Booking a vacation online

[bora_dog]

tuners i need some help just some questions i have if anyone can assist
i want to book a trip to mexico for 2
i checked the flight (round trip) and hotel price for one week and included hotel also cost quoted was just under
13k TTD

has anyone here ever booked a flight on one of those travel booking sites ?
are the prices shown real or is there a hidden cost
is it better to book flight and hotel at once or book separate

[dean_spleen09]

13k ?
better go tobago yes

[VexXx Dogg]

I've used expedia and hotels.com for bookings, but sometimes it's cheaper to book airlines and/or hotels directly.

shop and compare

[j.o.e]

In all cases where I used Expedia, booking.com etc I had no issues. No hidden fees etc transactions have been pretty smooth.

[justheretoreadthecomments]

Not exactly answering your question here but some local travel agencies offer some pretty decent deals for Mexico. You can check maybe Amrals or Krystal Tours.

[thelem-again]

When I'm booking online, I use Kayak for the flights and Bookings for the hotel.

I've done it before and it works with no issues.

Kayak offers comparisons and price watch/alerts and bookings offer price holding.

[hong kong phooey]

I use expedia to find the best options and book it directly through the airline and hotel.
i once booked a hotel through expedia and the hotel check in staff did not appear happy about it

[Dave]

Because they lost a piece of their income.

[cryotec]

if you have a vpn, turn it on and see which area giving you the best deal. clear cache after you change the country. Skyscanner and Google Flights does also look for the best deals.

[FordeG]

I use expedia to find the best options and book it directly through the airline and hotel.
i once booked a hotel through expedia and the hotel check in staff did not appear happy about it

Never use any of those online travel booking sites.

1. They take 5-20% of the airline/hoteliers revenue. That's why they don't like when you use them.

2. If you need to change a reservation or flight, goodluck. You need to go through Expedia which is often an hour long wait on the phone and many times they'll say they're unable too and that you'll need to contact the airline. (you will go in circles)

Never again will I use Expedia or the companies they own.

BedandBreakfast.com
CarRentals.com
CheapTickets
Classic Vacations
Ebookers
Egencia
Expedia.com
Expedia Affiliate Network
Expedia Local Expert
Expedia CruiseShipCenters
Expedia Global Partner Solutions
HomeAway
Hotels.com
Hotwire Group
Orbitz
Travelocity
trivago
Venere.com
wotif
ALICE

[redmanjp]

what about airbnb? or that's only for accomodation?

[j.o.e]

I use expedia to find the best options and book it directly through the airline and hotel.
i once booked a hotel through expedia and the hotel check in staff did not appear happy about it

Never use any of those online travel booking sites.

1. They take 5-20% of the airline/hoteliers revenue. That's why they don't like when you use them.

2. If you need to change a reservation or flight, goodluck. You need to go through Expedia which is often an hour long wait on the phone and many times they'll say they're unable too and that you'll need to contact the airline. (you will go in circles)

Never again will I use Expedia or the companies they own.

BedandBreakfast.com
CarRentals.com
CheapTickets
Classic Vacations
Ebookers
Egencia
Expedia.com
Expedia Affiliate Network
Expedia Local Expert
Expedia CruiseShipCenters
Expedia Global Partner Solutions
HomeAway
Hotels.com
Hotwire Group
Orbitz
Travelocity
trivago
Venere.com
wotif
ALICE

Other than the hassle to reschedule why should I be concerned over the cut if I’m getting the convenience of easy cross shopping? I mean it’s not like if I have any allegiance to the hotel.....Just asking.
The hotel also gets their rooms booked by me when I might not have seen them as an option. As a hotelier wouldn’t I prefer a booked room for less rather than no booking ?

[thelem-again]

I use expedia to find the best options and book it directly through the airline and hotel.
i once booked a hotel through expedia and the hotel check in staff did not appear happy about it

Never use any of those online travel booking sites.

1. They take 5-20% of the airline/hoteliers revenue. That's why they don't like when you use them.

2. If you need to change a reservation or flight, goodluck. You need to go through Expedia which is often an hour long wait on the phone and many times they'll say they're unable too and that you'll need to contact the airline. (you will go in circles)

Never again will I use Expedia or the companies they own.

BedandBreakfast.com
CarRentals.com
CheapTickets
Classic Vacations
Ebookers
Egencia
Expedia.com
Expedia Affiliate Network
Expedia Local Expert
Expedia CruiseShipCenters
Expedia Global Partner Solutions
HomeAway
Hotels.com
Hotwire Group
Orbitz
Travelocity
trivago
Venere.com
wotif
ALICE

Did you apply any logic or analogy before making this post??

Booking sites like Expedia and Bookings have agreements with hotels and airlines where they purchase hotel and flights in bulk at an agreed discounted rate and they offer them to customers. For example they'd purchase 50 rooms for $500 US instead of $700 and flights at $300US instead of $400.

In the other instance, they simply redirect you to the relevant site to make a purchase.

So your first point is invalid. They don't "take" anything. Its a business model that benefits both parties.

2. Expedia or any booking agency isn't to blame if you have to change a reservation and encounter difficulties. As I said before, they purchased "discounted" rates for specific times.

I'd refer you to a quote from a scenario I saw regarding Expedia.

The supervising customer service representative said I should have paid close attention to the terms and the fine print and essentially reprimanded me for not doing so. She further said I will be charged the full amount of $867.99 for services, even though I will not be using those services. The gist of the statement was: "You made a mistake by not reading carefully, and now you will pay for it. "

Having been unsuccessful with Expedia, I called the Dupont Circle Hotel directly twice. Both times the hotel said this was a nonrefundable reservation and referred me to Expedia. Having exhausted available options, I contacted the Better Business Bureau. Expedia responded without offering a resolution.

People like you need to stick to a brick and mortar Travel Agency and harass their soul and stay away from technology you can't use or understand.

[uncle sam]

op what do you enjoy? Skylines or beaches?