The Guide to Booking and Saving
Online travel agencies like Hotels.com act as the go-between for you and travel companies, helping to facilitate all your travel needs. Hotels.com — as the name suggests — focuses on accommodations. Let’s take a look at how Hotels.com works, its loyalty program and ways to save money when booking with Hotels.com.
How does Hotels.com work?
Like other OTAs, Hotels.com works to bring together a variety of accommodation options. Once you’ve input your information, you’ll complete a search and the website will return its results.
Perhaps the biggest benefit you’ll find when searching through an OTA rather than a single hotel’s website is that OTAs will gather information from multiple sources. This means that you’ll find results from several hotel chains, such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and boutique hotels — all in a single search.
In contrast, searching through Hilton’s website will only return you results for available Hilton hotels.
How to earn and redeem Hotels.com reward nights
Hotels.com has a very unique reward system when compared to other loyalty programs. Members receive a “stamp” for every eligible night that you stay with a hotel booked through Hotels.com. Once you’ve earned 10 stamps, you’ll be able to redeem for a free night.
The value of your free night will vary; Hotels.com uses an average of the nightly price you’ve paid in order to give you a value for your stay. This means that if you stayed five nights at a rate of $50 per night, and then another five nights at a rate of $100 per night, the total value of your free night would be worth $75.
Note that the free night doesn’t cover taxes or fees — and if the hotel is less expensive than the value of the free night you’re redeeming, you won’t receive a refund. This means it’s in your best interest to book a hotel as close to the value of your night as possible.
Hotels.com elite status
Hotels.com has two levels of elite status: Silver and Gold. These tiers are based on how many nights you’ve stayed with the hotel in a calendar year and grant you extra perks and discounts at certain hotels.
Silver elite status
Silver elite status is earned after spending 10 nights with Hotels.com in a calendar year. As a Silver member, you can expect a few different benefits, including:
Free breakfast, Wi-Fi, spa vouchers or more at VIP Access properties.
Price matching guarantee until the time you check in.
Priority customer service.
Gold elite status
Earned after spending 30 nights with Hotels.com, Gold elite status grants even further benefits:
Complimentary room upgrades at VIP properties.
Guaranteed late checkout and early check-in (when available) at VIP Access properties.
These benefits are in addition to those that Silver members receive.
Ways to save money by booking through Hotels.com
Maximize the best price guarantee
Hotels.com has a very competitive best price guarantee program. Unlike some other websites, which only allow you to submit a claim within 24 hours after booking, Hotels.com will match the best price all the way until the day before check-in.
If you’re a Silver member or above, the best price guarantee gets extended all the way until you check-in, so it always pays to scan for new pricing.
Use coupon codes
Whenever you’re online shopping, it always pays to search for coupon codes before making a purchase. Hotels.com is no different. You can sometimes find incentives to customers such as double stamps and discounted hotel rates.