The Telegraph recently reported that “independent travellers will generally get the best prices by going directly to hotels and airlines rather than booking through an online travel agent.”
Whilst Eagle Mill does leverage both types of bookings (direct and via the online travel agents (OTAs) for optimising our online presence, we would always recommend that our guests book direct via our website for the following reasons:
You’ll get a better deal
Many independent hotels offer lower rates and price matching when booking directly and Eagle Mill are no exception. We offer our guests a guaranteed cheapest rate and a priority upgrade (subject to availability) which often works out as a much better deal than when booking through online travel agents.
Personalisation
However our guests book with us, personalisation is paramount when it comes to your experience and is always at the forefront of the service we provide. Booking directly via our website, however, does give us the opportunity to engage with guests prior to your visit and fully understand requirements. Whether you’re looking for a private terrace, a room with a view, a free-standing bath, or use of the exclusive hot tub, liaising with you directly prior to your stay enables us to enhance your experience at Eagle Mill.
Browse all of our room and amenities here.
Free cancellation
The majority of OTAs make it obvious when free cancellation is available on hotels but many aren’t aware that you can often benefit from more flexible cancellation policies by booking directly. Eagle Mill offers free cancellation up until 48 hours prior to check-in and although we’d of course rather not receive cancellations, we like to be as flexible as possible. You’ll often find that OTA policies only tend to include free cancellation up until 5 nights prior to check-in . We also offer discounts on single occupancy.
Booking directly also offers guests peace of mind as it’s far easier to liaise with hotels directly if something goes wrong and you need to make changes, than it is if you’ve booked via online travel agents. OTAs often have slow and rigid customer support, whereas hotels are more likely to resolve issues quickly.
Late check-out
Eagle Mill offers late check-out (until midday), which is available on request when booking directly with us. We’re more than happy to accommodate extended check-outs whereas you often have to rely on inflexible policies with the OTAs.
Support independents
OTAs get the commission from our customer bookings whereas the margins we make from bookings is directly invested into maintaining the quality of our rooms, staff, quality food and beverage offerings, property maintenance etc.
When guests book with us directly it helps us manage the costs of new bookings and gives us the ability to increase brand affinity amongst our loyal customers.
We pride ourselves at Eagle Mill on offering a home-from-home experience and we manage our exceptional standards from the moment our guests arrive to your departure. The entire Eagle Mill team is made up of local residents, our food and drink offering is sourced from local businesses – from the sausages at breakfast to your glass of wine in the evening – and we receive a great deal of support from the local community. Contributing to the local economy is important to us.
Online travel agents definitely have their place as they complement independent hotels by offering extended visibility and reach. Our advice, however, would be to gain inspiration from the OTAs but always contact hotels directly to see if you can get a better deal and a higher quality experience.
