http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-23T12:00:16Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hotel%20Booking%20Sites http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/29/9451/6923 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/Negotiator.jpg" class="top"><p> It's no secret that we love the bargain rates you can get on opaque booking sites like <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/hotwire">Hotwire</a> and <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.comtag/priceline">Priceline</a>, even if it occasionally means a repeated stay at a hotel with <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/30/103532/04/hotels/Strike_Two_Against_the_Andaz_West_Hollywood">flippant service</a>. It's also no secret that we have been thoroughly disappointed with the <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/iphone hotel apps">iPhone apps</a> that hotels put forth, with most of them not doing much beyond offering a mobile reservations site. <p>But Priceline's new <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2009-10-27-priceline-iphone-hotel-app_N.htm?csp=34"><b>Hotel Negotiator</b></a> iPhone app is one that we may actually use. And it's not just because we want <b>William Shatner</b> on our iPhone. <p>Again, nothing totally new has been invented here. Basically, it's the Negotiator booking function on your iPhone. But the juliana 2009-10-30T13:28:58-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/28/85938/968 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/travelocitygnome.jpg" class="top"><p> The economy may not be feeling back to its old self, but there is more good news for hotel guests looking to get a better deal. <p><a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/travelocity"><b>Travelocity</b></a> announced today that it would not only eliminate change and cancel fees for hotels and vacation packages and offer guests a special $50 discount for travel but that it would also offer a <b>price guarantee</b>, something that other online travel booking sites have yet to do.<p>A price guarantee is a common feature found on hotel's websites which allow guests who find a lower room rate elsewhere to receive that lower rate instead of whatever the hotel is offering. It's a nifty little way for guests to sort of negotiate juliana 2009-10-28T09:10:11-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/7/8/113316/1652 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/getroomscreen.jpg" class="top"> <p>Today, the founders of Hotels.com launched a brand new discount hotel booking site to go up against the opaque booking sites (the Hotwires and Pricelines) of the 'net &#151; except this site is sort of not so opaque at all. <b><a href="http://www.getaroom.com">Getaroom.com</a></b> (ha! That's like what you shout to your big sister and her boyfriend when they're making out under the bleachers) offers travelers "the benefits of opaque pricing without being kept in the dark about where they will be sleeping." <p>It promises the same sort of discounts as opaque booking sites like Hotwire (where you don't know which hotel you'll be staying in until your credit card gets charged for your rezzie), but it touts itself Jenna 2009-07-08T11:38:19-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/29/144457/913 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/6929/smythtribecaroom.jpg" class="top"> <p>Uh-oh. We're pretty sure lots of online hotel booking sites are going to have something to say about this: according to <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/135385">WNYC</a>, New York City's Mayor Bloomberg "will sign a bill into law today that should bring in a lot of additional tax revenue for the city" &#151; that is, travel sites will now have to pay taxes on the <b>full retail prices </b>of the NYC hotel rooms they sell. <p>Per WNYC: <blockquote><p> The city believes it's currently collecting less hotel tax than it should. That's because some travel websites pay hotel taxes based on the wholesale rate of the rooms they buy. Then, the websites charge their customers the same hotel tax on retail room Jenna 2009-06-29T14:54:34-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/5/11/92657/7182 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/bookitblackberry.jpg" class="top"><p> Yet <i>another</i> incentive to travel! (Besides, well, the trip.) <a href="http://www.bookit.com">Bookit.com</a> is offering a <a href="http://bookit.com/html/popups/freePhoneOffer.html">free Blackberry</a> (or other smartphone/music phone of your choice) if you book either a flight, hotel stay, travel package or car rental.<p> Valued up to $349, the offer does have one of those requisite two-year service agreement contract stipulations (upgrade and renewal options too) and you have to pay the $36 activation fee as well as sign up for a plan that's a minium of $39.99. Otherwise, it really lives up to the free and easy promise. It's an instant rebate with none of those mail-in rebate shenanigans. <p>To book you need to complete your hotel/flight/travel booking on Bookit.com. Then click the shiralevine 2009-05-11T14:11:42-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/