Why packages tend to come out cheaper than booking separately

A question we get often: "Why book with Favotrip rather than the hotel direct via Booking and the attraction via the operator?" Fair question, and we always answer honestly. The answer is not automatically "because we are cheaper". But on the large majority of our packages, the bundle does come out cheaper net. Below we explain how that works, with a real example from our own offer.

The Veluwse Bron example from our offer

One of our most popular deals is the Veluwse Bron wellness package in the neighbouring Netherlands: a night in a 4-star hotel in the Veluwe, breakfast, and a day pass for the wellness centre. A customer can book the same hotel room via Booking and buy a day pass on the Veluwse Bron site. For two people, the standalone total quickly comes out noticeably above our package price. The difference is not a few pounds but on average 10 to 18 percent across the whole bundle. For a family, that quickly adds up to £70 or £130. And the whole picture (hotel, breakfast, day pass) is settled with one booking.

Where that discount actually comes from

There is a misconception that travel sellers "buy cheaper" purely because of volume. That is partly true. More importantly: hotels work with two different rates. The rate a consumer sees on Booking is the BAR (Best Available Rate), on which Booking takes 15-18 percent commission. The package rate ("net rate" or WCN in trade jargon) is a lower rate the hotelier only gives to partners, on the condition that it is not visible to the consumer. That is the rate we use in our bundles. That accounts for 10-20 percent, baked into the price you see on the package page.

Why hotels are okay with this

Hotels do not want their BAR prices on Booking to drop, because that is their official market price, also scrutinised by business clients. But they do want to fill off-peak gaps or excess capacity. Package rates are their way of doing that without lowering their public price. Win-win: the hotel gets occupancy, the customer pays less via a package, and the market price stays solid for business segments. That is why a package price can be below Booking without the seller being absolutely "cheaper". It is a different pricing system.

What the bundle discount actually covers

Genuine discount also applies to the activity or experience component. Theme parks, wellness centres and restaurants give partners 10-25 percent off on grouped seats, even when individual customers ultimately turn up. At wellness venues like Veluwse Bron or equivalents, that quickly amounts to 12-15 percent on the day pass. Add it to the WCN hotel rate and you land on a net package price a consumer cannot realistically match standalone. We can offer this because the partners we work with have built those relationships over years, and we are selective about which deals we let into our catalogue.

When is booking separately actually cheaper?

We do not want to lie about this, sometimes standalone is cheaper. Four cases. One: low-season hotels in cities where the package rate already matches BAR. Two: ultra-budget hotels that do not run package rates, which are not in our offer in any case. Three: when an operator runs its own targeted promotion (summer discounts of 30 percent). Four: last-minute bookings within 7 days. Our estimate after five years: in around 20 percent of cases standalone is cheaper; in 80 percent our package is cheaper or comparable. We would rather say so honestly than pretend we always have the best rate.

Why a package often works more comfortably

One booking, one confirmation, one payment. Hotel with breakfast plus activity in one bundle, and on arrival everything is in place without you having to check item by item that the tickets line up. With separately booked components you are managing three parties in parallel: hotel site, attraction site, possibly a transfer provider. For a long weekend that need not be a problem, but for most travellers a package is less hassle.

Our question back to you

Our stance is always: go and check. Look up the hotel on Booking, look up the day pass on the operator site, add it up, compare against us. We do not sell our offer as "trust us"; we explicitly ask you to compare. In 80 percent of cases you will find our price lower. If you fall in the 20 percent where standalone wins, by all means do that. Our job is to be on the right packages at the right price. Below are the packages this article is about.