One of the questions we receive the most at the Put In Bay Ohio website is how to find the best Put-in-Bay Hotels Rates. Understandably confusing, when we see the many advertisements on TV from Expedia, Travelocity, Booking.com and others claiming they have the lowest rates.
We asked Put-in-Bay Hotels and Resort Reservation Manager Amber Sommers how customers can get the lowest Put-in-Bay Hotels Rates!
Ms. Sommers responded that in almost all cases with Put-in-Bay Ohio hotels and the resorts-the customer will always get the lowest available rates by booking directly with the hotel or resort. “We generally make rooms available to OTA’s (Online travel agencies) thru an inventory feed system however in order for them to make money they generally mark those rooms up 12 to 16 percent and sell them to their clients.
With Put-in-Bay Hotels Rates being generally on the higher side due to the short tourist season, this can sometimes equate to the consumer paying between $30 to $60 more when using these services Sommers stated.
Sommers added that it is not uncommon for these OTA’s to buy up blocks of rooms in high demand periods such as weekends or the peak June, July & August weekdays to attempt to control the inventory. “We restrict any one customer from booking more than 5 rooms at any of our Put-in-Bay Hotels & Resorts in order to try and discourage this Sommers stated. We always want our customers to get the lowest possible rate thru their loyalty to us, not a third party.
Sommers added that hotel specials such as packages and hotel deals that are sometimes offered with breakfast, or drink vouchers and sometimes include a golf cart rental during the week can never be booked on a third party website and to take advantage of these Put-in-Bay Hotel and Resort Discounts You have to call the central reservation center to book them. “Our hotel & resort offer a central reservation single number point of contact where the agent answering the phone is familiar with all of our properties and promotions and can offer the most up to date availability and specials when offered, that number is (888) 742-7829.
We decided to look into this ourselves and selected the random dates of June 14th for a 2-night stay for 4 people. Our first inquiry was at the Put-in-Bay Resort, one of the islands most popular and the largest hotel on the island. At the Put-in-Bay Resort website, our rate was $279 per night plus taxes. Next stop was booking.com where a rate of $329.22 was offered and Expedia.com was $321.00, quite a difference on a 2-night stay. We found similar results when we compared rates at the Bay Lodging Resort, Edgewater Hotel, and other local rentals.
Another big item we noticed was the cancellation policy! If we had booked with the hotel directly, we would have been able to cancel up to 15 days prior for a $25.00 fee, with Booking.com and Expedia, the first night was non-refundable at the time of booking!
Now that the 2019 schedule of events has been released for Put-in-Bay we hope this informative article will help you plan your upcoming vacation to the island when Put-in-Bay Ohio wakes from her winter slumber in a few short months!
