Over the past year or so, I’ve become a big fan of Hotels.com.

I’ve tried most of the major travel booking sites — Expedia, Orbitz, Skoosh, Travelocity, Kayak, etc. And each one has their advantages. I particularly like Kayak.com, an aggregate travel search engine. They search multiple other sites for deals and display the results for you to compare.  I’ll write a separate post about them soon.)

Stand out features for Hotels.com include:

• Awesome customer service. With real live people.

  (Remember customer service?)

  I’ve had to call hotels.com several times for customer service — usually involving a change in my plans. Each time my call was answered promptly, the representative was courteous and knowledgeable, and my problem was resolved.

• Risk-free bookings. Hotels.com never charges a change or cancellation fee, so many* bookings are fully refundable.

  (*Note: However, an individual hotel listed on Hotels.com might offer special non-refundable rates, or have a change or cancellation policy they impose and require hotels.com to pass on. The hotels.com website makes that very clear and easy to see under “view cancellation policy.”)

  I can vouch for this — I actually did have to change my plans twice, and my refund was taken care of promptly.

• Welcomerewards: One free night (up to $400 rate!) at any partner hotel for every 10 nights you book with hotels.com. No blackout dates. No restrictions.
  

  I’m up to eight nights — can’t wait to book two more nights and try this out!

• Price Match Guarantee.

  After booking, if you find a lower rate, Hotels.com will match the price and refund the difference. And they’ll do it right up to the property’s cancellation deadline.

A lot of vendors are offering something like this now, it’s great for peace of mind. No need to worry about missing out on a better deal after you book.

By the way … in case you’re wondering,  I am not a hotels.com affiliate or anything!

(Although I might look into it.)  I’ve just had great luck with them, and wanted to pass that along to you.

Have you used Hotels.com? Or got your own favorite hotel booking sites? Please share! Leave a comment in the box below.

Carol

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