The whole thing can be very confusing. Do you book direct, via a bed bank, or book with a TO? I admit we book the whole thing with a TO. Not that we don't get a great deal. Researching is essential but the more you do it then the bigger your dilemma.

Know where you want to go and when. Know where you want to stay? Then go with the one you feel happy with. Just because A is cheapest does not mean that it is best. Is it a reputable company? Does it meet all your needs. Is B more expensive but offers more?

Years ago a friend of mine needed to spend time in Spain on business. He found he could book a week with a TO and take his wife for less than booking flights and hotels direct for a couple of days, and he could take his wife. Used the hotel as a base only.

You pays your money and takes your choice. I will say that having checked prices the holidays I have booked for the last few years have been cheaper with a TO but then we don't go in school holidays.

fwh

I've booked hotels only with Monarch in the past and their prices are usually very good, also try Travelrepublic and Dreamticket.com.

laterooms.com is one we use to book accomodation for our guys when we cannot get a room at the premier inn.

http://www.laterooms.com/

I think I might have posted that right ( I am abit thick wi owt like that,, )

As fwh points out, there is more (a lot more) to it than the price.

At least 2 of the sites in Fil's list have negative threads running on this board. One issue is them not actually securing the room and either cancelling it or moving people very close to departure. Another problem was companies going bust and not having ATOL or similar protection because it wasn't a full package deal.

Tour Ops have been known to change hotels (and their T&Cs will allow it) but that tends to be if booked well in advance and they have revised their business plan when bookings don't take off. Again they could go bust but should have bonding - although you may have to wait a while for a refund and not be able to rebook in time.

If you book direct with the hotel you are more or less guaranteed that you will actually be staying there. If the hotel was to suddenly close (say it had a fire) just before you went you'd get a refund of any money paid but be left to sort something else out yourself. If it went bust you'd probably have no protection other than credit card (or the rare travel insurance policy that covers supplier failure). So you need to be looking for those which don't want payment in advance.

I've got a tour of the Alps booked. Easyjet flight (paid for but I'm confident they won't go bust in the next couple of months!). I haven't paid a penny up front for any of the three hotels. The biggest was booked direct. The other two have been booked through hrs.com who seem to operate by selling space on their reservation computer to the hotel, you don't pay them anything. I don't have to hand over my money until checkout time.

steve8482, whats the ones that have negative threads against them? off to search for them now, but incase i dont find them, post away
Ive booked my last 20+ holidays seperate, just seems looking this year getting something simular is twice the price! finding flights is a pain too, lack of companys these days, so may well go via the TO package route, just knob the coach transfer off tho and hire a car at the airport, nothing worse than a multi stop coach transfer thats almost aslong as your flights!

A1 appear at regular intervals on the Complaints board, lowcostholidays have popped up from time to time including one last year when they left someone stranded with no hotel in Egypt. The Search option in the top border of any page on this site is always a good place to start.

I haven't booked through a TO for some time and have used Lowcost, AlphaRooms, Med Hotels and other consolidators for accommodation, as various hotels have told me that they can't beat their prices if I book direct. I've never had any problems but do phone the hotel a few days before arrival to confirm the booking and ensure I get the room I want.

recently some of the hotel websites I was looking at guaranteed the best rate. So its worth checking the hotel itself. I've also had great deals with hotel bookings through BA.