We've found some truly unique lodging
establishments by following the procedure I've outlined above.


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