I gave one easy example in which I knew what hotel the opaque deal site had given me... but I have tried to cut out the middleman on several occasions where I know or suspect that Priceline's "4* Hotel in East Cleveland" (lol) is the XYZ Hotel. I have been successful exactly once, at an independent hotel in rural Utah where the Priceline price wasn't that great anyway (IIRC, it was an $80 room for $60, which I got the clerk to sell me for $55--and he told me Priceline would pay him $45). In all the other cases, after hanging up with the hotel, I tap my phone a couple times and have a room at a price for which they wouldn't sell it to me. These are always major chain hotels.

At an American chain hotel in a city of any size where the rack rate is $200 on a particular night, if you can get an opaque deal room from Priceline or Hotwire for $50, there is simply no way you're going to get the hotel to match that, no matter how much or how little information you give whichever employee you talk to. And those rates do happen--weekends in sleepy business districts, weeknights off-season in resort areas, etc.

My suspicion is that the chains are involved to protect their "image" so that it looks like there's less variation in room prices than there actually is.

Now, that said... when it comes to reserving rooms in a specific, identified hotel, I've never been able to beat the price from booking direct in the United States. If I want to stay at the XYZ Hotel in ABCville, the best price is always what I get from calling the hotel or using the chain's own website.

So much this. As a (formerly) frequent guest at lots of the hotels of rural America, I hit up Google, the opaque deal sites, and the chains' websites. Before I had a good smartphone and before widespread 4G data, I used to search with my beater laptop on McDonald's wifi with a coffee. If I got to the end of the coffee, I booked the best deal I'd seen and called it an afternoon. I'm not rich, and I'm definitely cheap. But I'm neither cheap enough nor poor enough to lose sleep over having paid $10 more for a hotel room.

Many hotels in Las Vegas, Orlando, Hawaii, Mexico, etc now charge a Resort Fee. That way their price comes up lower on the 3rd party websites. The hotel keeps all of the Resort Fee and pays no commission to the 3rd party (on the Resort Fee).

Thank you 84fiero. Then by the same token, you will agree that anyone who then tries to suggest that they consistenly get better prices by using third party sites is equally at fault for concluding that based on their personal experience, they can say third party sites get them the best prices.

What it boils down to in my opinion is whether we believe that inserting a third party into a transaction is a good thing or not. While there are some things where it would be pretty difficult to deal directly with a supplier (groceries for example), hotels are not one of those things. This is one example of an actual good aspect to the internet. It has made it easy for an individual to deal directly with a supplier (the hotel) and cut out the middle man.

Initially, the third party sites, did deliver lower prices but that is no longer the case. Nor are they needed to keep hotel prices competitive, the internet on its own can now do that for us. It's easy for us to see if a hotel is charging more than other comparable hotels using the hotels' own websites.

Interesting viewpoint kettle1. Have you considered asking yourself if the OTA knows the hotel has a resort fee and if they know (which they do), why they do not include it in the price they show you? Are you aware that OTAs have been taken to task by the EU for just such misleading action as well as others?
European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Booking your holidays online: Commission and consumer protection authorities act on misleading travel booking websites

Leaving things out of their price is quite a common OTA tactic. Things like resort fees, local taxes, parking fees are prime examples. Where an OTA can leave those out, a hotel in say France may be required to law to include them in their online pricing. The OTAs know that and take advantage of it deliberately. That's why the European Commission is taking them to task about it.

Pinniped, let's not start going to extremes rather than looking at things 'in general'. I haven't suggested anyone start 'haggling with a Hampton Inn clerk to save $4.'

On your second point, could I or you not equally say, if I am booking direct with the hotel, I'm usually comfortable enough that I'm close to the rock-bottom floor that I'm not losing sleep over it?

I always try to book direct with the hotel using AAA discount or whatever I can do to lower the rate. However almost every single time I get a cheaper rate booking third party though priceline or hotwire. Example, I was able to book the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas on Maui for $210 per night a couple weeks ago. The direct booking price was $459 per night. At check-in my room was upgraded at no charge. Most hotel frontline staff could care less how you booked your room or what you paid. If you are genuinely nice to them you have decent odds of getting an upgrade.

Just another data point, I stay in Albuquerque for a couple nights monthly on business and have been doing so for the last three years. I typically book a room direct with a hotel I want to stay at, then a couple days before the trip search third party sites. Only one time in the last three years have I not found a significantly (20-40% off) better price through third parties. Granted with Priceline and Hotwire they don't tell you the exact hotel you'll get, but it's not hard to figure out ahead of time based on rating and amenities.

The hotel price match guarantees have been a joke in my experience and a huge hassle. I tried to get a hotel in Vegas to match a third party site. They verified everything, but then denied the price match because the deposit terms for the room were slightly different. Once again booked with a third party site, got upgraded to a suite and had my resort fees dropped by the front desk staff.

I truly would like to book direct with hotels, but I have yet to see an advantage that outweighs the savings I receive booking third party.

Good grief. What impressive dissertations.

I usually buy direct from the chains, as AAA and senior discounts aren't commonly available from the OTAs.

Third party is always cheapest in my experience. I've called up the hotel to try and negotiate but the end me telling me to book with the 3P, go figure.

If someone consistently gets a better price through method X, then there's nothing invalid with that statement - they are simply describing their particular experience within whatever parameters apply. That's not the same as extrapolating that to a general rule to apply in all cases worldwide or in other circumstances outside of the given parameters.

OTAs aren't good or bad, they're just a business that may have utility at times and other times may not. They have pros and cons, which may vary from one circumstance to another.

But I think the bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all answer for all destinations, times of year, types of properties, etc. Which option is best may vary and each person's desires can differ. Some people will spend lots of time researching different booking methods and lodging properties to get the absolute best deal or lowest price possible, in their mind. Others will spend very little time comparing prior to booking...and everything in between.

Personally, I settle on my budget and then do a bit of comparison shopping - the extent of which depends on the lodging market involved and other personal factors. Then I book what seems like the best value (not necessarily the lowest price - but within budget). I don't worry whether I got the absolute lowest price. I've used OTAs, called directly, booked with the hotel's own website, just walked in, and used opaque booking sites. That's just me though.

Third party sites are usually cheaper and you usually don't get as good a room or any perks if you don't book direct. Hotels.com is a good way to go if you like 3rd party bookings because their rewards are easy to understand and use.

The incredible passion shown by the OP on this topic begs me to ask what kind of relationship, if any, you have to the online booking/hotel industry?

It is also often exempt from hotel occupancy tax or other local taxes. One of the big reasons why it's become the crack cocaine of the resort hotel industry.

I have also found third-party sites to have paltry, if any, discounts vs. booking direct (and ensuring you never have any middlemen to worry about if things aren't quite right).

Here's a three-night stay at a midrange hotel in Denver via Kayak. Note the complete lack of pricing range:




I see this 95% of the time these days on sites like Kayak and TripAdvisor. Why would I book third party for $129 when I can just book direct with the hotel for $129?

I'd love for hotels to pass along their commission savings to guests who book direct, but I can't see that happening in the foreseeable future. Right now, if you're a Diamond/Giraffe/Platinum Guest or whatever high level with a particular chain, you'll get benefits on your booking that you wouldn't have otherwise have gotten. But if you're a Platinum with Marriott and a Diamond with Hilton, but have no status with Hyatt, what incentive do you have to book directly when you want to stay at a Hyatt?

How would you do that using the hotels' own websites? If you are in any major city, there are likely dozens of hotels. Are you going to check each of their websites separately? How would you even know which hotels exist in the area?

WIthout third party comparison sites, you would probably either check the major chains and be done with it, or book a hotel that you have seen advertised somewhere. You simply aren't going to go through a list and look at the websites of every chain and independent hotel in town.

I have no direct relationship with the online booking/hotel industry whatsoever travelinmanS, except as a consumer. I don't think I would call myself 'passionate' about the topic. I'd say I am interested in the topic as a consumer and with enough of an interest, to have spent some time looking into the topic in some depth.

Actually, I would say that I have an interest in how people accept things as 'the norm' when they have been sold something that often is not in fact true. The basic issue is all about 'memes'. That is as per definition 1 here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meme Although the definition for many people today has morphed into internet based pictures of cats. https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what...-internet-meme

If you go backwards instead, then meme is just a newer name for 'urban legends'. Maybe you recognize some on this list:
Full List of Legends - UrbanLegendsOnline.com

Simply put, something that people believe based on it having been repeated enough times to become a common belief. But that belief may or may not be true/factual. The internet of course has simply made it much easier and faster for this to happen and it happens in travel related topics just as easily as anywhere else.