Is it cheaper to book hotels through aggregator websites or directly on the hotel’s website?

Author: Alina Radchenko, Head of Sales and Marketing at Ribas Hotels

Many travelers wonder where it is better to book hotels—directly or through aggregator websites. There is a perception that booking on aggregator websites (such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, etc.) can be cheaper than on the hotel’s website. Guests also point out that they consider them to be safer, as such marketplaces often offer free cancellation. The most popular questions about booking on aggregator sites are: Is room availability displayed correctly? What is the best way to cancel a booking without incurring a penalty? Does the price on the aggregator site differ from the price when booking directly with the hotel? Let’s take a look at the main questions travelers have.

How do aggregator sites work?

Aggregator websites are a convenient way to book hotel rooms, as they allow you to view offers from various properties in your chosen location. Some people may mistakenly believe that such services are separate companies that set their own prices and display available rooms. However, the prices and offers on these websites are set by the hotels themselves. We control this process from our office through the Extranet back-end system. Thus, aggregator platforms display information based on information provided by the hotel, and we ourselves set all parameters and conditions through this system.

They have partnership agreements with hotels. Properties pay them a commission for each booking made on the platform.

Why do hotels cooperate with Booking and other aggregator sites?

Cooperation with marketplaces is important for our guests. People trust such sites because they are usually well-known brands, and in case of unforeseen circumstances, they can protect the guest’s rights. There have been situations when we closed the hotel during the off-season, but the platform continued to sell rooms by mistake. This can happen in case of a synchronization error. How it works: hotel – channel manager – aggregator site. In this case, the guest can contact Booking, for example, and they will help them: refund the money that was paid or help find another hotel for the same price.

In addition, aggregator sites provide a significant share of sales in city hotels. While resort properties use a variety of marketing channels, city establishments often rely on aggregator sites to attract customers. However, it is important to develop your own marketing channels in order to be competitive. This is especially true for guests who prefer to book hotels themselves. If a hotel relies entirely on aggregator sites, the result may be lower than expected.

Price difference: myth or reality

The price offer should not differ on different platforms. This is one of the rules of such platforms, since we use them not just as an additional promotion channel, but as equivalent to the official website. They can also conduct checks to ensure that we comply with the rules. This is due to cases where hotels set a large difference in rates so that people book directly, and then the company may send a warning, or the account manager may call and ask why this is the case. Partnerships are important here, and everyone must be honest.

One of the advantages of aggregator sites is that you can apply additional discounts and even geo-rates there. We cannot replicate the latter feature, as we have no data on whether a person is visiting our site from another country.

It is very important for guests to understand that we do not divide them into guests from external platforms and guests from the main website. All discounts available on aggregator websites belong directly to the hotel.

If we notice an error and find that the price on an aggregator site, such as Booking, is cheaper than on the hotel website, we always accommodate the guest and book them a room at the best rate or provide additional services: upgrade the room, welcome them with a glass of champagne, offer a massage, etc.

Photo: DIDUKH Eco-Hotel & SPA

Cancellation policy

Here we adhere to the principle of equal opportunities for changing or canceling a reservation. Guests can choose to log into their personal account on an external platform to cancel their reservation or contact us directly, and we will do it for them.

It is also important to note that some guests experience inconvenience due to a message from aggregator sites that appears after canceling a booking that includes a penalty. This notification is standard for platforms, but each hotel decides separately whether to apply this penalty. We always try to accommodate our guests and offer to leave the money on deposit, understanding that circumstances, especially in times of war, can change very quickly.

Correct display of available rooms and overbooking

Each hotel has its own rules, depending on market demand, its characteristics, and location. It is important to understand that during peak season and weekends, demand for rooms increases significantly. If a guest has not notified us of a cancellation, we may try to contact them.

On aggregator sites, we have to follow their rules, and we cannot easily change the booking conditions as we can in our own hotel program. Therefore, it is very important for us that guests notify us of any changes to their plans in advance, even on the same day, so that we can make the vacated room available for sale.

Another situation that occurs on aggregator websites is overbooking, which is a common practice in our industry, sometimes due to both human and technical factors. Usually, it is a technical issue when the booking management system transmits an incorrect number of available rooms. For example, room 101 may be available on Monday, 102 on Tuesday, and 103 on Wednesday, but the booking system displays them all as available from Monday to Thursday. Fortunately, such situations have become less common in recent years.

This can cause discomfort for our guests when we offer them to move to another room or to our other hotel nearby. Therefore, we monitor this very carefully, trying to avoid such situations.

So where to book is up to the guest. If they wish, they can book a hotel directly through the hotel’s website or use an aggregator site, social media, email — or even send a paper letter via Ukrposhta. We value every booking channel and do our best to make your stay at the hotel as comfortable as possible.

Subscribe to our blog to keep up with trends in the hospitality market!