| Travelocity has recently launched 'masked' hotel | | | | save me up to 45%, I used their service for an |
| reservation called "Top Secret Hotels" and | | | | upcoming 2-night trip to San Francisco. My approach |
| purports to save customers up to 45% on hotel | | | | was simple: I would perform the same hotel search on |
| rooms. I put them to the test. | | | | Priceline, Hotwire and Travelocity (using both regular |
| I've long been a fan of 'masked' hotel reservation sites | | | | and Top Secret reservations). My results were quite |
| like Hotwire and Priceline. If you aren't familiar with the | | | | disappointing: |
| concept, this is how it works. Prior to making a | | | | Selection: First, Top Secret Hotels only has 14 cities to |
| reservation, you are given some information about the | | | | choose from, 10 of which are in the US and 4 from |
| hotel you're about to reserve, but not all information. | | | | Canada. I was fortunate that San Francisco made the |
| Typically, you know the general vacinity of the hotel, | | | | list. When I performed my search, there were only 2 |
| and the hotels star rating. In the case of Hotwire, you | | | | Top Secret Hotels available in all of San Francisco. |
| are also provided with a list of hotel amenities such as | | | | Hotwire had 25 hotels, Priceline had 158, and |
| pool, on-site restaurant, shuttle service to the airport, | | | | Travelocity's own regular reservation system had 286 |
| and so on. If you like the price, you can make a | | | | hotels available. |
| reservation and then learn the hotel name and specific | | | | Price: The very purpose of using a 'masked' |
| location. | | | | reservation system is to save money. Why else would |
| This isn't for everyone. If you think you might want to | | | | anyone book a hotel that they cannot cancel and not |
| cancel your reservation, don't bother using these sites | | | | know the hotel name or location? The 2 Top Secret |
| as they are non-refundable most of the time. Also, if | | | | Hotels averaged $240/night. The other sites had |
| you want to join your friends or colleagues at a | | | | equivalent (or better) hotels at 50 percent or less of |
| specific hotel, don't use 'masked' hotel booking | | | | Travelocity's Top Secret Prices. So much for saving |
| services. But if you're somewhat flexible on your | | | | 45% |
| location and confident your plans won't change, then | | | | Area: Masked hotel reservation systems don't release |
| these services are great. I've been using these sites | | | | the exact hotel location until after you purchase, but |
| for several years and have saved a lot of money in | | | | they do give you a general area of where the hotel is |
| the process. | | | | situated. For example, Hotwire breaks downtown San |
| Travelocity is the latest to offer 'masked' hotel | | | | Francisco into 8 areas and informs you prior to |
| reservations with a service they call Top Secret | | | | purchase which of these 8 areas your hotel is located. |
| Hotels. Top Secret Hotels has actually been offered | | | | Priceline breaks downtown San Francisco into 7 areas. |
| on their site for some 3 or 4 months, but I wanted to | | | | Travelocity - Just one area that spans from the |
| let them work out the kinks before using it and writing | | | | Golden Gate Bridge to Redwood City. In other words, |
| a review. | | | | book a hotel in San Francisco and you could find |
| To find out first hand if Travelocity's Top Secret | | | | yourself 25 miles outside of town. |
| Hotels was as good as the competition and could | | | | |