A FORMER hotel reception and travel expert has revealed how to get a bargain next time you book.
Shoaib Shaikh scared the clever tip via online forum Quora.
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He said not only did he get the room for half the price, but he also a free upgrade.
He said: “Once I went to another city due to some personal work and suddenly I had planned to stay overnight there.
“So I needed a place to stay so I found a hotel near the railway station because I had to catch an early morning train.”
However, when he got to the hotel reception, the only rooms available were way out of his budget.
Instead, he said he went onto his phone and checked hotels near him, and found the same hotel room for half the price as quoted using an Online Travel Agent (OTA).
He continued: “So I didn’t inform anything at the reception and booked the hotel online.
“After booking I got a confirmation mail and same I showed to the receptionist.”
However, he warned that the hotel worker’s “behaviour changed” when he told him that, giving him a “lower quality, small and dirty” room.
It was only when he complained to the travel agent he booked through – and was given a free upgrade.
He finished by saying: “So this is the benefit we get if we booked hotel online.
“There are so many OTAs available in market so you can compare the price as well as you will get the status of the hotel, either hotel is good or bad via Review.
“So book online and enjoy your stay.”
Lots of people liked the advice, with some saying it had worked for them too.
One person wrote: “I searched on OTA and showed the price to the person, then he offered me the room for the online price.”
However, this may not always be the case – a report in 2020 found that eight out of 10 rooms were cheaper on the hotel website then via a third party.
The research, conducted by Which?, found savings up to 12 per cent by avoiding well-known booking websites.
In 2019, hotel booking platforms were accused of using fake discounts and pressure tactics to encourage customers to book hotels.
And for the biggest bargain, book hotels on a Friday night to save money.
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