Where to get best prices for hotels?

FCS

Hello, first time visiting India in September and just wondering what is best venue to get best accommodation prices? In general, is it usually better to book directly with the hotels or through third-party agents (say online www.yatra.com). Also, do hotel staffs usually quote their "true" rates or should I expect to bargain when I call or show up in person?

Any suggestion as well for some good online sites to look for hotels?

Thanks in advance,
FCS

wonderwomanusa

I've only booked a couple of hotels online; usually I've figured out (from the guidebook) where I want to stay and go there when I get into town.

The only times I might do that differently would be (1) if I was arriving late afternoon or evening, when there's not as much choice, or (2) if I was visiting Bangalore, where it seems the most desirable hotels are booked weeks in advance.

But I am a risk-taker -- you may ooperate differently.

Once you've booked a hotel room, I believe the time for bargaining is over.

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Hal

Depends on the hotel type. I found the best prices on 3-4 star ($75-150) hotels by comparing various online sites. Travelguru, Expedia etc. The prices were far less than the hotel's listed price, and I was able to use that low price as a starting point for bargaining for extra nights.

You never really know what they are quoting. If you arrive out of the blue with a driver in tow, you can be sure they're quoting you 25-50% more! You can usually get a better deal than their listed rate, so make sure you know what their literature or website says, then bargain down from there.

Tripadvisor will give you multiple quotes from different sites, but it's not great for bargain hotels, which often aren't on the web agents they use.

My suggestion: book the first few nights before you arrive, by email or phone. Then book when you get there.

bruce3404

My experience has been that booking online through a consolidator is the worst choice and really should only be done in advance of a late night arrival at the beginning of a trip. If I think there might be an occupancy issue, I'll often book on the hotel website and cut out the middleman. By far the best way is to just show up and bargain; most likely you'll be shown a nicer room than the person who is coming in with a reservation and you might even pay less for that nicer room. And Hal's advice regarding showing up with a driver is good advice; try to never show up at a hotel with a driver since that driver will be angling for a commission that you'll wind up paying. My usual approach is to tell the driver that I've pre-booked and prepaid for my room. That usually keeps them out of the lobby when I'm negotiating and also tells them not to try to take me to their "friend's" hotel. If the driver insists on following me in, I make it clear to the management that the hotel was MY choice, not the driver's and that I am shopping several hotels in the area.

Nick-H

I know that in UK one can get on-line deals that a fraction of the hotel's tariff, due to block booking. I don't think that this happens in the same way in India, and I don't think that the big international sites are the way to go, although it may be that they have arrangements with some of the bigger Indian hotel chains.

You can always use them as a starting point, although you may also find that you get a far bigger selection of hotels jut by googling the name of the place you want to visit. You can, of course, if the hotel has its own site, usually see their tariff there. The bigger hotels are harder to bargain with, but a phone call only costs you, err... the price of a phone call!

The higher-end hotels in season are likely to be in demand. Rely on turning up ad bargaining for a room that night, and you may get nothing anyway. Otherwise, the best bargains just have to be made on the doorstep where the manager is faced with maximising their income that day.

puchoo

Yatra.com is just one of the many sites which exist in India catering to accomodation. To use just 1-2 and not use the others as a reference could turn out to to be a mistake.

I always call the hotel as well in the event that they are offering it cheaper directly , or are willing to give more add's on than the site is.

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FCS

Thanks a lot for the info, folks. Any suggestion on some of the best local Indian sites for hotels? I only came across Yatra plus some hotels mentioned in some airline websites.

Also, what is the earliest check-in time for most hotels? My flight is arriving in Delhi at 2.30 am. If I arrived at the hotel at 4 am, am I going to incur a whole night charge?

Hal

Probably. But you might be able to bargain for only a half-day's charge for a really, really early check-in.

vonkla

When it has a 24 hours check-in/check-out it depends on the time you leave.

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Nick-H

It's a slept-in bed, and a room to be cleaned, and a room that can't be given to anyone else that night: you should have to pay!

Yes, if you want to arrive in the middle of the night, many hotels will expect you to have booked the hotel for that night.

puchoo

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