Key takeaways
- Neither the hotel's own website nor booking sites like Booking, Expedia and Agoda are always lower; it changes by hotel, date and country.
- In Arbitrica's checks, the hotel's own website was higher than the booking-site price for 2 of 4 hotels and lower for the other 2.
- Compare the final total with the same room and cancellation conditions, and check the same room from other countries.
Short answer
Neither is always lower. The same room can carry a lower total on the hotel's own website one day and on Booking, Expedia or Agoda the next, and the country you search from changes the answer again. The only reliable way to know is to check the same room, with the same conditions, on both, and from more than one country.
What our price checks show
- In Arbitrica's checks of 10 hotels, the hotel's own website was higher than the booking-site price searched from the UK for 2 of the 4 hotels where we recorded it: Ostay Vermillion Namba ($161 against $148) and The Taj Mahal Palace ($1,395 against $1,210).
- For the other 2 it was lower: White House Hotel Istanbul ($802 against $1,066) and the Ravel Hotel in New York ($892 against $948).
- For Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore on Google Hotels, the lowest seller was 20.8% (US), 25.7% (UK) and 25.5% (India) below the hotel's own website.
When booking direct is often lower
- Member rates. Many hotel chains give signed-in loyalty members a lower rate on their own website.
- No commission. Hotels pay booking sites a commission on each stay, so some offer their best price, or extras such as breakfast, to guests who book with them.
- Price parity rules are weaker in Europe. In September 2024 the EU Court of Justice ruled in case C-264/23 that both wide and narrow price-parity clauses between booking platforms and hotels fall under EU competition rules, which gives hotels more room to price their own website lower.
Why is Agoda or Booking cheaper than the hotel's own website?
When a booking site shows a lower price than the hotel's own website, it is usually for one of these reasons:
- The booking site pays for the discount. Loyalty programmes and promotions on the booking site can lower the price without the hotel changing its rate.
- A different rate. The lower price may be non-refundable, room-only or for a different room type than the one on the hotel's site.
- A different market. Booking sites sell rates agreed for specific countries, so the price you see depends on where you search from.
- Taxes and fees shown differently. One site may show the nightly rate before taxes and fees and the other the full total.
How to check before you book
- Compare the final total, with taxes and fees, not the nightly rate.
- Match the conditions: room type, meal plan, number of guests and cancellation policy.
- Check the hotel's own site signed in as a member, and at least two booking sites.
- Check the same room from other countries, because the lowest price is often in a different market.
- Book a rate with free cancellation and keep checking until the deadline.
Doing every step by hand for every stay is a lot of searches. Arbitrica is a personal AI agent that does it at checkout: it searches the same hotel from 195 countries, checks that the room and the total match, and prepares the booking at the lowest price on Earth, wherever that price is. You review and pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to book a hotel direct or through Booking or Expedia?
Neither is always lower. In Arbitrica's checks the hotel's own website was higher than the booking-site price for 2 of 4 hotels and lower for the other 2. Compare the final total with the same conditions, and check other countries too.
Why is Agoda or Booking cheaper than the hotel's own website?
Usually because the booking site funds a discount, the lower price is a different rate (for example non-refundable or room-only), it is a rate for a different market, or taxes and fees are shown differently.
Will a hotel match a booking site's price if I book direct?
Some hotels and chains match or beat a lower public price for direct bookings, especially for loyalty members. Ask the hotel before booking and have the booking site's final total ready.
Does the country I search from change the price?
Often. Booking sites sell rates agreed for specific markets, so the same room can carry a different total from another country. In Arbitrica's checks, 4 of 10 hotels had a lower total from another country than from the UK.