Be careful when booking online:
Online travel companies have taken over the tourism industry since the invention of the smart phone and all are currently charging hoteliers between 15 percent to 30 percent commission on every sale.
1. These online travel websites are not paying taxes in Australia
· Expedia Group is American owned
· Wotif is owned by the Expedia Group
· Hotels.com is owned by the Expedia Group
· TripAdvisor is owned by the Expedia Group
· Trivago is owned by the Expedia Group
· Booking.com is owned by the Priceline Group which is American owned
· Agoda is owned by the Priceline Group
· Hotels Combined is owned by the Priceline Group
2. Unfortunately as they are simply a website, potential guests are offering personal details which may or may not be safe or secure.
3. Transparency in room rates is lost as the comparison sites such as Trivago, Hotels Combined, TripAdvisor and even Google are all sending your search for the best rates to the online websites to ensure you pay the commission.
The benefits of choosing to Book Direct:
Online travel websites have one thing in common, a huge budget to advertise! The amount they pay search engines to have their listing appear on the top of any searches is quite phenomenal! And you guessed it, these advertising dollars go overseas as well! Keeping your dollar working for Australians is easy and the hotel can pass on the saving to you! Book direct!
1. Australian businesses receive the full profit of the rate you pay. Reducing the commission to be paid can mean the hotel can offer a better rate.
2. Taxes are paid in Australia which is great for our economy.
3. Employment increases in Australia especially in regional areas.
4. Suppliers to the hotel industry increases the local economy.
5. By booking direct the hotel can keep your details in the data base, they are the ones that will remember that you like a certain room or you prefer the ground floor....
The confusion on the internet is that comparison sites can be very misleading, taxes may not be included until you try to book or may not be in Australian dollars. Some of the websites with the cheapest rates are not trustworthy and new ones are started up every other day to keep the customer unsure of what is the best price.