Foreign online travel agencies (OTA's), such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Trivago, and Booking.com, are charging Australian travel industry businesses commissions ranging up to 30% for online bookings. According to Dick Smith on Channel 9's "A Current Affair" on September 18th, in 1 year in Port Douglas alone, $180m was sucked off overseas from local accommodation businesses.Do your online searching, then phone the motel or hotel direct and make your booking on the phone. You may find some pleasant surprises on arrival in appreciation!
PS. I posted this before, but today I was victim of this scam. I was on the website of a major legitimate motel chain. When I went to check room availability, I was surreptitiously switched to a website of a company based in Cyprus! Thinking I was still on the motel chain website I completed the transaction and paid by PayPal. The charge was in Euros (€104.37), which raised alarm bells. It ended up costing me $A168.46 though the hotel chain receipt was for $A162.
When I checked in to the motel and described my experience, the owner said he was losing $40 on the deal and said it is making life very difficult for many Australian businesses as these parasites suck money out of Australia.
PLEASE BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THE MOTEL/HOTEL, NOT WITH ONE OF THESE OTA'S!
