tatterdema

No, still working fine.

howtofreetravel

This is awesome i got a hotel room in tokyo roppongi for 45 usd a night with taxes in the weekend

Travis Sippel

Thanks for posting. This is my first time being able to take advantage of a promo posted on Flyertalk and I booked the following:

Divan Suites Istanbul - $80 CDN (April)
White Beach Resort Phuket - $65 CDN (May)
Senses Santorini - $85 CDN/night (May)

SinglePapa2

VISA is one of the richest enterprises on the planet. You think Orbitz is left short-changed??

iahphx

Yeah, this isn't that uncommon. When there are promotions, it's sometimes cheaper to book hotels with the online sites instead of direct. For a promotion like this, I guess they figure the "average consumer" won't use the code to its maximum efficiency. Like I booked a room for AUD 100; Orbitz is clearly going to lose money on that transaction. But if I had paid AUD 200, they probably wouldn't.

I am surprised by how high hotel commissions are online. It actually astonishes me that they would be above 10%. It doesn't seem like Orbitz does that much to earn more than that.

iahphx

My 14% cashback from hotelclub yesterday posted to my topcashback account today. Seemingly calculated on the pre-tax amount you actually pay.

With AUD 50 off and another 14% discount, this is a good deal -- IF you can find a good value property that's selling on the website for just north of AUD 100.

jerryhung

The other deal has returned, but for 2-night stays only

http://www.orbitz.com/mktg/visa-checkout/


http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...-checkout.html

iahphx

Thanks! Just booked one. A good deal if you can find the "right" property, and want 2 days. BTW, the June 30 window seems to be enforced: it rejected a July search for me.

jerryhung

I think they fixed the expiry date issue?

I put in May 2015 date and got this yellow bar at top

Rules
Book a participating hotel by 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) 31 March 2015 via HotelClub.com and receive a promotional coupon for AUD$50 off if you pay in Australian dollars using your Visa Checkout account, provided that (a) the total cost of your booking is over AUD$100 (excluding taxes and fees), and (b) your booking is for a stay to be completed on or before 31 March 2015. Limit of 2 promotion coupons per transactor. Promotion coupons are non-transferable, not for resale and not redeemable for cash for any reason. HotelClub reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the promotion or cancel the promotion at any time without notification.

jackal

Especially for independent properties or chains with poor rewards programs, I often book through Hotels.com (10% Welcome Rewards plus 7% TopCashBack) or HotelClub.com (7% member rewards plus 14% TopCashBack).

I know the hotel would much, much rather me book through a direct channel so they don't have to pay the ridiculously high commissions to Expedia and Orbitz, but when the hotel doesn't do anything to incentivize me to book directly and I can in effect get a 17-21% discount by booking through a third-party site, you can bet I'm going to do it.

It surprises me that even hotel managers and owners seem super-inflexible on rates. In the past, I've attempted to walk up to a property or call them directly on the phone and attempt to negotiate the rate with them, but they always have the attitude that "the rate is the rate." So, I go on Hotels.com or Hotelclub.com and book the property, wait a few minutes for it to show up in their system, and then go to check in, and if I can catch a glance at their computer screen or the Orbitz/Expedia fax and see the actual rate they're charging the OTA, it's usually less than what I would have paid them if they'd have given me a discount for booking directly (e.g. rack rate $70, I offer $55, they end up charging Expedia $49 because of a 30% commission).

coleworld

Yes seems like they fixed the dates, so must travel by March 31... Wish I had booked yesterday...

jp2002

Nice. It worked for me. 2 nights for $16 total!

nomii

it's usually less than what I would have paid them if they'd have given me a discount for booking directly (e.g. rack rate $70, I offer $55, they end up charging Expedia $49 because of a 30% commission).


I'm guessing Expedia/Orbitz etc have language in their contracts prohibiting hotel managers from providing you the discounted rate when not warranted. Atleast I know Groupon has that language, so it might be similar in this case too.

jackal

The travel industry generally does have "MFN" (Most Favored Nation) clauses in their contracts prohibiting them from (generally) offering different rates on their own sites from the GDSes (plenty on Google). Indeed, I believe that MFN clauses are the genesis of most chains' and OTAs' BRG policies--they want to make sure that the MFN clauses are being honored and that other providers aren't (in their opinion, unfairly) underselling them.

However, I would be willing to bet the cost of a hotel stay (of my choosing ) that nothing in these contracts precludes them from negotiating rates in-person at the check-in counter or on the phone (especially same-day and directly with the property in question rather than a centralized call center).

I'm fairly familiar with the rental car industry, and while MFN clauses exist in those relationships, too, they definitely don't apply at the rental counter. A good, motivated (and likely commissioned-on-walkups) rental sales agent will gladly negotiate whatever rate they can to get you in a car with them that day. (Of course, poorly-trained and poorly-motivated rental car agents are far from rare, so this doesn't always work.)

The same thing could (and, IMHO, should) happen with hotels--walk-ins come with a very low acquisition cost, and if they see a potential customer about to walk out the door on a room that would otherwise go unsold that night, there's very little downside to offering it at a discount. Unfortunately, hotel employees are rarely properly trained with the sales tools and motivated with the right compensation packages (and given the proper authority) to strategically handle these types of situations in a way that brings profit to their employer.

Except in Vegas, where they stand to benefit with a $20 discreetly placed in their hand.

iahphx

FWIW, I did only earn 2% cashback on that Orbitz deal today due to the "used a promo code" reduction. In contrast, I earned 14% with the hotelclub offer. So, in some instances, you might actually do better using the hotelclub code instead of the Orbitz code, even if AUD50 is less than US$50. (And if thinking about this post doesn't make your brain hurt, nothing will!)