Met Global Review — Hotels Comparison (2012)

The MetGlobal Group of companies owns Discount Hotel Reservations (DHR), one of the most popular hotel search engines, offering a great variety of discount hotel rates to travelers wishing to book hotel rooms in anywhere in the world. MetGlobal also owns Otel.com, another online discount hotel rates booking provider which is specifically aimed to cater for the needs of the British travel market. The combined operations of the two affiliated companies serve consumers in over 198 countries and 15,000 cities at the time of writing this article, “…Offering the best rates, service and keeping up to date…”, according to the company's statement.

So if you are looking for discount hotel rates, you can use the hotel search tool, which can be found on the homepage of MetGlobal’s website. By typing either the name of your city of destination, a specific hotel, an airport or a certain landmark, then filling in the check-in and check-out dates of your stay, the number of rooms you are going to need, the number of guests and your preferred currency of transaction and finally pressing the “Search” button, you will be given automatically a number of lodging options, from which you can make your selection.

In addition to basic hotel reservations, MetGlobal offers the following services:

• The option to book tours and activities taking place at your place of destination, through a search tool which is similar to the standard hotel room search application.
• The option to make group reservations online.
• Access to a detailed list of city guide articles.
• Hotel reviews in association with Tripadvisor.

As stated on MetGlobal's website, there are at least five reasons for travelers to book with them:

• The best choice of discount hotel rates, all offered with instant confirmation.
• Best discount hotel rates guaranteed. According to the MetGlobal's statement, in case a customer finds exactly the same hotel deal cheaper from another hotel accommodation provider, MetGlobal will offer a price to match it. Terms and conditions apply.
• A dedicated travel blog, where a prospective traveler may find information about a specific destination, event or hotel, as well as useful travel advice and miscellaneous travel news and tips.
• Access to reviews from other travelers who have stayed in the same hotel, through the use of Tripadvisor reviews.
• Classification of destinations as follows:

         -Romance destinations. Specially chosen destinations for romantic travelers.

         -Beach hotels. Enjoy a selection of the best beach hotels.

         -Undercover hotels. Guests will not know the name of the hotel they have booked before booking is complete, enjoying huge             hotel discount rates of up to 70% off the original price.

         -Ski resorts. Access to exclusive ski resorts; a great plus for avid skiers.

         -Tours and transfers. You don’t have to stay in your hotel all day; there are plenty of tours and activities to enjoy, depending             on your destination.

         -Special deals: Various hotel price deals, including free nights, free meals, free transportation, early booking discounts and               board type upgrade.

• Get discount hotel rates by “liking” MetGlobal’s Facebook page.

In the following table you can find what are the major differences in terms of the benefits each individual hotel search engine offers:

(1) Special discount deals on specific destinations, resorts, hotels and events all year round.

(2)-5% discount on your next booking.

- Special discount deals on specific destinations, resorts, hotels and events all year round.

(3) Special discount deals on specific destinations, resorts, hotels and events all year round.

(4)-10% off booking price available for academic teachers and students.

- 10% off booking price available for conference attendees.

(5) Special discount hotel rates on specific destinations, resorts, hotels and events available all year round.

(6) Generous, broad customer rewards program including many products and services.

(7) For every 10 nights you book, you get 1 night for free.

(8) Bookings for over 10 people.

(9) Bookings of 6 rooms and more.

(10) Bookings of 10 rooms or more.

(11) Terms and conditions apply.

(12) 100% plus 3% off your next booking. Terms and conditions apply.

(13) Terms and conditions apply.

(14) Hotels.com will reimburse the difference in price. Terms and conditions apply.

The following table was compiled in an attempt to compare the discount hotel rates offered by various hotel search engines.

The period of booking is: 15^th of March 2012 to 18^th of March 2012, for 2 adults, no children, sharing one room, and the prices are in US dollars.

No extras are included in the prices.

Prices are correct at the time of writing this article and hotel search engine providers may change them without giving any notice.

There is a testimonials page on MetGlobal’s website where guests who have used it to find and book discount hotel rates may submit their feedback. It has to be observed though, that all testimonial submissions have to be approved by the site administrator, prior to being published.

So it could be possible, since all the comments are positive and praise the service that those guests received from MetGlobal, for any negative feedback to be rejected. If you are looking for a more objective point of view, taking also into consideration any misdoings experienced by customers, you can click at travelsitecritic.com, where both positive and negative reviews are shown.

In general, the majority of customer reviews are positive, in regards to the discount hotel deals offered by MetGlobal, and the biggest advantage is that the company can guarantee the lowest prices against competing hotel search engines and reimburse any difference in price.