TOP 5 MOST RELIABLE ONLINE BOOKING AGENCIES IN 2022

Travel’s back - and it’s better than ever. Turbulent years for international travel have allowed the industry to bounce back with new and improved processes for helping you.

Whether traveling for leisure or business, we’ve got you covered.

What are OTAs?

An Online Travel Agency (OTA) is a website that sells travel related services. It enables you to make hotel and travel reservations from one single platform. OTAs are the digital equivalent of a travel agent.

However, the reality is that the room price depends on the agreement between the hotel and the Online Travel Agency, which is selling the rooms. Not to mention, OTAs add on their commission which can range between 5-25%. Therefore, the price might vary significantly on different websites.

That means the same hotel can be priced differently on one booking site than the other. So, how can you be always sure you’re getting the best deal? 
Easy. Look. Once you choose your wanted travel dates and a particular hotel on one of the top booking sites, RatePunk instantly starts searching for the best rate. The finalised list of prices pops up on your screen in seconds. The lowest-rate option will be at the top of it. Click the cheapest offer, and it will lead to the room and the dates you were interested in.
RatePunk currently supports Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Agoda, Priceline, Travelocity, Trivago, Orbitz, Trip.com.

So, here are our findings and recommendations on the best OTAs to help you secure the best online bookings.

BOOKING.COM

This one’s the largest accommodation booking website. It enables travellers to explore different accommodation types, destinations, and deals. Booking.com is a comprehensive OTA for leisure and business travellers.

Pros:

• Genius rewards program
• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries

AGODA

It’s a fast-growing OTA that’s super popular in Asia. The platform specializes in providing accommodation, so its employees are dedicated to ensuring the best deals for the markets Agoda serves.

Pros:

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer service

EXPEDIA

This OTA has provided travellers with access to flights, hotels and cars for many years now. In fact, Expedia is the biggest travel agency in the world. Hotels.com, Trivago, Travelocity - they are all owned by Expedia Group.

Pros:

• Reward program (extra bonus for booking any service)
• One of the biggest savings when booking flights, hotels, cars
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages

HOTWIRE

Long-standing OTA has been counting its success since 2000. It’s best known for ‘secret deals’ in which travellers get great prices on the trips they know very little about.

Pros:

• 24/7 customer support service
• Lower prices are available using the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travellers

LASTMINUTE.COM

This one’s a bit different. As this OTA finds the flight and hotel packages and also all-inclusive vacation deals for the best price. Nevertheless, this website could be an answer to finding last-minute getaways.

Pros:

• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Easy-to-use filters: by budget, hotel star rating, board types, etc.
• Extra entertainment while booking your travels, like day trips suggestions.

That’s a wrap on the best 5 (in our opinion and experience) online travel agencies to help you secure the easiest online bookings. Whether you’re traveling for business or leisure - we hope these tools help you find the perfect deal available.