Thanks, folks. Quite a lot of interesting discussion.
It seems that most of you caught on to the disadvantages of using those 3rd party aggregators (Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline, etc.) Well, duh, you guys are the same pilot population that caught on to that when our provider moved to Expedia, and pilots started complaining to us, we listened and changed. We no longer use the aggregators. We book direct with hotels.
Also, points and elite status are important to many of you. We know that. All our rates at all participating hotels allow you to earn points and have your elite status recognized, just as if you booked directly with the hotel chain. And I am not using "participating hotels" to weasel out of some. It is simply that some hotels don't participate in any program at all (hi Jay). But any Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Best Western, Holiday Inn, even Days Inn or Red Roof Inn or Super 8 has some points program, and we support just about all of them. So fear not, enter your loyalty program number and you will get your points. We even support loyalty programs that cater to independent hotels, such as Stash Rewards, DISCOVERY, or the Joy of Life Club. Below are our number of U.S. hotels we support in each loyalty program. When you book on AirNav, we prompt you for the proper membership number, and even save it for the next trip so you don't have to reenter it. Also, if you are loyal to some program, you can filter your AirNav search to show only that program -- and AirNav is smart enough to show all brands (or independents) that earn into that program.
Wyndham Rewards 5700
Choice Privileges 5647
Hilton Honors 4612
Marriott Rewards 4143
IHG Rewards 3676
Best Western Rewards 1887
Hello Rewards 1456
La Quinta Returns 898
SPG 672
Radisson Rewards 556
RediCard 548
World of Hyatt 526
iPrefer 190
Stash Hotel Rewards 131
Gold Key Club 130
Voila Hotel Rewards 120
Sonesta Travel Pass 55
Select Guest 48
Club 5C 44
Ritz-Carlton Rewards 44
DISCOVERY 39
Leaders Club 37
Peakpoints 32
Total Rewards 29
Le Club AccorHotels 28
L.E. Hotels Rewards 26
INVITED 23
M life Rewards 22
Joy of Life Club 21
YouFirst Rewards 18
Westmark Guest Rewards 5
Melia Rewards 4
Accent 1
New Otani Club 1
One Harmony 1
Pestana Priority Guest 1
Prince Preferred 1
Finally, with every chain we tested, your AirNav reservations appear instantly on their native web site and app. Most chains allow you to modify and cancel your AirNav reservations directly on their site (we tested Marriott, SPG, Hyatt, Choice, etc.), and some have some limitations (Wyndham and Best Western seem the least reliable). But even those whose apps have limitations, you can always call their 800 numbers and they have all the details of your reservations and can edit or cancel. In any case you can always cancel your reservations on AirNav, easily with two clicks (one to click Cancel, another to confirm). In fact, 26% of our reservations get canceled by our users, it's the nature of aviation. Managing your reservations on AirNav may be easier, because occasionally you may have a hotel stay outside of your preferred chain, and may not remember where the heck you booked. But AirNav does.
We have put a lot of effort into meeting pilot requests, so please give it a try before assuming we are like any 3rd party aggregator. We believe we have addressed many pilot requests, and the purpose of me coming here is to ask you what else we can do with hotels to serve you even better.
Now let me address specific comments.
Personally...only way I would book though a third party site like an AirNav is if though the AirNav site it took me direct to the Hotel site with say an AirNav promo code populated...kinda like a AAA discount.
The reason we don't do that is because then you would be going one-way to the hotel site, and would not be able to manage your reservation on AirNav, nor would we be able to notify the FBO of your reservation (if you so choose). Basically, when we send you to the hotel site we lose track of what you do there. And we would not be able to help you manage or cancel your reservation at some XYZ airport, you'd have to go to the brand site, if you even remember what chain you booked.
Part of booking direct for me is also the ability to manipulate and manage my own reservation logged in as a reward member for that chain.
You asked for it, you got it. Done.
My ace on the hole is the FBO. Every FBO has some hotel connections. They may not be where or what you want but often the best value (cheapest) and most important, when every single room in town is booked, they can save one’s bacon!
Yes indeed. We are adding FBO rates at a furious pace (about 20 FBOs/week). We have one employee dedicated full time to just loading FBO rates. When you see green prices on AirNav, those are FBO rates. Sometimes the savings are over $100/night. It's crazy. Crazy good. If you are going to a multi-FBO airport you have to select your FBO first, because we are only allowed to query rates for your FBO of choice. We have seen $100+ differences at airports such as HVN, ALB, DTS, MKT. $50+ is quite common.
Back when the nearest hotels were listed under the fuel price section I would use the mileage info to pick a place to RON if necessary.
Is this something you would like to see return? Nearest/recommended hotels directly on the airport page? Those links did not get a lot of clicks in the past so we didn't reinstate them, but if it's important... You're the boss.
I don't book through the aggregators (Hotels, priceline, etc...) for anything. I've been screwed too many freaking times. I book with the chains own site (if they have one), which usually works though sometimes you gotta call the inn and plead your case.
Booking with AirNav should be very similar to booking with the chain directly. In what kinds of situations do you have to plead a case with the inn, that the chain site can't handle?