http://www.hotelchatter.com/ Hotel Reviews, Hotel Ratings, Hotel Openings en-us Copyright 2008 - SFO Media 2009-11-26T06:05:41Z HotelChatter HotelChatter http://www.hotelchatter.com/images/hcwhite.jpg http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hotel%20Booking%20Tips http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/11/25/1516/6160 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/22421/2009_11_23_HC___BinFin.jpg" class="top"><p>A few months ago we told you about a way to <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/8/31/75720/5646/hotels/How_To_Determine_Hotwire_s_Hidden_Hotels_Before_You_Book">definitively determine</a> which Hotwire hotel you were looking at - cracking the bidding site's opaque listings - by using a combination of TripAdvisor and forums like <a href="http://betterbidding.com/">BetterBidding.</a> The loophole in TripAdvisor that made the technique possible has since been closed, so it's back to just using forums and crossing your fingers. That's less than ideal. <p>Now a new web application dubbed <a href="http://www.bidfin.com/">BinFin</a> is making its way through beta, promising to automatically render Hotwire transparent. The site takes your location and dates, runs them through Hotwire, and returns a result of prices plus the hotels that they match. There's a confidence level for each guess Omri 2009-11-25T16:45:14-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/11/19/71058/490 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/30451/Strandbed.jpg" class="top"><p> <p>While we had high hopes of seeing one of our hotly anticipated new NYC hotels opening before Thanksgiving&#151; <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/hotel-reviews/The+Strand+NYC/local/1533"><b>The Strand</b></a> in the garment district&#151;it now looks like we'll have to wait another couple of weeks. Cross out that November 16th opening date, folks, and pencil in December 1st. That is the first date showing up on both the hotel's online reservation system, and on Quikbook.</p> <p>As we reported in our <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/10/20/17249/618/hotels/Book_The_Strand_Hotel_For_249_on_Quikbook_For_Stays_After_November_16th">last update</a>, Quikbook is definitely the way to go when booking a night at The Strand. Previously it was showing a saving of $40 per night compared to the rates on the hotel's website. Now those savings are $70. A Superior King is going for MsRebecca 2009-11-19T09:06:28-05:00 http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/11/18/10543/578 <![CDATA[<p><img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/30451/TripA_Crosby.jpg" class="top"><p> <p><b>How many times do you like to click?</b> That&#146;s not a euphemism, but a serious question related to your travel-review browsing and booking. We ask, because yesterday <a href="http://www.tripadvisor"><b>TripAdvisor</b></a> announced a new "service" which promises to limit your number of clicks. <p>From January 4, 2010, TripAdvisor will let hotels "enhance" their listing with their URL, telephone number and email address. So customers will be able to click just once to jump from a TripAdvisor review page to the property&#146;s own site. This is certainly a step up from the current system where you get a hotel&#146;s address, but are left to google the website or phone number yourself. But why the change?</p> <p><b>Duh! Money, silly!</b> The new MsRebecca 2009-11-18T11:14:03-05:00 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/2009/8/31/75720/5646 <![CDATA[<img src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/1425/hotwirelax.jpg" class="top"><p><b>Expedia Inc.</b> has been on a bit of convergence spree recently. A few weeks ago our sister blog Jaunted reported on how the travel mega-company <a href="http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/4/13265/63769/travel/Expedia+Incorporates+SeatGuru+Into+Their+Flight+Booking+Fun">integrated Expedia and SeatGuru,</a> and in the meantime they've also integrated TripAdvisor and Hotwire. That last part integration has the potential to be particuarly yummy, though not for the reasons Expedia intended (they thought customers would benefit from seeing TripAdvisor reviews on Hotwire - <a href="http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2009/6/15/966/92871/hotels/Is_TripAdvisor_Removing_Some_of_Those_Fraud_Warnings_">not so much</a>). <p>Instead we're excited because the TripAdvisor/Hotwire integration may help Hotwire bidders crack the opaque site's hidden hotels. Hotwire has an interest in minimizing what a customer knows about the hotel being considered, lest they decide that they're not getting a deal and move on.<p> Omri 2009-08-31T09:44:44-05:00 Search HotelChatter string http://www.hotelchatter.com/search/