Press release

Which? warns holidaymakers booking independently to go direct for flights and hotels - as it unveils best and worst travel booking websites

Avoiding booking websites and going direct to airlines and hotels is the best way for independent travellers to get a good holiday deal, according to Which?, as the consumer champion finds some websites offer poor customer service and rarely if ever find the cheapest prices
5 min read
Press Team

Which? surveyed its members about their experiences of using both comparison sites (which trawl the internet for the best prices) and booking sites (which allow travellers to search for flights and accommodation and book on the same platform). Separately, it also undertook research to discover the cheapest booking methods for both flights and hotels.

Among flight booking sites, Expedia was the highest scoring platform in the consumer champion’s survey, with a customer score of 70 per cent. Respondents awarded it three stars for value for money, ease of finding flexible fares, transparency of fees and site functionality. 

However, Which?’s research also found it was the site least likely to find consumers the cheapest flights. When Which? checked 10 different flight journeys across nine websites (including four booking sites and five comparison sites), and recorded the price shown for bookings one week, six weeks and six months before the departure date, Expedia failed to return the cheapest option on any occasion. This may be because Expedia does not offer flights from some budget airlines, such as Ryanair and Wizz Air.

Meanwhile Opodo, which was the lowest ranking flight booking site in the survey with a shocking customer score of just 28 per cent, returned the cheapest flights more often than any other site Which? looked at – 11 out of 30 times. 

Despite being the site most likely to find the cheapest fares, survey responses underlined why it is worth looking beyond price alone when making a decision about which platform to use. 

Opodo received a one star rating for customer service, with difficulties getting hold of customer service agents a frequent complaint. One respondent said the site offers ‘zero customer service’.

Previous Which? research* also found that while some Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as Opodo may often offer the cheapest headline fare, once extras like baggage or seat selection are added, the final price will often work out significantly more expensive than booking directly with the airline.

Booking directly is not only likely to prove cheaper in the long run, but will also ensure you know where the responsibility lies when something goes wrong. 

To this end, the consumer champion found comparison sites can be a useful tool for finding the airline with the best price.

With a customer score of 64 per cent, Google Flights was the best performing comparison site in this category, with respondents awarding it four stars for site functionality - the highest of any comparison site rated in the survey. It found the cheapest flights on six out of 30 occasions – comparable to Kayak and Cheap Flights, which each found the cheapest flights on five occasions. 

With no flight comparison site vastly outperforming the others on their ability to find the cheapest flight, the consumer champion recommends checking at least a couple of platforms before committing to a booking decision. However, it’s worth remembering that comparison sites do not vet the site they send you on to - whether an airline or booking site.

When Which? carried out a similar price analysis for hotel bookings, there was a clear winner. The consumer champion compared the cost of 30 overnight stays in ten hotels across nine different websites, and found booking direct rather than using a booking site offered the cheapest price half the time.Comparison sites again proved useful however, returning the best, or joint best price on multiple occasions. Kayak and Trivago were most frequently successful, finding the lowest, or joint lowest price on 12 occasions, while Skyscanner was close behind with 11 times. 

Hotel booking sites on the other hand were more likely to source the highest prices. 

Agoda returned the most expensive price on 14 out of 30 occasions, while Expedia and Booking.com each had the dearest prices on 13 out of 30 occasions. 

There was also little to distinguish many of the booking sites in terms of customer satisfaction. Booking.com received the highest customer score, with a rating of 73 per cent, and achieved a four star rating for both site functionality and transparency of fees, just slightly edging out Airbnb (71%) and Hotels.com (70%).

Expedia received 67 per cent in this category, while Agoda and Vrbo tied in last place, with customer scores of 66 per cent.

Naomi Leach, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said:

“If you’re looking to book a flight or hotel, our research shows comparison sites can be an excellent starting point, scouring the internet to take the hard work out of your decision-making. We’d advise checking a couple of different platforms so you have the best possible chance of finding the right option for you.

“Once you’ve narrowed down your selection, book directly. Booking with the airline will usually prove cheaper than using an Online Travel Agent, and will mean you know exactly who is responsible should something go wrong. Calling a hotel directly will often secure you the best price or at the very least they’ll throw in a freebie like a bottle of wine or a room upgrade.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

Research notes:

Members of the Which? Connect panel were asked about booking sites they used between September 2021 to September 2023, and comparison sites they used between August 2021 to 2023. 

Flight survey results based on 275 booking experiences.

Accommodation survey results based on 3,008 experiences.

Comparison site results based on 3,644 experiences.

A dash (-) in the table means not enough responses to give a rating.

Price research carried out on 3rd October 2023. Which? recorded prices of 10 stays and 10 flights one week, six weeks and six months before departure, totalling 30 fares across all sites

Wherever possible, Which? recommends booking as a package to benefit from the consumer protections offered by the Package Travel Regulations. However if choosing to book flights and/or accommodation separately, our research illustrates that booking directly is preferable to using booking sites.

*Previous research on OTAs:

Which? previously found that it was cheaper to book directly with the airline if adding on extras like hold luggage or making a seat selection, despite the headline prices offered by OTAs often being marginally cheaper. You can read more on this here.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.