Booking hotels through third parties

I've done it a handful of times, because the deal was better than if I booked on my own.

BUT

I have always emailed both the hotel itself and the airline (in the case of booking a package) to confirm that I am booked for what I think i am booking. I've done this with Rondel, Footeprints and Seastar and fortunately all was as I booked. But it does pay to double check directly with the hotel when booking through Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz or whatever.

You can email ahead of booking too, to find out what "ROH" or whatever room category you book generally means at their property.

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Originally Posted by ohliz

I've done it a handful of times, because the deal was better than if I booked on my own.

BUT

I have always emailed both the hotel itself and the airline (in the case of booking a package) to confirm that I am booked for what I think i am booking. I've done this with Rondel, Footeprints and Seastar and fortunately all was as I booked. But it does pay to double check directly with the hotel when booking through Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz or whatever.

You can email ahead of booking too, to find out what "ROH" or whatever room category you book generally means at their property.

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I've done this a lot with other countries but not with Jamaica much since I usually book hotels and airlines direct for the best price.........
one of the times I got pretty friendly with the reservationist after a couple emails......
and when I showed up at the resort I was upgraded......
plus I had a free Fruit Basket with Rum etc in it.....
plus she gave me 6 complimentary private dining passes versus having to go to the buffet every night.......
so it does pay all the way around to stay on top of your reservations and be nice to people.........
and a couple other times mi had a free room upgrade for being cordial in the emails.......

it's better to be safe than sorry and worth the extra effort to follow up.............
now if I could only find a way to fly First Class for free.......lol

Cool Runnings, Marko

a great big co-sign on that ohliz -- always always ALWAYS confirm when using the travel websites - i do it via phone whenever possible, with the airline and the hotel, so i can talk to a real live person; for Jamaica or any other destination.

an ounce of prevention and all that.....

I'm still a newbie.

I call Chris and if he has a room I book it.

Sometimes calling to confirm doesnt help as I learned this past trip. I called a week ahead of my trip and was told all was well and then ooops, we overbooked!

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Originally Posted by luvjabd

Sometimes calling to confirm doesnt help as I learned this past trip. I called a week ahead of my trip and was told all was well and then ooops, we overbooked!

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Fun Holiday? or Negril Beach Condos?

Cool Runnings, Marko

I don't book overseas with third parties, but I do use Priceline here in the U.S. I always call the hotel directly and confirm, though.

In many trips, I always book directly. I have researched and researched,,even on airfare......for our little town, I have ALWAYS found the best prices directly with the airline...no exceptions. Now, granted, I live in a small town with few options. That might make a big difference. With rooms, I'm like CaptainD, I email directly and again, find the best prices with no middle man to mess up the rotation. I guess, it's to "each his own" but this works for me. Peace out.........

We use Negril Onestop and Susan is in Negril and handles everthing as well as from there offices in Toronto.
This is a Pro travel agent that know the Negril area and it's hotels. Big Up from us.

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Originally Posted by Marko

Fun Holiday? or Negril Beach Condos?

Cool Runnings, Marko

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lol, not going there.

Oh yuk luvjabd. overbooking, ugh. a whole NOTHER kettle of fish.

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Originally Posted by MissBlue

Oh yuk luvjabd. overbooking, ugh. a whole NOTHER kettle of fish.

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It's ok...I booked through a third party and I came out ahead - better room AND scooter paid for + $100 travel voucher and $25 credit for phone calls made.
There is some security with those third party folks! Had I booked directly, I would have been screwed!

I always book directly with the property. In 13 years of traveling to Jamaica I have only booked 1 night through a 3rd party, Orbitz. That was our last night on our last reach. We went to Oracabessa on our last full day and rather than go all the way back to Negril only to return to MoBay in the morning we stayed at an A/I in MoBay. Got a good price but was disappointed with Sunset On The Beach. We will do the last night in MoBay thing again, but will try somewhere else. Currently thinking maybe El Greco.

I booked my first few stays in Negril via Third Party "package" type deals, it CAN be less expensive unless you wheel and deal a little bit. I stayed at Footeprints for 11 days for $850 or so including air from NY in 2004. Ya don't ee those deals now.

I am a direct booking guy now. This coming trip I saved $80 for a 7-night stay on the beach just by asking nicely, and directly, via email. That savings will cover the scooter for a few days....and I get some beach time after spending the first week on the cliffs.

I don't try to gouge, but I saw a competing hotel nearby making an offer of "Pay for Six, Stay for Seven" deal.

I mentioned I'd seen that special elsewhere, asked my preferred resort if they would accept $xxxx vs. $xxxxx, and they agreed, no problem, no haggling. I think it's a win-win for both me and the hotel.

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Originally Posted by luvjabd

lol, not going there.

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is there another thread on this?

Yes, there is!

Still not going there......I wish others wouldn't either. At this point it's old news.

sorry - my question was more related to your comment on Fun Holiday and overbooking as I am headed there in 2 wks - wasnt meant to dig up old wounds.

I book thru a travel agency called "Rovia". They are really good. They give me a flight, transportation to Negril and lodging all in one good price. I pay one fee and it's all done. I have never checked ahead to time to make sure booking was ok, but I have also never had any problems and I do it all online. But it can not hurt to check ahead of time.

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Originally Posted by M_and_H

sorry - my question was more related to your comment on Fun Holiday and overbooking as I am headed there in 2 wks - wasnt meant to dig up old wounds.

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I never mentioned FH and I know nothing of FH. Additionally, there are no "wounds".

I booked a couple of times through beachdestinations.com - I got air plus 4 nights for less than I could get air alone at the time (And could make the flights span 10 days with my own booking the other 6 nights). And similar deals were available.

But I liked touching base with the hotel to make sure and the airline too, for peace of mind and to reserve specific seats.

I don't know if calling would have helped you luv with the two hotels with similar names situation. They'd probably answer the phone in such a way that you'd assume one was the other anyway.

Always used 3rd party for AI trips to Negril. Now that we are doing non all inclusive we will only use negrilonestop.com They are the best. Derek is "at home" holding down the fort while Susan and Bob are in Negril. He does a great job too! We just booked April and November with Derek.

I have actually gotten some great deals from 3rd party sites from NYC to Negril. The airline costs are about the same but the bigger reduction comes when you book room and air-- usually room costs are significantly less than what the resorts show on their websites. And then I often use a promo code which will take another 50 to 100$ off the package price. I have done this staying at Bar B Barn, NBCC (back when they did online bookings)Mariners and Samsara and got a much better deal than I could have booking myself. But I have also gotten below published rates for Bar B Barn, Whitesands, and NBCC booking myself. I stayed at Country Country and Seastar for their web rate and dealt with them no problem, and got the best rooms.

So I have had success both ways. I have never been bumped before-- but I usually travel off-peak season which helps with good rates and no one full enough to bump.

I use Expedia because they have a feature that lets you book a hotel for part of your stay. My last trip with my girlfriend 2 years ago, may of 2010, we booked 4 nights with airfare for 744pp at the grand platinum in lucee. We were on island for 8 nights, the other four we booked directly through blue cave castle. We are looking to book a trip around the same time this year, but we are looking at only booking one night through Expedia because we would like to explore some different properties this trip and decide down there where we're going to stay. Also usually when u book airfare and hotel together there is a savings. We wanna book soon, but we know what's it starts to slow down the price will drop. We hoping some properties will have good summer deals like they did last year. Seastar had $333pp for room, dinner and breakfast. I hope they offer something similar this year. Can't wait for the summer specials to be advertised, I mean I hope business is busy enough that properties don't have to drop price, but it's the slow season, it is what it is.

Good to know Expedia does that, I used beachdestinations for that reason - their super cheap air/hotel packages and ability to stay longer with my own accommodation arrangements because I never want to use the hotels they offer for the whole time either. Did you have to do anything special? I had to call beachdest, couldn't book it online.

Back when I used to be regular at RIU Club, i often booked through Apple or Cheapcarribean and have enjoyed some great deals through the years .... Also, you can haggle with Apple and others just like you can with anyone else -- the art of the deal.

On Expedia, there is a box you can check, it says "I only need hotel for part of my trip". And Expedia has a quite a few options.

if you are going in the summertime/off season you can get some nice deals just by walking up to the front desk. you can shop around a likkle once you have your base established for the first few days. the good people at catcha hooked me up last trip as a repeat visitor. i refuse to do it any other way now. ;)