should i be annoyed at booking.com,the b and b owners ,or just myself !?

whizzkid_3

We were looking for a reasonably priced b and b in perthshire and couldn't find much around £50 so we booked one at £58 through booking.com .

We arrived at the b and b and noticed they were advertising the price as £50 per room so questioned it and was told that they charged £8 extra for non direct bookings because that is the amount charged to them by booking.com for listing their b and b

Am i wrong to be miffed about this or should i just be annoyed at myself for not trying to book directly ?

thanks in advance

sillygoose

Well it must work both ways, I recently booked a b&b family suite for 4 nights (peak season) and on the b&b's own website the price is £552 whilst on Booking.com it was only £500 so I went for that. Have since confirmed on phone with b&b so its not a mistake.

Do they have an own website with prices on? perhaps they had dropped the prices anyway and were looking for an excuse not to refund you. Which would annoy me.

whizzkid_3

they don't have their own website unfortunately .i was thinking they were being a bit cheeky charging me for their booking.com fee

bylromarha

When I sell on ebay, my ebay fees go onto the sale price.

When I sell direct, the price doesn't include ebay fees.

You were happy to pay for a £58 room via booking.com - had you rung the B+B and enquired about the price, you'd have paid £50. Retailer fees are often added onto the price - debit card v credit card, online booking v telephone booking being 2 egs I can think of.

I'd call it a good business decision myself.

greenface

bylromarha wrote: »

When I sell on ebay, my ebay fees go onto the sale price.

When I sell direct, the price doesn't include ebay fees.

You were happy to pay for a £58 room via booking.com - had you rung the B+B and enquired about the price, you'd have paid £50. Retailer fees are often added onto the price - debit card v credit card, online booking v telephone booking being 2 egs I can think of.
I'd call it a good business decision myself.

Fees to others means less money for you. I am contactable and my website is on my ebay listing if anyone wants to chance their luck (and i like that because i do it always) If i am selling on ebay a weeks holiday for £380 i am happy to take £350 from the guest cheque/cash even direct paypal. People book far in advance anyway so have no protection from ebay/paypal and cannot leave a neg feedback either. Not that they ever want to. I have had people wanting to pay me direct to save me fees too without wanting any reduction. (they are happy with the price)

whizzkid_3

fair enough . i just didn't think this was common practice

bylromarha

whizzkid wrote: »

fair enough . i just didn't think this was common practice

Very common - big businesses do it frequently. Zavvi outlet on ebay often more expensive than same item on zavvi.com.

Downside for the B+B you stayed in is that they legally have to display the rack rate, so the price comparison which you never did is put right in front of you!

mandragora_2

Lesson learned - just notch it up to experience, and for £8, if you always take a minute or two to price-compare for the rest of your life, that's one of the best-value workshops you'll ever go to in your life. Don't trouble yourself over it, or that would be the real loss you'd suffer.