KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Andrea D wrote:

BranT wrote:

Andrea D wrote:Never tried Trivago so far, thank you for the tips. However I frequently used Booking.com and AirBNB and always had good experience

Which has a better rate? Booking.com or AirBNB? Trying this for the first time. Thank you in advance!

It really depends from the city to city. I travel a lot, and usually I find the better deal on the AirBnB, but in some cities for some reason AirBnB is much more pricey than Booking. I would recommend to check the both options every time so you make sure you make a better deal. Both websites are good and I never encountered any problem so far.

I'm not sure if posting referral links to this forum is ok, but if anyone books through the Booking and AirBnb for the first time, I can give you a bonus €22 travel credit that you can spend on your first trip, feel free to contact me in inbox before booking.

ThinkingYouths wrote:Usually booking.com have the best rates. Couple with shopback, you can get 5 to 8% cash back

Vince19 wrote:

floppy wrote:

ThinkingYouths wrote:Usually booking.com have the best rates. Couple with shopback, you can get 5 to 8% cash back

Some unashamed self-promotion and good lobang must share.

Sign up / book using this link: https://www.booking.com/s/34_6/781723dc. When you book and stay using this link, you'll get 10% of your trip back

Is this still valid? I am planning to book using booking.com but I'm sourcing for some discounts hoping to save some money.

Lavender123 wrote:I feel that booking directly from the hotel website is the safest. I don't think the discount differs a lot from booking websites.

floppy wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:36 pm

Lavender123 wrote:I feel that booking directly from the hotel website is the safest. I don't think the discount differs a lot from booking websites.

Yes / no.

There are many types of hotels / accommodations out in the market. Each property will have a different strategy in managing their inventory. This is Revenue Management 101.

For e.g. hotels with a big database of users or business travelers like InterContinental Hotel may put up fantastic rates which are limited to members only. Their objective may be to clear empty room inventory or to get business travelers to use them for personal travel. To reach out to infrequent travelers or travelers on other hotel programmes, they may also put up different promos on their partner channels e.g. Booking.com. Because there are different 'quota' for the different channels, some of these deals may run out. In addition, if a particular channel does better (or give them more $), they may also move some inventory over from another. Sometimes, a particular channel may be doing so well that they are actually 'losing' $ (lost of incremental revenue). They may want to close off this channel and force you to pay more else.

Smaller hotels or less popular hotels, on the other hand, may not have the same outreach as IHG or Accorhotels. If online sales are low (no one visit their website) or inventory is limited (e.g. boutique hotels), there is really no reason to offer discounts on their website and they may only show you the rack rates. However, if there is need to do distressed sale, using partner channels could be a better way of achieving the desired results. Plus, they may not need to deal with complaints from travelers who book their rooms earlier (often at a higher rate). Booking.com last minute deals is a good example where you can get good discount if you are not particular about hotels.

Last but not least, if you use the more reputable booking sites, they are as safe and as reliable as the hotel sites. On the other hand, smaller hotels often outsource their web development, including booking engines, to a third party. Reliability, can therefore, be a question mark (p/s: I have bad experience with Malaysia Legoland Hotel bookings).