The online travel space is quite noisy with so many promises of “the best deal.” So far we’ve compared Expedia to Travelocity, as well as Airbnb to VRBO. So what’s the difference between two of the big players in the industry? Between Hotels.com reviews and Booking.com reviews, who is better?
We are all traveling more for both work and play, so how do you choose the best travel booking provider? The argument to book directly with the hotel will be ever-present. Although, some providers are now finding ways to provide the direct booking option to travelers to make them more attractive.
Aside from the savings that you can grab by booking online, are there any other benefits to using them? We’re going to show you what Hotels.com and Booking.com have to offer as we compare them head to head. Ultimately, we’ll give you the gist of what both have to offer so you can decide which one is the best choice for you.
Our Hotels.com Review
This history of Hotels.com began more than twenty years ago in Dallas, Texas. Over the last two decades, the company has grown leaps and bounds, and more recently, acquired by Expedia Group. With perks like earning free nights and an award-winning app, it’s rather tempting to choose them to book your accommodation.
Hotels.com Is Listening To What Travelers Want
Hotels.com has also taken some time to do some research on what their millennial travelers deem important. Their recent study conducted by their Tasty Travels team found that 76% of millennials rate foodie experiences as an integral part of their travel ‘must-have’ list. In response to this, they teamed up with food artist Carl Warner to create a new listing of the ultimate ‘foodie’ destinations.
The Hotels.com Award-Winning App
The main benefits of using Hotels.com include their new app. Their new app was the winner of the 2018 MediaPost Appy Award for creativity and excellence in the design of their app. The app allows travelers to do the following:
- Compare and book hotel deals for all listed locations that are available for that day up until 5 am.
- Book ground transportation via Uber
- Get deals on things to do via Groupon
- Order take-out through Delivery.com in the U.S
They’ve gone to the next level regarding their app capability that includes stellar post-booking service. Travelers that use the Hotels.com app can check-in/out of their room and even use the app’s mobile keyless entry ability to gain access to their room.
The Reviews On Booking.com
Booking.com is most arguably the largest booking meta-search engine in the online hotel booking space, for the moment anyway. Booking.com get their inventory directly from their relationships with hotels, unlike Hotels.com. Since Booking.com have relationships directly with hotels, it is almost as reliable as booking directly with the hotel. That seems to be one of the main differences that set Booking.com apart from Hotels.com.
Although, the inventory that Booking.com gets from the hotel, may not suit every traveler. We checked a review on one of the hotels listed on Booking.com and found that Booking.com only had the hotel’s smoking rooms. This information came from a reviewer who inquired about why they were given a smoking room when they wanted a non-smoking room.
The Similarities Between Hotels.com And Booking.com
Both of these online booking tools have access to excellent deals due in part to their size. While Hotels.com is smaller than Booking.com, since Expedia Group owns it, they have similar access to these great deals.
Both of these companies offer rewards in the way of discounts to travelers who sign up as a member, and both have an extensive offering of properties globally. Specifically, Hotels.com has 90 websites in 41 languages, and Booking.com operates in 229 countries and territories across the globe.
Their apps allow travelers to seamless book a room and manage their reservation. However, some reviewers are skeptical of Booking.com’s price confirmations. When sifting through reviews of the Booking.com app, we found that even after confirming a reservation, some travelers had their room rates increased. Booking.com’s response to this stated that according to their policies, they could change the price at any time.
Booking.com Price Match Guarantee
With any promise of a price match, there will always be a few hoops you’ve got to leap through. It’s no different with Booking.com. It’s crucial that you know the terms and conditions attached to your booking. If you do find a lower price, you can verify if it meets the price match eligibility criteria. Overall, if you do your research and have your ear to the ground, you can take advantage of the benefit of price matching.
In some cases, having this little perk built into your reservation is great. Hotels.com doesn’t offer a price match guarantee. Hence, you’ll have to take your chances and hope you’ve got the best deal with them.
Where Hotels.com And Booking.com Differ
Hotels.com and Booking.com both offer hotel and transportation bookings. Transportation bookings with Hotels.com are only available on the app with Uber, but it’s there. Booking.com offers more to travelers with the ability to book flights, accommodation, airport taxis, and rental cars. However, the new app from Hotels.com gives users more, as noted above, they’re more about the hotel bookings.
The Overall Reviews of Hotels.com
The reviews on hotels.com are mixed at best. In researching and reading Hotels.com reviews on multiple sites, some said they’re a 9/10 other said they’re a 2/10. For example, toptenreviews.com seemed to review Hotels.com quite highly for their rewards. By comparison, sitejabber.com’s Hotels.com reviews were pretty poor for customer service contact.
Although a lot of the negative reviews came from travelers who didn’t understand the terms of their booking. In order to fully understand the terms and conditions with any booking, you’ve got to read them. While this may seem like an arduous task, it’s essential. The reviews on Booking.com are also mixed. Both players have their fans and foes. Ultimately, you’ve got to take the good Hotels.com reviews, with as much as the bad.
For the chance to snap up a great deal, you’ve got to be paying attention to more than just one provider. This is especially true if you’re trying to price match or get a higher discount. Both Hotels.com and Booking.com offer greater discounts to their members. So if it’s a deal you want, why not sign up to both to get alerted about both providers deals.
If you would like to know more about Hotels.com or Booking.com then click the link to our articles regarding those two companies.