Jun 13 2008
Last Minute Hotel Booking Sites Circling The Drain
One of my favorite hotel reservation sites, Wotif, will no longer be offering those often great last minute deals we’ve come to expect. Gone will be their up to 28 days in advance reservations, to be replaced by a more traditional system booking stays up to one year in advance.
This places Wotif directly in competition with hotels’ traditional Internet distribution channels.
When the last minute hotel reservation sites started, they served a specific niche. Their market was helping hotels dispose of likely to remain unsold, short-term room inventory.
Since that time, however, the traditional booking sites, including Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz now offer dynamic hotel inventory pricing that can change minute by minute.
A recent analysis performed by Hotelscombined indicates that last minute sites no longer offer the best deals available.
My Recommendation: Call or email the hotel first before booking on the Internet. If you qualify for any discounts, be sure to include that information too. Compare the hotel’s direct offer to Internet pricing and booking terms and conditions.
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