Flight tickets booked. Meetings planned.  All that’s left to do is to book your hotel. Can’t be rocket science, right? We know you’re itching to book that hotel ‘quickly’ by yourself.

Before you do, let us debunk some stubborn myths about booking hotels by yourself before you start your Internet search.

Myth 1: I can find the cheapest rates by myself

The most stubborn myth of all. Since the beginning of times (and by that we mean: since the start of the Internet), everyone has been a travel expert. Or at least they think they are.

It’s easy to be blinded by seemingly ‘cheap’ rates available online. But – trust us - it’s the bill at the end of your stay that will bring the final verdict. Breakfast. Wi-Fi. Parking. Cancellation fees. All these ‘little’ things add up.

By teaming up with a travel professional like FCM, you can piggyback off their existing relationships with suppliers and their global buying power and benefit from reduced rates and special privileges. Still think your Online Travel Agent can get a better price? Let us put your mind at ease: FCM has existing partnerships with OTAs around the world so we can offer the same (or better) rates as you would find online.

Myth 2: It’s faster to ‘quickly’ book a hotel myself

This myth makes us chuckle even more than the first one. Did you know that the average business traveller visits around 38 websites before booking a trip? And – if we can believe a recent study by Phocuswire – business travellers spend 108 hours a year on admin work related to corporate travel — i.e. researching, booking, adjusting, cancelling and expensing travel.

We promise, we can do it faster. You see, we cheat. Where you need to browse through 38 websites for a good deal, we have all the information on a single page. How do we do it? FCM has invested heavily in backend content aggregators, so our travel consultants have all the information at one glance. The result: we give you faster quotes and more competitive prices.

Myth 3: I’ll lose my hotel loyalty benefits

Loyalty perks are a great benefit when travelling for business. Free upgrades. Little spoils here and there. Or maybe even a free weekend away with your family. We get it! No judgement here. We’ll capture your loyalty membership information so we can make sure we elevate your membership status and allow you to earn the maximum number of points.

We can even take it one step further. Did you know that hotel loyalty programs do not generally accept discounted bookings made through third party booking websites? That means you have to choose between the best price or the best loyalty rewards. Not with us – we can give you the best of both worlds!

It gets even sweeter: we accelerate your hotel rewards program progress! Say hello to a world of (almost) limitless value-adds with programmes like FCM x Hilton Honors Fast Track, allowing FCM travellers to achieve gold status only after 4 nights (normally 28+ nights) within 90 days of registration in any of Hilton’s 6,200 properties worldwide. 

Myth 4: I won’t be able to book my favourite hotel

Scared we’ll send you to the same characterless hotels across the world to ensure the cheapest price? We promise we are better than that. FCM is a global travel management company with partnerships ranging across all kinds of hotels worldwide. That means we can help you with a wide variety of options from which to choose.

And if you have a favourite little hotel in New York, Paris, or Shanghai, just let us know. We’ll look them up, get in touch and book it for you. After all, your happiness as a traveller is our number one priority.

Myth 5: I’ll lose my corporate rates

You’ve forged relationships with hotels, know the manager on a first-name basis and have agreed on some beneficial corporate rates. Who would we be to stand in the way of that?

In fact, we will ensure your corporate rates are loaded into our system so you can always compare the rates available with others available through FCM. It’s just one more way we ensure you always get the most competitive option.

If you weren’t sure why you should be booking your accommodation through FCM, we thought we’d plant the seed. Put us to the test. You won’t be sorry.