The truth about how it is more profitable to book hotels in Egypt and Turkey was revealed to a foreign travel blogger. She posted her findings – with facts and figures – on her blog. As the tourist noted, she almost did not need “classic all-inclusive tours” from tour operators – including because she lived in Turkey anyway, and then, without receiving a residence permit, migrated to Hurghada, looking at the prices, with found out that she was very wrong and “didn’t understand anything in the tourism field.”
In short, prices from major tour operators turned out to be lower than hotel prices. And this is not the only benefit.
“Before, I was sure that it was more profitable to book accommodation directly. It seemed to me that tour operators and services like “Booking” should charge some kind of commission in order not to work at a loss. I thought that I would outwit everyone if I booked accommodation through the reception desk or the website of a particular hotel,” the blogger explained. However, the representatives of the tourism industry, with whom she talked in Turkey, opened America to her: “It turns out that tour operators buy up hotel seats at agreed prices in advance. You can say, “take in bulk”. And then they sell these places to us at their prices. That’s why tours are more expensive at some tour operators, and cheaper at others: they decide what percentage of the sale they want to keep for themselves,” the blogger said.
Then she revealed the investigation – since most of the hotels are sold at wholesale prices, they seek to compensate for these losses “retail”. In conclusion, the cost of direct booking turns out to be significantly overestimated. “In Turkey, prices can be 20-50% higher, and something incredible is happening in Egypt,” said the blogger and giving a specific example of the Old Palace Resort 5* hotel (Hurghada).
According to the blogger, a tour without a tour operator’s flight to this hotel costs UAH 26,000. “It’s about $720, that is, a little more than $100 per night,” the blogger explained, quoting prices from the hotel reception. “Accommodation for two costs $280 per day! Or $1,960 per week. I didn’t believe it at first, but it turned out that this is the official price,” said the author of the blog.
According to her assessment, the price difference is not always so great, but when booking hotels directly, “prices were always significantly higher than those of tour operators.” “For example, if $300 was spent on “Travolta” for 3 nights, then directly – at least $400,” she noted.