Travel agents and websites may tout their bargain prices, but it turns out that consumers themselves may be able to find their own best deals by simply picking up the phone and calling the hotel, a CBC News investigation has found.

CBC News sought out rates for rooms with a two-person occupancy and a queen-sized bed. In a survey of 20 hotels across the country, rooms were requested for the July 6 weekend and for the week of July 6 through 12.

Calling the hotel's front desk yielded the best, or tied for best rates, 13 times out of 20. Booking through the hotel's website netted the second-best results, followed by reserving through a travel agent and using Internet travel sites Expedia.ca and Travelocity.ca.

This finding may surprise some Canadian consumers, many of whom have turned to the Internet to book their vacations. A November 2006 Statistics Canada study on online shopping trends found that arranging travel services, including booking hotel reservations and car rentals, were the most popular type of online purchase.

Canadians purchased 228,000 travel packages online last year while 778,000 booked hotel rooms, according to a June 2006 Conference Board of Canada report. The same study found that while many consumers prefer using travel agents for their expertise, fewer people are using agents to book vacations. In the summer of 2006, 49 per cent of travellers said they planned on booking through an agency.

Travel agents say they see rebound

But Christiane Theberge, a spokeswoman for the Association of Canadian Travel Agents, says she has observed a rebound in the industry. She said after the 2005 hurricane season, travel agents demonstrated they were able to help move people from affected areas quickly.

"Getting professional advice is always the best way," she said.

The hotel industry says that consumers should check hotel websites for the lowest prices. Tony Pollard, president of the Hotel Association of Canada, a network of 7,000 hotels, resorts, lodging associations, and industry stakeholders, explained the variance found in the CBC investigation by noting that prices can fluctuate according to circumstance.

"If there is a variance, it's because something has happened very, very recently. I use the example of an airline flight cancellation and the hotel has not yet had an opportunity to go and update their website," he said.