New site for hotel booking promises lower rates
Various web sites promise to match hotel room prices after bookings have already reserved a room. The catch is that consumers have to find the lower-priced room. But a new site, Tingo, goes a step further
When hotel guests book a hotel room through the site, it will monitor the price of rooms at that hotel automatically, and if a room of the same type during the traveler date is offered at a lower price, they are automatically rebooked. And the difference is refunded on the price.
The site will rebook guests as many times as necessary until their travel dates to make sure they get the lowest price possible for that hotel. Travelers can also set a minimum price drop to trigger the rebooking — if it's set at $10, for instance, travelers are only rebooked if the price falls by $10 or more.
There are some limitations. Most significantly, the refund policy is only for select rooms — those indicated with an icon as "Money Back" rooms.
A representative for the company told MainStreet that whether a room qualifies depends on whether it's refundable, since the Money Back program depends on canceling and rebooking the room. While it's not clear what proportion of hotel rooms qualify, the company says 95% of hotels on the site have at least some Money Back rooms.
“Despite these limitations, Tingo still has the potential to save travelers some money. A company representative says that during the past two months, observed price drops would have saved travelers an average of $36 for a two-night stay,” says MainStreet.
By David Wilkening
David
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