This post contains a referral link. If you use our link you will receive a $25 credit on sign up, we will also receive a $25 credit after you make your first hotel booking. We appreciate you using our links whenever possible.
After I posted about the fact that Hotel Engine is currently offering a $25 credit sign up bonus, I had a few questions which I sent to their executive team. You can find the answers to these below, followed by my own thoughts at the very end.
1. Hotel engine currently only lists hotel properties in the United States. When do you plan to expand internationally?
Early 2015.
2. When you expand internationally, will it be one country at a time or will you be adding multiple countries? What is the expansion time line currently?
We plan to expand one region at a time, e.g. Europe, South America, Asia, etc. We’re still deciding which market to target first, but it will likely be Europe.
3. You’ve integrated walk scores for all hotels in your system. Traditionally walking scores have been used for properties that people plan to stay in for a significant length of time, the algorithm takes into account how close daily chores are. Given that most daily chores don’t need to be done whilst staying in a hotel, how applicable do you think these scores are?
Walk Scores® also take into account how close you are to restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. The scores include a few items meant for longer term stays, but a high walk score typically means you’re within walking distance of some fun or at least food and drink.
4. How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the other hotel booking sites out there?
Hotel Engine is different from other hotel booking sites in three major ways.
1. Straightforward Rewards
We offer the best rewards program of any hotel booking site. We’re the only hotel booking site that gives travelers 5% – 10% back on every single booking. And we do this without blackout dates or restrictions.
2. Smart Search
With every search our booking engine instantaneously connects to multiple hotel inventories, compares prices, and only displays the lowest rates. No redirects and no need to spend hours searching for the best deal. And we didn’t stop with rates. Our search results display weather forecasts with the average temperature of the location you are visiting for the days you are traveling.
3. Simple Booking
Our hotel platform was meticulously designed to eliminate clutter and simplify the booking experience. We offer travelers an ad-free alternative to the typical booking site.
We’re excited about the overwhelmingly positive feedback and growth that we’ve experienced so far. And we’ve seen a major spike in traffic since launching our limited time referral program. The “Give $25, Get $25” program lets members earn free hotel stays by inviting friends to the site. You can access the program and get $5 in rewards when join Hotel Engine.
For us, it’s about the small things that make booking a hotel just a little bit easier.
My thoughts
Hotel booking websites are an extremely crowded market (mostly because it’s extremely profitable, they take anywhere from 10-30% of the final booking price). I don’t think that hotel engine offers anything that is best in class. For example, their rewards program earns 5% or 10% in stay credits depending on the hotels, if you book through hotels.com you’d get 10% in stay credits plus you can shop through a portal to get another 7% cash back other sites such as booking.com offer a flat cash back amount (currently $14 per stay) which works out to be a lot more than 10% on cheap stays. Their booking interface is relatively clean and there isn’t the hassle of lots of up selling, but that comes standard with a lot of other booking sites as well.
Walk scores are an interesting concept, but I really don’t see any reason as to why another hotel booking website can’t integrate them (I also don’t think they are particularly useful for short term stays). For me, hotel engine is worth signing up for to get the $25 credit and then waiting until you can find a cheap room and using it towards that. It definitely won’t become my standard hotel booking website unless it can find a point of differentiation that matters.
When not booking directly with a large chain, you should also note that you won’t receive any points for your stay and your status will not be taken into account.
If you want to sign up and get the $25 credit, you can use my link. I’ll also receive an additional $25 in credits after you complete your first stay. Feel free to not use my link, but keep in mind that you’ll only receive a $5 credit if you sign up to the site directly, you can also share your own links in the comments below but please make sure you actually add something to the discussion.
What is your favorite hotel booking site rewards program and why?
