Is Orbitz the Lowest Price for Hotels?

I've always heard that if you call the hotel after 2 or 3pm and talk to to the manager you can get a good deal because they want to book all the rooms they can. Just a thought. Have a great trip !

there is getaroom.com they have some good deals. also sometimes the hotels themselves have great deals.

Nope. I have worked for many differant hotel chains over the years, and in all honesty the rate that you will get on a travel site like orbitz or hotwire is usually only a few dollars cheaper than what the hotel its self offers. Contact the hotels 800# and book there. Ask for the best avail rate or if they have any specials for staying multiple nights. And always get a confirmation # and ask for an email with the detail of your stay. I have seen many guests that thought they booked for one date and ended up booking the wrong date.
And just so you know, the rate that orbitz gets on the hotel room is probably half of what you are paying. So if you book a room at $100 a night, orbitz probably is only paying the hotel $45. And a lot of hotels will not allow you to get any membership perks with a prepaid reservation booked thru a third party, and most of the time the front desk will give the more undesriable rooms to the third party booked rooms.

I usually use hotels.com, however, I don't think it's the least expensive. Although, it was really easy to use my free night. I'm interested to see your other answers.

We do a few long weekends each year. Since food can be a large cost when traveling, here's a few tips.
We often look for a hotel that includes breakfast. Of course there are some that just offer danish and a beverage, but others like Hampton Inns usually include a full breakfast.
Take a cooler with you filled with your favorite beverages and snacks. If you buy a case of water it's $.30 a bottle, compared to +$1.00 you'll spend at a convenience store. We usually will have a picnic lunch.

Have a great trip!

we use hotels.com. We got a nice hotel for $44.00 a night. We stayed at that hotel before and it was $126.00 a night. Big difference.

You don't say when you are traveling, but try to find out if there are any big events in the area when you'll be there - that will make a difference on price!

Now, call the hotel DIRECT - you can sometimes get better rates than whatever comes thru online! This comes from a hotel clerk during our trip below - he way beat tbe AAA price as did pretty much any hotel we stayed at)

(about 10 years ago, we took off on a 2-wk driving trip - not one hotel booked in advance! never had a problem getting a room, some were more $$ depending on the area, etc! it also gave us the opportunity to pass up a room if it was not up-to-par as we always checked the room before booking for the nite)

I always use expedia.

If you know for sure what hotel, you can also call them and ask what their current rates are for the dates you want. Sometimes they have specials. My parents did that and were able to get a rate lower than anything published online. You may also want to try hotels.com.

I usually use hotels.com, hotwire.com and travelocity.

Honestly, you may get the lowest price by calling the hotels directly. My sister always does this and gets better rates than anything online.

I never deal with discounters..... air, hotel or car. We do a LOT of travel (hotel, air and car rentals) and those using discounters are the first to be "bumped".

Deal directly with the hotel you want to visit. MANY of them have deals. MANY have online deals with substantial discounts, especially if you pay in advance.

Prime example... we are Diamond Hilton Honors members (meaning we do all our overnights with the Hilton family hotels and we have stayed as huge amount of nights to get the diamond "status"). Just like the Platinum status we have with American Air (never pay baggage fees) and Southwest Air (free ticket every 8 weeks and A-list gets to board first if you want). Because we are "diamond" if a hotel is sold out, we can call the diamond desk and someone (discounter) is bumped and we get in. Sorry... that's just how is works. We've only used the diamond service once when we were in a jam for a hotel.

Many times with these discounters, you pay in advance and you DO NOT KNOW exactly what you'll get.

Always keep in mind... You get what you pay for..... go cheap, get cheap.

you do what i do. i would keep looking, (travelocity, expedia, etc), but if they're lowest, you're probably in good shape. i would also call the hotel to see if they have any specials or deals for the time frame you are looking at. that's my only suggestion, probably you will get more suggestions from others. have fun!

We love Priceline, and always book hotels through them. We've never had a problem, gotten bumped, or had an issue with the room. We usually get 4-star hotels for 2-star prices. We do always wait to book until a few days before the trip though, when hotels are more pressed to take our offer. Our favorite for an extended family vacation is Drury Suites. They provide free, full breakfast and dinner with open bar, free Internet access, and indoor/outdoor pools. We always get a free upgrade code to the suite which is wonderful since the kids go to bed before us.

I use Cheaprooms.com or Priceline.com

Had a LOT of success with Cheaprooms.com...been using it for YEARS!