Dear (awesome) in Las Vegas packages?

If there was one great company that offered great deals the word would spread fast. Ultimately the Hotels control the cost of the rooms.

It works like this

Hotel
Consolidator
Travel Agent on Commission

Consolidators are companies that buy blocks of rooms then resell them for a profit.

For Example: Orbitz. You find a room on Orbitz and you pay them. Then they in turn pay the Hotel. You might get a better price “if” Orbitz is better at negotiating the deal. Sometimes they are sometimes they are not. The Hotels work with them because they can sell blocks of rooms at a guaranteed price… so it can hedge their investment. Here is a list of Consolidators: http://www.ablasvegas.com/vacation-package-deals.html Note how they list Expedia, Priceline, stuff like that. They do this because they get a commission if you book a room. You’ll find tons of sites that promote Expedia, Orbitiz, Hotwire or whomever in this way for the commission. If you go direct to Expedia or book through one of these sites promoting Expedia you pay the same. The commission to the agent/broker/affiliate makes no difference. You don’t get a discount by bypassing them. That’s how the business works.

A Travel Agent does the same thing. They are paid a commission to book the trip.

Booking direct may or may not save you money. But it should help you get better service… but this is not always the case. There have been some instances where people book through a consolidator and have a problem and the hotel is unwilling to help. It’s a small risk, but it’s still there.

Package Deals can be good and bad. It’s very easy for them to bury the actual cost. And often they don’t tell you about things like taxes and fees until after you book the “special deal”.

It’s crappy that is the way American Business works. Like it’s okay to just sneak things on to your credit card. So it’s totally up to you to keep your eyes open.