How many times have you gone online to make a hotel or airline reservation and seen the note saying that there are only two rooms left or only one seat left? So you hurried and booked it before it’s too late. But is it too late?

More often than not, the answer is no. When an online travel site posts that limited supply notice, what they are really telling you is there may only be one seat left in the allocation that the travel provider — the hotel, airline or cruise line — gave the online service.

But it doesn’t mean the hotel, airline or ship is full.

This is the time to make a phone call directly to either a travel agent or the travel provider.

In many cases, they have more availability, and in some cases they’ll have better rooms, seats or cabins at the same or lower prices.