Booking.com is an undisputed giant who has become synonymous with booking accommodation for millions of Poles. The convenience, the large choice and the sense of safety offered by the platform have made us trust it almost without limit. It is in this boundless confidence, however, that there is simply a costly trap. There is one fundamental errorwhich we commit almost habitually and which may cost us fortune on a scale of respective years of travel. This mistake is simply a blind belief that the price seen at Booking.com is always the eventual and best offer on the market. This conviction, reinforced by loyalty programs and clever marketing techniques, prevents us from taking 1 simple step that could reduce the cost of our stay by up to a twelve percent.
Illusion of the Best Offer: How does Genius work?
The heart of this loyalty trap is simply a popular program ‘Genius’. This status, awarded to regular customers, tempts with promises of rebates 10%, 15% or even 20%, free breakfast or an increase in the standard of peace. Seeing the price crossed out and the magic sign “Genius”, we feel distinguished and convinced that we are doing an interest in life. We seldom ask ourselves: where does this discount truly come from?
The answer is simple: “Genius” discount is mostly borne by the hotelkeeper, not Booking.com. To compensate for this forced discount, many hotel owners rise the base price of their facility on the platform. As a result, the discount you receive is frequently calculated from artificially overpriced starting price. The final amount may indeed be lower than the standard price on Booking.com, but it may inactive be much higher from the 1 the same hotel offers in another channels – especially the most crucial one.
The mistake we make: utilizing Booking.com as a store, not as a search engine
That's where we get to the bottom of it. The biggest and most costly mistake most Poles make is to treat Booking.com as the final place of purchase, not as brilliant, but only search engines and hotel comparers.
Millions of us follow the same scheme: we find the perfect hotel, we check reviews, we watch photos and click “Reserve” immediately. The convenience and simplicity of the process make it impossible for us to make 1 additional, crucial step, which takes virtually 2 minutes and can save hundreds of PLN.
This 1 step that saves a fortune: Check the price straight at the hotel
Once you find your dream hotel at Booking.com and are ready to book, STOP. alternatively of clicking “Reserve”, follow the following procedure:
- Open a fresh tab in your browser.
- Enter the exact hotel and city name in the Google search engine.
- Find and access this hotel's authoritative website. Almost all facility present has its own reservation strategy page.
- Enter the same dates of stay and the same area typewhich you have chosen at Booking.com and compare the final price.
Why is this method so effective? all reservation made by Booking.com costs a hotelier commission tallness 15% to even 25% reservation values. It's a immense amount. Therefore, hotels are much more profitable erstwhile the client books accommodation straight with them. To encourage this, they frequently offer on their website:
- A somewhat lower price. Even a 5-10% discount is inactive more profitable to them than paying 15% commission.
- Additional bonuses not available at Booking.com: free breakfast, a bottle of wine to welcome, free parking, early check-in or later check-out.
- Special residence packages, e.g. with dinner or spa access, which is yet more profitable.
In many cases, especially in smaller, private hotels and guesthouses, the price per site of the facility will be noticeably lower.
Expert comment: Psychology of convenience and time pressure
Why do we seldom take this simple step? The answer lies in psychology and a brilliantly designed Booking.com interface. This platform is simply a master in creating sense of urgency and force of time. Communications as follows:
- “There is only 1 area left!”
- “15 people are now watching this object”
- ‘Reserved 5 times in the last 6 hours’
...are designed to give us fear of losing chance (FOMO – Fear of Missing Out). We're afraid that if we don't book now, someone's gonna clean up the perfect offer. We act under the influence of impulse, forgetting about rational verification.
That's what happens. comfort factor. We have everything in 1 place: hundreds of offers, reviews, photos, payment. The possible of beginning a fresh card and looking for a hotel site seems to be an unnecessary complication. We pay for this comfort, frequently not realizing how advanced the price is.
Treat Booking.com as the world's best advisor and catalog – irreplaceable at the search stage. But erstwhile it comes to payment, act like a clever negotiator. Always check that your “adviser” does not charge besides advanced a commission for your service, and that you can make a better deal by going straight to the source. This 1 simple habit is the limit between being an average user and a conscious, cost-effective traveler.
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Continued here:
One mistake at Booking.com that costs you a fortune. Most Poles make it
