Why do different hotel websites show different prices for the same room?
What makes the difference between the price of a room in two websites? If I use Trivago, I can find several prices for the same room. I want to know what makes the difference here. Is it the fee that hotels have to pay to the websites or something similar?
Best Answer
There are many reasons for this:
- Seasonal
- Promotions or campaigns
- Pre-booked rooms (some sites gets favorable rates by reserving a block of rooms, which they sell)
- Reduced or restrictive conditions (pre-paid in advance only, heavy cancellation fees)
- Combinations/Packages - for example, a room is discounted if you also reserve a flight; or a room is discounted if you buy a ticket for the resort's attractions, etc.
Generally there are no fees that the hotels pay to the website for listings, its the other way around - the websites have to pay an availability provider; this is like an airline reservation system, but for hotels instead. This availability provider then has agreements with hotels (in most cases, the agreement is with larger hotel chains) to list their vacancies.
It is very rare - almost unheard of - for hotels to pay websites to list their availability; although this may be true for some mom-and-pop motel/b&b places, but it would be an exception rather than the norm.
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Why are there different prices for the same hotel room?
Hotels decide how to price their rooms "based on many different factors, including the market they are in, special events or holidays that may affect their demand for rooms and the differences in the rooms they have to sell,'' said Craig Eister, a senior vice president for the hotel company IHG.What determines the price of a hotel room?
Rather, hotel pricing is determined by any combination of the following factors: location, seasonality, demand, star rating, amenities, value of services and other hotel competition. Even things like increases in flight searches to a particular destination or good and bad weather can have an impact on hotel prices.Why are rooms cheaper on booking com?
Re: Why cheaper through booking.com than hotel? It is because they block book many more rooms for the hotel and get a discount off them for doing so.Is it better to book with booking com or with the hotel website?
You can often find better rates by booking directly, too \u2014 a concern for budget-conscious travelers. By calling a hotel directly, you find out about any specials perks or packages they have available. In some cases, you can get a better room for the same amount of money.How Hotels Price Rooms
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Answer 2
I suspect what you're finding are hotel consilidators
Hotel consolidator (also called a hotel broker or discounter) is a travel company or business that buys up blocks of hotel rooms in top destinations and then resells them at discounted rates to the final customer
More often you will see this with non-chain hotels as most of the chain hotels like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc. will have Best Rate Guarantees (BRG) and don't want to compete with themselves. When these hotels offer discounted rooms they will often require them to be opaque and offered anonymously or with different benefit packages so that they can't be used as a BRG.
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