Booking dot com availability.

[br d]

Just booked an hotel through Booking dot com, I usually book direct with the hotel so I rang them first but they said they didn't have any rooms available on my dates. Went back to Booking dot com and it had 2 rooms available, booked one and received confirmation. Anyone had this before? I'm presuming Booking dot com has dibs on a few rooms so the hotel can't release them themselves, or am I misunderstanding?

Don't feel entirely confident that the room will be available when I turn up.

Edited by br d on Monday 25th May 18:29

[Ultuous]

I've had the same (can't remember if it was with booking.com or not) without issue - like you, I guess they have a quota reserved for each agent (otherwise, handling reservations across each others' systems would be a nightmare!)

[VTECMatt]

In the trade booking.com insist on minimum of 2 rooms as such if booking.com haven't sold any rooms at that hotel they may well have availability. We have to pay them 15-20% commission to them as such I always encourage people to book direct and negotiate a discount off, my team would give 10% off best rate online so worth while!

[br d]

Thanks guys.

[PositronicRay]

VTECMatt said:

In the trade booking.com insist on minimum of 2 rooms as such if booking.com haven't sold any rooms at that hotel they may well have availability. We have to pay them 15-20% commission to them as such I always encourage people to book direct and negotiate a discount off, my team would give 10% off best rate online so worth while!

I like to book direct as well.

So I saw a special offer on Booking.com, phoned the hotel, the hotel reception say's "no can do, to get the offer you'll have to go through booking.com." Go figure. We booked through booking.com. It was a bit incovenient, we were away at the time with no mobile internet so had to borrow a friends lap top.