Best website to book Hotels?

has anyone used http://www.LightningTravelDeals.com I stumbled on them from an ad on facebook and just found The D for $66 (plus resort fees). I ormally stay at the cal but since they instituted a resort fee I canceled both my reservations for June (even though my reservation was grandfathered in without resort fees) on principle that I get nothing from a resort fee

looks like pretty good deals and appears to be an aggregator for other websites but just want to be sure before I enter my CC info

I go to hotels.com
Find the best rate
Then go to the actual hotels website, if rate's the same, book directly with the hotel website
Less chance of a screw up booking with hotel directly rather then a 3rd party web site

Quote: terapined

I go to hotels.com
Find the best rate
Then go to the actual hotels website, if rate's the same, book directly with the hotel website
Less chance of a screw up booking with hotel directly rather then a 3rd party web site

I second this.

Quote: terapined

I go to hotels.com
Find the best rate
Then go to the actual hotels website, if rate's the same, book directly with the hotel website
Less chance of a screw up booking with hotel directly rather then a 3rd party web site

Definitely. Any aggregator/screen-scraper site will give you the data, but its another link in the chain and they usually make their money by selling your information to car rental companies and credit card marketers.
Do your actual buying from the hotel's own website if you can.

re the advice from several, never had a problem myself with hotels.com and the "real" price is even lower due to eventual rebate.

Vegas could be different?

Correct me if I am wrong: you are canceling two reservations that will not incur a resort fee because that property is now charging a resort fee that you get nothing out of? You also want to book a different property that not only has a resort fee (that you also get nothing out of) that is higher than the resort fee at the Boyd properties? It should also be noted, the D and Golden Gate were the two properties that started resort fees Downtown. Every other property then followed suit and the Boyd properties were the last hold outs, which I give them a tiny bit of credit for.

The 4 Queens charges resort fees now?

I pretty much always go directly to the hotel (or chain - e.g. Total Rewards, where they list all of the CET hotels' rates together) site, as I don't think I have seen a third-party site that didn't want the entire amount, nonrefundable, in advance. This is especially important if the hotel drops its rates for the dates I want a few months later. I have never had a problem canceling a reservation made through a hotel site, then making one for the same dates at the same hotel at the reduced price.

Quote: RogerKint

The 4 Queens charges resort fees now?

I feel like a moron now, I always overlook the Four Queens. They absolutely DO NOT charge a resort fee, and for that, should be absolutely applauded.

Quote: Jmarch79

I feel like a moron now, I always overlook the Four Queens. They absolutely DO NOT charge a resort fee, and for that, should be absolutely applauded.

looks like I will book with 4 queens

Quote: terapined

I go to hotels.com
Find the best rate
Then go to the actual hotels website, if rate's the same, book directly with the hotel website
Less chance of a screw up booking with hotel directly rather then a 3rd party web site

This is exactly what I do. Terapined is in the business, so that makes me feel really smart about doing that, too.

The biggest reason to do that is, if you play where you stay, and you book direct, even though they take your cc at check in, they can reverse it for comps when you check out.

3rd party sites get the money the day you check in, so the hotel can't go back and comp you when you use them.

If you're not going to play at your hotel, it doesn't matter as much. But it's still a better experience if there's any problem. And I've never seen a hotel charge more than an aggregator site advertises, so you're not missing much.

Some hotels, here in Asia at least, link you to a sub-contractor of some sort when you go through their website, for hotel reservations. I'm not sure how to identify them but it does seem to happy more times than not. As for a credit card guaranty, Babs has it quite and entirely correct. There is no wiggle room for room comps etc. when you book with a travel agent.

Although the 'biggie' travel sites are a good resource for getting an idea of the pricing landscape, they rarely have good deals. As mentioned upthread, you usually can get the same/better rate and better terms (cancellation, etc.) by going to the hotel's website. And I agree with Babs, if you are going to "play where you stay," definitely book through the hotel's site.

The opaque sites like Priceline & Hotwire will sometimes give better deals. Although they don't tell you the hotel name up front, there are often ways of determining what the hotel would be before you bid. However, it seems like recently, the deals aren't as good as they used to be. During the recession, you could get 4-star properties in good locations for $60 or less (depending on the city). I booked decent accommodations in Orlando for under $30/night. For a while, you would occasionally see the Venetian or Bellagio for under $100. I don't see such deals these days.

There has also occasionally been the odd site here or there that would have good deals. Back in the late 90's, there was a site called turbotrip that used to have amazing hotel deals. There were also sites that partnered with airlines that would sometimes have good deals. I once booked with a site that worked with Delta (can't remember the name) and got airfare & 3 nights in a hotel in the FQ in New Orleans for about $250. Bookit was good for a while maybe 6 years ago. Lmtclub would have 'opaque' prices, but because it was a 'private club' (you did need a membership, but you could find coupon codes to make it free), they would be able to show you the hotel name before you made the purchase (and often with free cancellation terms). Unfortunately, these sites don't seem to last too long, or they still exist in a different form that does not have the good deals.

As to the website in the OP, I have not heard of that one.

Quote: Joeman

Although the 'biggie' travel sites are a good resource for getting an idea of the pricing landscape, they rarely have good deals. As mentioned upthread, you usually can get the same/better rate and better terms (cancellation, etc.) by going to the hotel's website. And I agree with Babs, if you are going to "play where you stay," definitely book through the hotel's site.

The opaque sites like Priceline & Hotwire will sometimes give better deals. Although they don't tell you the hotel name up front, there are often ways of determining what the hotel would be before you bid. However, it seems like recently, the deals aren't as good as they used to be. During the recession, you could get 4-star properties in good locations for $60 or less (depending on the city). I booked decent accommodations in Orlando for under $30/night. For a while, you would occasionally see the Venetian or Bellagio for under $100. I don't see such deals these days.

There has also occasionally been the odd site here or there that would have good deals. Back in the late 90's, there was a site called turbotrip that used to have amazing hotel deals. There were also sites that partnered with airlines that would sometimes have good deals. I once booked with a site that worked with Delta (can't remember the name) and got airfare & 3 nights in a hotel in the FQ in New Orleans for about $250. Bookit was good for a while maybe 6 years ago. Lmtclub would have 'opaque' prices, but because it was a 'private club' (you did need a membership, but you could find coupon codes to make it free), they would be able to show you the hotel name before you made the purchase (and often with free cancellation terms). Unfortunately, these sites don't seem to last too long, or they still exist in a different form that does not have the good deals.

As to the website in the OP, I have not heard of that one.

I used to get a 4 star in Lexington KY via priceline for $52 a night (Marriott griffan gate) had it down to a science bid the same thing every tie never had an issue. Went back last summer and couldn't get it on a weeknight for that price

Quote: troopscott

I used to get a 4 star in Lexington KY via priceline for $52 a night (Marriott griffan gate) had it down to a science bid the same thing every tie never had an issue. Went back last summer and couldn't get it on a weeknight for that price

I pretty much have it down to a science for Priceline. Find the hotel you'd like to stay at, see if you can find out which one it us under 'Express Deals', bid for the same area and star level $5 below the Express Deal rate. Bingo.

I have been using Air BNB for the past 3-4 years now. Depending on the city traveled to, its much more cheaper and most of the times, a better stay and experience.

If you go to priceline or hotwire and do their secret hotels or whatever they are called, you can go to betterbidding.com and figure out which hotel it is.

Quote: GlenG

I have been using Air BNB for the past 3-4 years now. Depending on the city traveled to, its much more cheaper and most of the times, a better stay and experience.

Yes.

It CAN be a better experience, particularly in Fort Lauderdale where one airbnb listing allows its guests to join in the poolside au naturelle breakfasts and afternoon parties featuring the "catch of the day" by the owner who is an expert in fishing the local waters. You pay for a room but if you are in luck you get young naked women, fresh lobster and cold beer.

It CAN also be a worse experience, Several people who use AirBnB on a regular basis take along a program to locate any active but visually concealed surveillance cameras.