Last week, easytobook.com contacted me and said that they wanted me to fly to their offices in Amsterdam to go over some “hotel booking strategies” with their team. I carefully explained to them that since my last trip toAmsterdam in 2004, I have a self-enforced ban on the city for a few years, however I would be willing to check out, and review their online hotel reservations site and share with you what I think. They agreed and while this is a sponsored post, you know that I’ll always give my objective option (for better or worst).
Like HotelCalculator.com I’ve never heard of easytobook.com before they contacted me. When I first visited the site it looked pretty much like every other run-of-the-mill hotel/flight booking site out there. Popular destinations, fast search, group books, etc. It’s doesn’t have some special niche feature nor do they over-sell the fantasy of travel. It’s just a solid site that allows you to book a hotel at a competitive price. Simple enough.
Site Functionality:
With over 47,000 hotels listed worldwide the majority of my search results came up with an extensive list of hotel options, and the search was fast and efficient. I really liked the simplicity of the “Accommodation Details” page (below) where your selected hotel is described. It gives you a simple description and room/hotel features and also suggestions on other accommodations nearby to help you shop around.
I’m also a big fan of seamless checkout processes and EasytoBook provides just 3 steps (room selection, add your details and confirm) from selection to checkout, which I respect.
PRICING:
Like I did with my last Travel Review, I selected the Art Hotel in Medellin, Colombia to compare prices in-person against the internet price. In this case, easytobook.com had the same price online as was offered in the hotel. It wasn’t anything noteworthy, but it is good to know that they aren’t increasing prices.
I compared prices with other travel sites and found Easy to Book to be right down the middle as far as pricing went. The nice feature is however, you don’t have to pay anything when you book your hotel online and they also offer the “Best Rate Guarantee” where they will match the room rate from another site within 24 hours after making your booking. So, if something pops up you have somewhat of a price safety net.
OVERALL:
While they don’t blow me out of the water with bells and whistles, cool gadgets or incredible photography, the site is exactly what their name describes. It’s an easy place to book hotel reservations… simple as that.
Definitely check out Easytobook.com the next time you’re shopping around for hotel rooms.
For more information regarding T2T Sponsored Travel Reviews please contact me directly.
4 Responses
We recently booked with Easytobook and it was a serious disappointment. They have nothing to offer to the savvy traveler and they charrged a 36% fee over what they paid to the resort. we have booked two trips back to this Fantastic Resort but not with Easytobook and saved approximately 30%.
By not using Easytobook, our credit cards will not be charged until the actual check in and we will still enjoy the same cancellation policy. Our conclusion is that Easytobook is really offering nothing for the outrageous booking fee.
Easytobook just exists because expedia is trying to reach out to travelers that had bad experiences with them and their subsidiaries (including Hotels.com).
I had a VERY bad experience with them. I want to note that I had really HORRIBLE experiences with both Expedia and Hotels.com. Guess what? Expedia owns hotels.com AND easytobook.
Should you ever have an issue, and I have LOADS of email documentation, you will NEED to rely on your credit card company for resolution.
I am having what I consider a serious breach of contract, I wish to see resolved as a matter of principle . Have contacted Easytobook, got answers that made no sense – no idea if it is the fault of Easytobook.com not wanting to solve this ,or if it is the problem with the Apartment I went to with my son. The question here is so clear, it is like no one dealing with the papers can understand English…Maybe I should name the Apartments too… and I will soon.
Easytobook.com an OXYMORON to say the least….NIGHTMARE to say the most!
First off, I’m in the USA and the dates I plugged into their online booking system, for a 3 night hotel stay for late August , also USA, magically changed by one day SOONER on the arrival and departure dates upon completing the transaction! ….stupid me, expecting an “easytobook” transaction, I did not catch that until after I discovered it 2 days later from the print-out of the booking confirmation page I made at the time of the booking. But, I thought how hard can this be to fix…as per the “easytobook” contract there were NO CANCELLATION FEES of any kind and this was not a cancellation anyway, and, per the hotel, the dates, were doable…I just needed them slid ONE DAY FORWARD.
Booked on Thurs. night July 25th., and starting the following Sun. I began to attempt to rectify the above mentioned situation, therein is the genesis of my NIGHTMARE.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED in the FIFTEEN days after the erroneous booking (no fault of my own) on July 25th.
I spent approx. 6 hours of my time, 10 phone calls (both to EASYTOBOOK and the hotel) with like 14 attempts (all failed attempts with EASYTOBOOK) and 5 emails later and the situation has only been PARTIALLY corrected. Please READ ON to understand why only “PARTIALLY”.
SUNDAY, July 28th, 2013:
I confirmed I never got a booking confirmation email even though the website stated it had been sent AND I even used their “re-send” button several times to insure I would get at least one…NOTHING. So I emailed them Sunday, of which, the website states you have to wait up to 48 hours for a reply…OH, but wait, what if time is of the essence? Which it was, so, I attempted to call the customer service number…..crickets….I would let it ring 20, 30 40 times NO ONE ever picked up.
MONDAY, July 29th, 2013:
I started calling the hotel. The hotel had a record of the booking but stated that the booking company was EXPEDIA not this “EASYTOBOOK.COM, and that I would have to deal with them. So, I called EXPEDIA, they stated I would have to deal with EASYTOBOOK.COM. …that they, EXPEDIA, were simply the booking company…but aren’t they, too, making money off my transaction?
So I just went full circle…but wait TIME WAS OF THE ESSENCE because I was booking a hotel for a convention in 4 weeks and rooms were going up and going away.
So to cover myself, I booked, directly with the hotel, the 3rd and final day being needed so now all I would have to do with “EASYTOBOOK.COM” is simply “cancel” just ONE day (the first day) of the THREE day original booking, now how hard could that be….OMG, I was about to find out.
So I continued to try calling EASYTOBOOK.COM…crickets! I continued with emails asking for a “booking confirmation” and a change of dates request ( to cancel the one day of the three), ….any reply? …nada, zip, nunca, NOTHING!
TUESDAY, July 30th, 2013:
I called the hotel again, they stated they had NOT received a “fax” from EASYTOBOOK / EXPEDIA for ANYTHING on my behalf pertaining to changes. So, I tried calling the “EASYTOBOOK.COM” customer service number again……CRICKETS! …despite letting it ring dozens of times each time I tried.
WEDNESDAY, July 31st, 2013:
Called the hotel, they stated they STILL HAD NOT received a “fax” requesting the change of days for my reservation. So, I called EXPEDIA and pleaded my case and begged for help. The supervisor at EXPEDIA placed a call on my behalf to EASYTOBOOK.COM and VIOLA I got a customer service rep. Immediately. Gee, go figure, what has EXPEDIA got that I don’t in relation to EASYTOBOOK, oh I found out later THEY (Expedia) allegedly own EASYTOBOOK!
The lady at EASYTOBOOK assured me they had “faxed” the change request to the hotel. So, I called the hotel to verify. THE HOTEL STATED NO “FAX” HAD BEEN RECEIVED! Hmmm???? Someone is either misled or lying!
So now, I called the EASYTOBOOK.COM customer service number, AGAIN, and this time I let it ring about 80 times, LO AND BEHOLD, SOMEONE PICKED UP! This lady told me they were waiting to hear back from the hotel….I informed her the hotel had just assured me no “fax” had been received….going in circles again. I asked her why I should have to wait for this process to play out as “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE” and it’s just an “EASYTOBOOK” dropping of ONE DAY of the THREE day reservation. She informed me that they needed permission from the hotel to drop that “one day”. HUH????? I paid EASYTOBOOK, they pay the hotel, plus don’t forget, they advertised NO CANCELLATION fees 72 hours or more out, I’m out THREE WEEKS and this is not a cancellation per se, so why do they need permission from the hotel??????
AND, it’s not like I was asking for a room date that was not available at the time, and that they were waiting for availability….just cancel the requested day, the end.
But NOOOOOO, what was really going on, folks, is that there are THREE LAYERS involved here that are dipping there greedy little hands into the process. This poorly ran, OVERSEAS company, EASYTOBOOK.COM, then EXPEDIA and then the hotel. Everybody wants their money and everybody points the finger at the other. NET RESULT, I got abused and fell threw the cracks.
But, I fault, EASYTOBOOK.COM 100%. My contract was with them, they are suppose to service me per their “terms and conditions” which have NO MENTION of them having to wait for the hotel (for anything) much less to notify them of such a simple request of dropping one day off a three day reservation. And they proclaim a 48 hr. or less reply, NOT TRUE!
And, in reality, the 2 ladies I talked to at EASYTOBOOK told varying stories of what was allegedly really going on. AND both stated emails had, indeed, been sent to me….BUT, I CHECK MY EMAILS AT MY SERVER SITE…including the SPAM FILTER and VIRUS BLOCKER (at the server site)….NO EMAILS from them!
AMAZINGLY though, I asked the first lady I talked to at EASYTOBOOK.COM, on Weds., to email my now SEVEN DAY LATE “booking confirmation” right then and there….and VIOLA, it arrived instantly. HMMMMMMM?????
And, I still HAVE NOT received REPLY EMAILS (as mandated by their own terms) concerning my other three emails I sent earlier in the week requesting the previously mentioned changes.
FRIDAY, Aug. 9th, 2013, after two more phone calls, (1 on the 7th, one on the 9th), I finally got an email (dated July 31st) validating my cancelling the ONE of the THREE DAYS hotel booking.
TUESDAY, Sept. 10th, 2013 (FORTY-ONE DAYS after the cancellation), and I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY REFUND for the cancelled day even though I was told it takes 7-30 days to process and send the refund. So now, I’m letting my credit card company handle it. STAY AWAY FOLKS….EasyToBook.com is NOT EASY, it’s a RIP-OFF!
BOTTOM LINE: Seems nothing adds up OR RATHER nothing is what it seems with this EASYTOBOOK.COM company. EASY TO BOOK my BUTT …LOL, yeah rrrrriiiight!!! I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN…I don’t approve of their smoke-and-mirror tactics and I certainly can’t afford the time or aggravation.