It is true that online reservation centres responded to an expectation: to simplify and accelerate the search. But we can ask more questions?

Is the service really free?

Are the prices advertised the cheapest on the market?

Does the presentation and selection of hotels meet qualitative criteria?

Is advertised availability reliable?

Is it easy to cancel?

A SERVICE THAT COSTS 20% OF THE ROOM RATE

There is no booking centre that makes the traveller pay for a service. But when is a service free?

It’s the hotelier who receives the invoice, which amounts to around 20% of the room rate. The price is thus indirectly paid by the client. Few hoteliers have artificially increased the price of their room to absorb this new charge because the development of internet has made supply visible and comparison immediate.

No hay ninguna central de reservas que cobre a los viajeros por un servicio. Pero, ¿desde cuándo un servicio es gratuito?
Es el hotelero quien recibe la factura, y ronda el 20% d% del precio de la habitación. Por tanto, el precio lo paga indirectamente el cliente. Pocos hoteleros han aumentado artificialmente el precio de sus habitaciones para absorber este nuevo cargo, porque el desarrollo de Internet ha hecho que la oferta sea visible y la comparación inmediata.

There is no requirement that the hotel have a contract with a reservation centre to offer all its rooms on a permanent basis. Thus, according to the hotel’s location, season, day of the week, the hotel will not always need a reservation centre to be booked up. It depends on who contacts them directly. However, if the hotelier decides to suspend the distribution of its rooms, they have to do so with all reservation centres. A hotel may therefore appear full, although on its own website or if contacted directly they do still have free rooms.

We also saw the words “more than one available on our website!” on some booking sites. That statement reveals that the stock that the hotel has decided to make available does not reflect its full capacity.The traveller will therefore be interested in visiting the hotel’s website and simulating a reservation to find out the actual availability of the hotel.

THE CANCELLATION OF THE RESERVATION IS REALLY FLEXIBLE

This is indeed one of the strengths of the central reservation. But that does not mean specificity. Most of the hotels offer a 48-hour cancellation policy at prices lower than those observed through reservation centres and the terms are clearly written.

On average a traveller will visit 22 websites before booking one or more rooms. Is this the reservation centre that did the work for him?

But who updates the databases of hotels to offer the online service? It’s not reservation centre, but the hoteliers themselves.

The web has opened the possibility of accomplishing what travellers think is an economic miracle. The miracle is that, today, it’s enough to develop well advertised programs and deliver them to the market that will support them, creating a turnover that is often tax-free.Ultimately, isn’t the smart traveller the one who uses information from the web to contact their own service provider?