9flats news
How travel booking engines scam you
On any booking platform, while browsing for that perfect place that will charm the mrs, let the kids run around, and have a view to kill for, you discover a dream villa in Bali that satisfies everybody, and even has the rustic Balinese feel that you adore. The page shows that the price per night is an unbelievable $200. You pinch yourself before making a quick call to your wife to get her ok, and proceed to book 5 nights with the smug satisfaction of a savvy consumer getting a deal. Only when you fill in all the details and get to the booking confirmation do you realize that what should have been $1000 has somehow ballooned to $1800 due to VAT, the portal’s processing fee, and the cringe-inducing cleaning fee that you didn’t know you needed. Outrage ensues. We were unwittingly one of the guilty parties before. However our users spoke, and we listened. The outcome of the feedback we received is an improved search engine with more transparency upfront. Searches on 9flats now show the total trip price (TTP).
Search results with total trip price shown
There are no hidden fees in our search results, so you won’t be floored by half a dozen taxes and surcharges. All you have to do is enter the dates, number of guests and hit search. Additional filters are optional. I am proud of our excellent product team for this great piece of work, and grateful for the input from users that made this possible. Give us a try, spend less time browsing, and more time holidaying, as it should be.