Book Travel Direct or use Travel Apps?

[crew]

I used to book thru Orbitz but sometime ago decided to book directly with the airline, hotel or rental car company. Imo, and I really can't prove this, I think I have a little more leverage (should I need to change a reservation) if I book direct than I would thru a 3rd party app. I continue to use Orbitz to compare flight schedules and pricing, but I always go directly to the provider for booking.
Are there any advantages to using a 3rd party that I'm not seeing?

[FTX I]

I always book directly with the airline, hotel etc.

[superdog]

I sometimes use expedia, and I sometimes use the old fashioned route of a travel agent.

I have experience first hand how he has saved me a good amount of cash and stress. He has much more clout than I do and his knowledge far surpasses mine.

[rr-nyc]

Direct. Every airlines and hotel chain offer price guarantees so you will not find a cheaper rate or fare.

Among the many benefits to booking direct, It's much easier to deal with the airline and hotels directly in case of a booking issue.


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[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by crew

I used to book thru Orbitz but sometime ago decided to book directly with the airline, hotel or rental car company. Imo, and I really can't prove this, I think I have a little more leverage (should I need to change a reservation) if I book direct than I would thru a 3rd party app. I continue to use Orbitz to compare flight schedules and pricing, but I always go directly to the provider for booking.
Are there any advantages to using a 3rd party that I'm not seeing?

The advantage to me, mostly, is cheap combo packages. And cheap rental cars.

Booking a flight or hotel by itself, I kayak the price and generally book direct too.

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[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by rr-nyc

Direct. Every airlines and hotel chain offer price guarantees so you will not find a cheaper rate or fare.

Among the many benefits to booking direct, It's much easier to deal with the airline and hotels directly in case of a booking issue.


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In the past I used Expedia, then had an issue at a hotel and was told to go talk to Expedia. Now, I either use a travel agent or will research with an app, then book direct. The price will be the same as the travel app, but the vendor will service their own bookings much more amicably than they will a third party app's bookings.