Booking.com

[Beatonio]

Hi everyone, basically has anyone ever used booking.com for their accommodation? I am curious for people's views and also, would we be hit with any hidden fees once in Orlando or will it be a case of once it's paid there is no additional charges come the end of the holiday?

Thank you in advance for any advice, help and experience offered

[Softy]

Very big site. I’m sure lots in here have used them. Personally i always find them expensive so haven’t gone through with a booking but would have no issues using them.
If the hotel has a resort fee then that’s collected at check in.

[Beth_Disney]

I've used booking.com and hotels.com for years and haven't experienced any issues with either. The websites are clear on the terms and conditions for cancellation and I'd usually use booking.com if I wanted to pay on arrival, for example, if I wasn't 100% sure whether we were going.

Taxes are usually included but resort fees are collected at the hotel. Out of interest, I've just been onto booking.com to see how transparent resort fees are. I looked at a couple of Las Vegas hotels that I know have high resort fees and couldn't see them listed. Hotels.com was a lot clearer and they're listed in the mandatory fees section.

It might be worth checking the hotel that you've seen on booking.com on a couple of different booking websites and Trip Advisor to see if there are any mention of resort fees so you're not caught out.

[bonnies mum]

We have a current booking with them for a hotel where my niece was to be married. It was booked (pre-Covid) on a non-cancellable or amendable basis. The wedding has now been postponed 3 times. Booking.com have liaised with the hotel each time the date was changed & our booking moved. As the hotel is very busy on the most recent change of date the price had risen considerably but both hotel & Booking.com have not applied a price increase.
Fantastic service from both.& fingers crossed we will get to the wedding in August.

[enjibenji]

I usually book with them or expedia, whoever is the cheapest. I've always used them for road trips and cant fault them, especially as had to cancel alot of holidays in the last year. 😊

[cornishfrogboy]

I have used them in the past and had no problems when closing down my 2 x aborted 2021 vacations. I would certainly use them again if it were the best deal. 2 of the hotels on my projected Summer California vacation are with booking.com.

I generally, but not always find better deals on EBookers, (6 bookings on forthcoming vacation), who again, I would recommend. Both these companies offer considerable discounts through the employment portals that I can access .. Police, NHS and MITIE, averaging around a further 8-10%

[Sandraoh40]

I use booking.com a lot, I mean a lot. I use it for work and for holidays.
I have found that they tend to include all taxes and fees. If I have compared in the past with Expedia, they don’t include fees. I like to have an all in one price.
I do check with the hotels direct though. Have booked 3 nights near Aberdeen for May and the hotel was cheaper direct as well as free cancellation. It’s worth checking.
I tend not to use anyone else for third party bookings and I think that’s just because I have never had an issue with them.
You can also use them via BA online shopping and collect extra avios if you collect them.

[Geordieprincess]

I use them a lot.
I find the headline prices are all inclusive of taxes and resort fees.
I wonder if this is why some people say they find them expensive?
You need to click through to the final stage before booking to see the break down but it’s there and very clear.
So for example the headline price might be £1330
Then further through it says (For example, I’ve made the numbers up) Price £900, tax £130, resort fee £300, total £1330.

[Softy]

Originally Posted by Geordieprincess

I use them a lot.
I find the headline prices are all inclusive of taxes and resort fees.
I wonder if this is why some people say they find them expensive?
You need to click through to the final stage before booking to see the break down but it’s there and very clear.
So for example the headline price might be £1330
Then further through it says (For example, I’ve made the numbers up) Price £900, tax £130, resort fee £300, total £1330.

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No that’s not it for me, they are pretty much always the most expensive place to book. A friend has her own online travel company and uses them as the comparison price to her deals for this very reason.
Generally ebookers are the same/cheaper plus there are always 8-15% discount codes or cashback for them.

Personally, I tend to use comparison sites (tripadvisor has been the best at the moment) to find the cheapest prices around and then use the best rate guarantee on the hotels website to knock lots of money off.
Deals can also be had on Hotwire/Priceline’s (not so) secret hotels.

[shelle]

I've used booking.com a lot. I've also found it interesting people saying they're expensive(without employment discounts, etc) as I've always found them to have the best rate.

Just checked ebookers for our trip in June. Ebookers £707. Booking.com £592.

I think the best advice is to always make sure you shop around.