Why Booking Direct Puts Money Back in Your Wallet
We get it: booking safely and securely can sometimes be a challenge. You type in “sea view inn” and the first result is hotelone.com/Manhattan-beach-hotels. You click the link, and it features our logo (or the old logo) along with the easy ability to check availability. But, here’s the rub: that is NOT our website. Worse, automatically, a “Tax Recovery Charges and Service Fee” is added to your bill. This fee can climb as high as $75.00 per night!
Our website is: www.theseaviewinn.com
The Tangled Web of Hotel Room Reservations
The battle against fraudulent booking websites has been ongoing for years, with the hotel industry and the Federal Trade Commission fighting a seemingly endless game of whack-a-mole. Despite their efforts, lookalike sites continue to proliferate, luring even experienced travelers into their traps.
The root of this problem lies in the intricate and fragmented online ecosystem of hotel room bookings. Hotels like ours are caught in a delicate balancing act, simultaneously seeking to maintain direct booking channels while also maximizing their visibility in a highly competitive market. To reach the broadest possible audience, we also rely on intermediaries such as Expedia and other major travel sites to distribute our inventory. A simple principle drives this strategy: the more platforms displaying our rooms, the higher the likelihood of filling those rooms.
These large travel sites further complicate the landscape by redistributing hotel rooms to additional third-party platforms. The result is a complex web of sales channels where hotels often lose track of exactly where and how their rooms are being offered. This lack of transparency creates opportunities for questionable pricing practices and misleading booking sites, leaving both hotels and travelers vulnerable to potential fraud and unexpected fees.
Our Advice: Book Direct
Always double-check the URL for the hotel you are trying to book. If it’s a big chain (unlike ours), ensure that the web address starts with Marriott, Four Seasons, Westin, etc.
Always book directly with us for the best price and service.
