What is more cost-effective to book hotels — from aggregator sites or on the hotel`s website

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

There is a perception that booking on aggregator sites (such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, etc.) can be cheaper than booking on a hotel’s website. Guests also point out that they consider them safer, as such marketplaces often offer free cancellation. The most popular questions people ask about booking on aggregator sites are: Is the availability of rooms correctly displayed? What is the best way to cancel a reservation to avoid a penalty? Is the price on an aggregator site different from booking directly with the hotel? Let’s look at the main questions of travelers together.

How do aggregator sites work?

Aggregator sites are a convenient way for guests to book hotel rooms, as they allow them to view offers from different properties in the location of their choice. 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 are set by the hotels themselves. We control this process from our office through the Extranet backend system. Thus, aggregator platforms display information based on the information provided by the hotel, and we set all the parameters and conditions through this system.

They have partnership terms with hotels. Hotels pay them a commission from each booking on the platform.

Why do hotels cooperate with 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 rights of the guest. There have been situations when we closed a hotel for 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, and it will help them: refund the money that was paid or help them find another hotel for the same price.

In addition, aggregator sites account for a significant share of sales in city hotels. While resort properties use different promotion channels, urban accommodation facilities often depend on aggregator sites to attract customers. Nevertheless, it is important to develop your own promotion channels to be competitive. 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, as we use them not just as an additional promotion channel, but as an equivalent to the official website. They can also conduct checks to make sure that we follow the rules. This is due to cases where hotels set a big difference in rates so that people book directly, and then the company can send a warning or the account manager can call and ask why this is the case. Partnerships matter here, and everyone has to be honest.

One of the advantages of aggregator sites is that you can apply additional discounts and even geo-tariffs. We cannot copy the latter feature because we do not have data that a person visits our site from another country.

It is very important for guests to understand that we do not distinguish between guests from external platforms and guests from the main site. All discounts available on aggregator sites are directly provided by the hotel.

If we notice a mistake and it turns out that the price on our website is higher than on the aggregator sites or vice versa, we always meet the guest halfway and book them a room at the best rate or provide additional services: change the room to a better one, meet them with a glass of champagne, give them a massage, etc.

Photo: DIDUKH Eco-Hotel & SPA

Cancellation policy

Here, we adhere to the principle of equal opportunities to change or cancel reservations. The guest can choose whether to log in to their personal account on an external platform to cancel their reservation, or to contact us directly and we will do it.

It’s also important to note that some guests feel confused by the notification from aggregator sites that appears after a booking is canceled, which includes a fine. This notification is standard for the platforms, but each hotel decides separately whether to apply this penalty. We always try to meet our guests halfway and offer to leave the funds on deposit, realizing that circumstances, especially in times of war, can change very quickly

Correct display of available rooms and overbooking

Each hotel has its own rules, which depend on market demand, its characteristics and location. It is important to understand that during the peak season and weekends, the 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 can’t easily change the terms of bookings like in our own hotel program. Therefore, it is very important for us that the guest informs us about changes in plans in advance, even on the same day, so we can open the vacant room for sale.

Another situation that occurs on aggregator sites is overbooking, which is a common practice in our field of work, sometimes caused by both human and technical factors. Usually it is a technical aspect when the reservation management system transmits the wrong number of available rooms. For example, it may happen that room 101 is available on Monday, 102 on Tuesday, and 103 on Wednesday, but the reservation system shows them all as available from Monday to Thursday. Fortunately, such situations have become less common in recent years.

This can cause discomfort to our guests when we suggest they move to another room or to our other hotel nearby. Therefore, we monitor this very closely, trying to avoid such situations.

So it’s up to the guest to decide where to book. They can do it wherever it is convenient: on the aggregator site, through the hotel’s website, social media, email, and even by using Ukrposhta to send a paper letter. We value every booking channel and do our best to make the process of staying at the hotel as comfortable as possible.

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