Best price guarantee when booking a hotel

Maybe you have already seen promises of the best price guarantee on hotel booking websites. Maybe you even think that these promises have no ground, and their only goal is to attract your attention. Partly, you are right, because each particular situation has its own limits and restrictions, and no booking system will operate at a loss. But in many cases best price guarantee really works. And you can use it to your advantage. Let us explain it to you.

First of all, you know that in addition to booking websites there are price comparison websites, the so called metasearch engines. These are, for example, www.hotelscombined.com and hotellook.com (more information about metasearch you can find here). Using the above-mentioned and similar websites you can find the best rates.

Now, let’s get to the interesting stuff.

Imagine the following situation. Using one of hotel price comparison search engines you found a great deal. Not just a hotel – a dream come true. The location is the best. Photos are awesome. Feedback is incredibly positive. The rate… next to nothing! The only thing that concerns you is that the offer comes from a website you know nothing about. Should you trust this one? Should you book? That is the question.

So, what do we have here? On the one hand, the price is very enticing; on the other hand, there are reasonable doubts. What should you do in a situation like this?

You can keep torturing yourself with doubts, search for feedback and reviews about the website which has such a hot deal for you, and you keep worrying that something might go wrong.

You can trust the authority of the search engine which found the offer for you and stay calm.

But there is a third option.

You can book the hotel at a website you know very well (let it be www.booking.com or www.hotels.com), despite the higher rate. And then use the best price guarantee. Here you go: you booked the hotel on a website you trust at a price which you would never have known about if you hadn’t used the metasearch.

So, everything is pretty simple. But there are some hidden dangers as well.

First, before booking the hotel relying on the best price guarantee, check terms and conditions of such guarantee, especially the exceptions which aren’t covered by the guarantee.

Second, to be on a safe side, book only if you have an option to cancel the reservation. In this case if something goes wrong you can cancel your reservation without losing any money.

Finally, keep in mind that low prices usually mean some restrictions (i.e. advance payment – full or in part). Chances are that restrictions will be in place for this “sweet” price. In other words, in the end it might turn out that you will not be able to cancel your reservation, so always read booking terms and conditions thoroughly. Only when everything is fine for you, go ahead with the booking. Though, this is a rule that applies to the booking process in general, no matter if you plan to go for the best price guarantee or not.