Here\u2019s a tip for business travelers. Just because a webpage looks like the official site of your favorite hotel chain doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it is. Before you reserve a room for your next out-of-town meeting or family vacation make sure you know who\u2019s at the other end of that BOOK NOW button.<\/p>\n
The internet offers savvy travelers lots of options for getting the best deal on hotels. You can contact a property directly book through a hotel chain\u2019s website or toll-free number visit one of those travel comparison sites or use a third-party online hotel reservation service. The choice is yours \u2013 but make sure it\u2019s an informed choice. Some third-party sites clearly disclose that they\u2019re not affiliated with the hotel. Others appear to mimic the look of a chain\u2019s official site making it tougher for consumers to know who they\u2019re doing business with.<\/p>\n
Why would it make a difference to travelers? According to some reports people have arrived at their destination only to find there\u2019s no record of a reservation in their name. Another concern: Reservations made through a third-party site may not count toward a hotel\u2019s rewards program. In other instances special requests made through a third-party site may not be conveyed to the property where you\u2019ll be staying. Another potential risk is that third-party sites could have policies about things like pre-payment cancellations or refunds that differ from the chains you\u2019re used to dealing with directly.<\/p>\n
How you decide to book a room for your next trip is up to you but getting the straight story about who\u2019s handling the reservation isn\u2019t always easy. If you type a hotel name into a search engine it\u2019s unwise to assume that the first result that pops up will always be the official site. Some third-party reservation companies pay for the top spot on the results page or buy prominent space on the right.<\/p>\n
What about looking for the names logos or URLs of familiar chains? Some third-party sites look a lot like the official sites so you can\u2019t rely just on the usual visual cues. Calling a number listed online can be problematic because some third-party sites use call centers that are hard to distinguish from a chain\u2019s official reservation line.<\/p>\n
Before Booking Or Buying Anything Online Take A Few Steps To Protect Yourself. Learn More from The Logic Group’s Blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":32101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity"],"yoast_head":"\n