4 ms·

Just going to tag on this; I’ve come to use Booking.com preferentially as it seems the least irritating, and I don’t remember the last time I was sold something

Just going to tag on this; I’ve come to use Booking.com preferentially as it seems the least irritating, and I don’t remember the last time I was sold something I didn’t want from it. Guess I just blur out the bad bits?

jimmaswell 7y ago
I just look at "hotel" on google maps, weigh the prices/locations visually, and book directly. What's booking.com's value-add?
- peteretep 7y ago
  I can filter by ratings and locations above a certain level for places I'm not familiar with, filter by refund policy, and then read reviews and see if there are any deal breakers. I don't have to fight with an individual hotel's booking page, I know TripIt will read a Booking.com booking email perfectly, and Booking.com now has all my payment details saved. Edit: it occurs to me that this is much like the advantage that Amazon once had, for the period of my life when I bought pretty much everything via Amazon. Shame they've lost my confidence.
- jiofih 7y ago
  Customer service vs dealing with small property owners directly.
  - usr1106 7y ago
    Does booking.com have any customer service worth the name? I use them sometimes, but from a company with such aggressive / dishonest marketing I would generally not expect any customer service worth the name. IIRC their terms and conditions exclude all responsibility whatsoever if the reservation does not work out, It's always the hotel's responsibility. Luckily I have never had a case where I would have really had to contact their support.
    - jiofih 7y ago
      Yea, that is one of the value propositions of using a middleman/marketplace (conversely, why many of Google’s forays in this area are horrible). Most OTAs are majority CS staff.
      - usr1106 7y ago
        Well, if the marketplace offers good service. These comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21859610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21859610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21858747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21858747 tell different stories and honestly that's what I would fear.
techstrategist 7y ago
> I don’t remember the last time I was sold something I didn’t want from it That’s kind of the point of this type of misdirection: they use less than honest tactics to make you feel good about your choice. You’ll never know what alternatives you may have otherwise chosen and how happy you would have been.

jimmaswell 7y ago

I just look at "hotel" on google maps, weigh the prices/locations visually, and book directly. What's booking.com's value-add?

peteretep 7y ago
I can filter by ratings and locations above a certain level for places I'm not familiar with, filter by refund policy, and then read reviews and see if there are any deal breakers. I don't have to fight with an individual hotel's booking page, I know TripIt will read a Booking.com booking email perfectly, and Booking.com now has all my payment details saved. Edit: it occurs to me that this is much like the advantage that Amazon once had, for the period of my life when I bought pretty much everything via Amazon. Shame they've lost my confidence.
jiofih 7y ago
Customer service vs dealing with small property owners directly.
- usr1106 7y ago
  Does booking.com have any customer service worth the name? I use them sometimes, but from a company with such aggressive / dishonest marketing I would generally not expect any customer service worth the name. IIRC their terms and conditions exclude all responsibility whatsoever if the reservation does not work out, It's always the hotel's responsibility. Luckily I have never had a case where I would have really had to contact their support.
  - jiofih 7y ago
    Yea, that is one of the value propositions of using a middleman/marketplace (conversely, why many of Google’s forays in this area are horrible). Most OTAs are majority CS staff.
    - usr1106 7y ago
      Well, if the marketplace offers good service. These comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21859610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21859610 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21858747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21858747 tell different stories and honestly that's what I would fear.

techstrategist 7y ago

> I don’t remember the last time I was sold something I didn’t want from it That’s kind of the point of this type of misdirection: they use less than honest tactics to make you feel good about your choice. You’ll never know what alternatives you may have otherwise chosen and how happy you would have been.