You’ve selected your destination, set the date and booked your flights. Now all that is left to do is pick the hotel, but with so many properties to choose from, we know this step can be a little overwhelming.

You might turn to a third party online travel agency (OTA) to compare and contrast the competing properties and prices in your vacation city, but travelers beware: OTAs charge hidden fees that they cleverly disguise behind words like “discount,” “savings” and “deals.” These fees can average up to 20 – 30% more than what you would pay if you book with the hotel directly, and that doesn’t sit well with us. That’s why the hotel packages that you find on our website will take you directly to the hotel’s online booking engine, no hidden fees attached.

We might be a little biased, but we’re all about value and quality vacations, so here’s our list of five reasons why we think it best to avoid OTAs and book your next hotel reservation directly:

• Save: More often than not, hotel websites offer the same room rates as OTAs with no additional booking fees.
• Confirmation: You can feel confident that your reservation will not be lost between a third party intermediary and the hotel, and if something pops up and you can’t make your trip, the hotel will honor your reservation with refunds or credits. When you book a reservation with an OTA, you pay the entire balance upfront, with no chances of a refund or date flexibility.
• Customer Service: When you book directly through the hotel’s reservation department, you are treated as a hotel guest and not just an OTA client. Hotels can then offer a more personalized experience that can translate into perks like early check-in, late check-out, on-site incentives and post-stay follow up.
• Relationship: Hotels love their guests, but regulars have a special place in their heart. Returning guests and members of hotel rewards programs are often offered room upgrades and comps as a way of saying “thanks.” The staff might get to know you and add special notes into your guest profile.
• Ease: Hotels have significantly improved their websites with comprehensive online booking engines that provide real time rates, multi-lingual and multi-currency options and high security standards and protection.

Have you experienced additional benefits to booking directly with a hotel? Let us know!