Article by Marlowe Lacsina (Online Travel 360)
Booking your destination online had given travelers with great ease in picking the right hotel with the cheapest rate and had the best views for your dream vacation. However, with the vast number of online hotel reservation site that had sprout all over the web, how do you choose which is the best one whom you can entrust your once-in-a-lifetime summer getaway? Which of them will give you the best deal and which one will provide the least headache?
But first, we need to look at some of the core players in the online travel business and try to check closer their main strengths and how they differ from the rest of the bandwagon.
EXPEDIA
The company provides direct access to one of the broadest selections of travel products and services. Serving many different consumer segments – from families booking a summer vacation to individuals arranging a quick weekend getaway, Expedia provides travelers with the ability to research, plan, and book their comprehensive travel needs. One thing to look for in this site is the “Expedia Special Rate” where you can save up to 50% off regular rates. Another interesting feature is the “Repeat A Trip” option which allows you to book your previous destination without having to repeat all the original work. You can even invite others to join you on the same itinerary. (Click left image to see the website…)
BOOKING.COM
Booking.com is part of Priceline.com and is now Europe’s leading online hotel reservations agency by room nights sold which counts to more than 100,000 room nights booked daily. Established in 1996, it offers competitive rates for any type of property, ranging from small independent hotels to a five star luxury. The site now offers over 66,000 hotels in over 15,000 destinations around 71 countries. Booking.com’s reservation service is free and does not charge you any booking fees, administration fees, or cancellation fees.
QUICKBOOKER
in New Jersey, U.S. with its operation office in India, Quickbooker provides complete travel services from worldwide hotel reservations, package tours, airport transfers, sightseeing tours etc. With global offerings, it cater to customers globally, providing travel services to destinations worldwide. It has a comprehensive range of accommodation of over 55,000 hotels and package tours. Moreover, with the wide choices available, covering destinations all over the world, it allow you to choose, according to your budget, taste and needs thus offering competitive and discounted rates. It also understand travel, thus providing with last minute bookings, destination travel guides and reliable customer support for an enriching travel experience.
BESTSTAY.COM
It has a collection of over 55,000 of the world’s best places to stay, including over 200 major hotel brands in nearly 10,000 destinations worldwide, with full color hotel brochures, ratings, and interactive maps.
HOOJOOZAT.COM
Hoojoozat.com, arabic word for “booking”, is a Lebanese company dedicated to the online booking of hotels all over the world. It offers more than 35000 hotels in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and all over the world. It is the only site that offers an Arabic version of all proposed hotels.
HOTELCLUB
HotelClub is a world leading global accommodation website that provides consumers with over 48,000 accommodation choices in over 5,600 cities worldwide throughout 126 countries. HotelClub delivers discounted hotel rates all year round – up to 60% off normal hotel rates. It holds direct relationships with hotels combined with strong purchasing power puts HotelClub in the position to negotiate exceptional rates for its consumers.
ORANGESMILE TOURS
OrangeSmile Tours is an international company founded in The Netherlands and sucessfully operates in the travel market from April 2002. It provides B2C online-solutions for touristic sectors with a database that includes accommodation places in all the five continents in 16 languages and specializes in the area of eco-tourism.
These examples are just some of the well-known online travel agencies but there are still a lot more out there with some that specifically targets a specific country or destination while others provides a distinctive offer or promotions. While most hotel websites are now providing their own online booking solutions, most of them offers a rack rate which is normally much expensive than the big e-travel sites. Their only advantage is that customers can get a last-minute rate change and travel arrangements.
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