Online hotel booking?

Hi. We are considering booking our hotel in Paris over the internet. We haven%26#39;t done this before. Is one booking company better than another? We had read about people paying more once they got to their Paris hotel using Venere. Any feedback? We are considering Orbitz, Hotels, Expedia or Venere. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks

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Hi, I suggest you always check the hotel%26#39;s website too, their price may be better, sometimes they offer promotions.

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The services you mention will help your booking with larger chain hotels but I have not found that many of the smaller hotels use these companies.

My recommend is that you book directly with the hotel of your choice, many have the capability on their own websites. Before sending any sensitive information through the internet, make sure the URL of the site you are using begins with %26quot;https://%26quot; (note the %26quot;s%26quot;). Do not send credit card information by a non secure method such as email.

Once you have a booking, call the hotel and confirm the details including dates, bathroom facilities (shower or bathtub), number staying, bed type (twin or double) and total costs.

These simple steps will preclude surprises upon checkin.

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I just booked a hotel in Paris on Venere for an August trip--Saint Petersbourg Hotel. Venere and Booking both had the same price but Venere did not require %26quot;non-refundable%26quot; booking. What is the story on having to pay additional fees in Paris for Venere?? I have not heard that!

I have used Venere and Booking before (but not in Paris) and never had a problem.

Thanks,

Jane

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I just booked a hotel in Paris on Venere for an August trip--Saint Petersbourg Hotel. Venere and Booking both had the same price but Venere did not require %26quot;non-refundable%26quot; booking. What is the story on having to pay additional fees in Paris for Venere?? I have not heard that!

I have used Venere and Booking before (but not in Paris) and never had a problem.

Thanks,

Jane

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I agree with Sarastro - try dealing directly with the hotel. It may take a day or two for them to get back to you (I suspect that not all reservations staff have fluent English, plus the time difference matters), but I%26#39;ve never had a problem doing that and it generally gets rid of extra fees and issues like nonrefundable payments, etc.

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I would suggest you look on venere to puck a nice hotel in the area you want to stay in. Then once you have the name of a hotel you like , check other websites to compare prices. Try the hotels own website, 1800 hotels.com and needahotel.com. Some websites have a special offer where you get a discount for paying upfront. It can be good value but is usually non refundable if you later cancel your reservation.

I have booked through venere a good few times and never had a problem with paying more than we were quoted for our stay. When you fill in your check in and check out dates it gives you a total price for your stay. This can sometimes vary from the initial per night rate on the previous page because the rate varies depending on time of year, day of the week etc. I have never ended up paying more than this total price.

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BB, I have booked all my hotels online ,, for Paris as well as Rome and London. I don%26#39;t use booking agencies, although I do look at their sites( Venere is a fave as they have hotel reviews and clear info on facilities and maps) but book directly with hotel .I have booked at least 6 or 7 different hotels in Paris online in the last 5 years, and I have yet to find a better price or service then booking directly. One hotel in Paris even phoned me ,, to confirm, hilarious as fellow forgot about time difference and it was middle of night here and a french fellow is on the phone for me,, LOL he was quite embarrassed,,

I like booking directly, and getting the email hotel confirmation from hotel.

I always look for sales and bonus features ,, and I do price check on as many sites as I can,, direct is cheapest I have found.

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I always book directly with the Hotel website and then monitor prices regularly after the booking. Sometimes Hotels have Internet Specials not necessarily passed on to agencies in which case it is easy to cancel either with booking number or email and re book at lower rate. Cancellations are always confirmed (or ask for confirmation) as are bookings. Always make sure you read cancellation policy first.

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I very often book hotels on hoteltravel.com and have always been very pleased with them. Payment is secure, they are very reliable and if you have questions regarding your reservation they have a very convenient %26quot;chatlive%26quot; feature on their website.

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Hi. I can%26#39;t remember specifically where I read about a change in hotel prices after being quoted. We were researching last night and I came upon it in two different people%26#39;s comments on Venere warning people about this practice. Both hotels did nothing about it, which didn%26#39;t please either of the two travelers. Sorry I can%26#39;t be more specific right now.

Thanks so much for everyone%26#39;s comments and feedback. We are continuing to research hotels.