so much better than booking.com ...

booking.com quote for Le Meurice as of 2:50 p.m. PDT, June 25, 2017

Rick Steves posted a Facebook article yesterday in which he offered his alternative to making hotel bookings through online wholesalers like booking.com and expedia.com. Hotels have to pay a 20-25% commission to OTA's (online travel agencies) in return for having their rooms available online. He advises travelers to contact hotels directly and negotiate:

Those who book direct through a hotel’s website (and not through the booking agency site, thus saving the hotel about 20 percent) can be offered a free breakfast or free upgrade. Or, simply don’t book “online.” Just book by direct email or phone, in which case, hotels are free to give you whatever price they like (usually able to split the difference: charging 10 percent less and making 10 percent more).

You don't need this hassle! Over 1250 luxury hotels around the world already offer an even richer set of value-added amenities through Virtuoso, the world's leading consortium of luxury travel advisors, hotels, cruise lines, and tour companies. And we can often do even better than Virtuoso, thanks to our relationship with all the leading hotel companies in the world — Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Dorchester Collection, Rosewood, Belmond, Peninsula, etc.

Free breakfast is already negotiated, as is an upgrade upon availability (sometimes guaranteed at booking), as is an extra amenity valued at $100, as is free WiFi... and we'll even contact the hotel to VIP your stay.

We can do so much better than booking.com for luxury hotel bookings. Say you want to spend the evening of August 4 at Le Meurice, one of my very favorite hotels in the world.

Booking.com offers the "jackpot deal" seen at the top of this article: Double Room — $963 without breakfast, $1028 with breakfast

Here's what's available to me right now as a Dorchester Diamond Club agent: I can book a Classic Room at 760€ = $850. As a Diamond Club booking, my clients receive a guaranteed upgrade at booking to a Superior Room. And there's more! You get ...

• a 100€ hotel credit that can come right off your bill, so you pay 660€ = $739 with breakfast.
• a full breakfast, in any venue including in-room dining, literally anything on the menu except caviar and alcohol. Tax and gratuity are included.
• full premium internet access for unlimited devices.

Assuming you'll want to have breakfast at the Alain Ducasse restaurant at Le Meurice, you save $289, get personal recognition as a Diamond Club guest, get free internet, and order anything off the breakfast menu, service included!

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.