joanie, as a private home vacation rental owner, I am often on the HomeAway Community forum, which is where owners can go to discuss issues related to our field. HomeAway was just bought by Expedia. Someone there recently said just that, that these big online booking sites make deals with hotels but the result is that travelers get the not-as-desirable rooms. I'm just repeating what I'd read, but I have no way of know if it is accurate or not.

I use hotel sites like Expedia to search rates but always book directly through the hotel. We have had an issue with Expedia reservations and there is little recourse when you are stuck at the hotel trying to check in. Most of the time the direct rates are the same or only slightly higher than Expedia. I'd rather pay a few dollars more than worry about a potential hassle during check in. Also, it seems to me If you are getting an extra low rate from a third party site, chances are you will not get the best room available.

I book through hotels.com and also through the hotel web sites. I haven't noticed a difference in the quality of the rooms, although we don't usually stay in 5-star hotels, so all of the rooms are probably the same. I've never had an issue with checking in or quality of accommodations that was not resolved on property.

Joanie, If you do elect to book via hotel websites or even
Hotels.com, be sure to sign up for ebates.com (if you aren’t already a member)
and go through them to reserve. I am not
affiliated with the website, but have received over $1K in rebates since we
bought our house in 2009 (and I began crazily making online purchases as a
result). May not be much to some, but it
accumulates and I use my rebates to purchase more décor or just more books for
my kindle. I always check ebates before
I order or reserve anything online. This
forum could be a cash cow for those of you who know each other (have each other’s
email addresses) because you can earn referral fees. Aside from that, it’s like a “mall” and
ebates is the “door” to the mall… it just leads directly to the normal website
(but you get cash back once a quarter).

I remember looking into Hotels.com. Read the fine print. There was something about it I didn't like.

My youngest uses Air B and B. I think Mtn has had good experiences with that as well. My DD looks at reviews and finds them accurate.

The hotel front desk knows how you made your reservation. That will be weighed in decision making process. So will if you are a member of their reward program, etc.

Most hotel direct sites, at least chains I routinely book, have best price guarantee and will honor the rate you see on Expedia or wherever.

I would call the hotel & ask if they can match the Expedia/Hotels.com price & get specifics on the room location.

We do a combo, booking.com , hotels. com and we directly book. Sometimes when a certain hotel shows no rooms we call the hotel and find there are rooms and make a reservation. In a few weeks husband and I are going to the Florida Keys. We want to do this Keys trip differently in that we want to experience the ole Florida Keys instead of doing a big fancy resort. So, room number or cottage number is very important to us for a waterfront. We are doing direct booking through the hotels. I never had problems booking a more desirable room though from the sites above. The only glitch experienced was caused by sister in-law who convinced an owner that we all decided the first family member to arrive would get my water view room. She had to leave my room as booking.com had my room number on my confirmation.

We always book through the hotel, and try to get the best rate I tell them I saw on the other sites. I feel more comfortable doing that, and have always gotten requests honored that way, ie, views and such ... in fact, we usually get a free upgrade, too, without even asking. I like the one on one aspect as well, we almost always stay at boutique/small hotels, and I like that we have that initial contact.

The short answer is Yes, who you book through and how much you pay influences which room in the hotel you get. I don't want the worst room in the best hotel in town.

Regardless of how we book, and we also use Priceline quite a bit, we ask nicely at check in for a better room. It usually works.

Before traveling to a funeral, I convinced Holiday Inn to match La Quinta price. They dropped $40 and gave me a perfect room. Of course when Cedar Point is open, you'll pay the highest price everywhere or sleep in your car.

We generally stay in Hilton or Starwood properties due to perks there. And I have a ton of Hilton points so I sometimes use them for free stays, so I book thru their websites. I've seen examples of friends who booked thru Expedia, Priceline, etc, and some have good luck and some not so great. Especially if they have to change plans. My DD really got screwed up in Atlanta one night when they were over there for a concert. The hotel over-booked, they wouldn't honor her reservation and wanted to send them to another hotel, which was unacceptable, so DD & friend ended up driving back to Alabama (about 4-hour drive and this was after the concert around 11-12 at night). She was NOT happy.

But, for example, in booking some things on our own for Alaska, I've had better luck calling the Denali hotels direct. I was able to obtain a mountain view King room, get the AAA discount, but did inquire about other discounts we qualify for, secured lots of other information from the helpful person on the line, which I could not obtain on the internet. All the better hotels/lodges were showing sold out for the dates we wanted, and I knew they held rooms for the cruise passengers and tours. Plus our guy we're working with for the cruise part told me to call the hotel direct too.

JMC, can you tell me exactly how you ask for an upgrade? I've never done it and don't even know the words to use without sounding pathetic, lol! Thanks.

Be careful in booking with third party sites. My son and his roommates recenlty went to a convention and were looking at hotels online. They went to the third party sites adn were drawn in by the "lowest price." I suggested we look at booking directly. What they found out was that a room listed at $145 a night wound up costing about $25 a night more than booking it directly throught he hotel at $159. They don't tell you about the fees they add on, so be sure to compare bottom line to bottom line. The hotel also told me they don't guarantee a room selection (king, 2 queens, etc.) when booked through third party sites, so you may not get the room you are expecting. If sleeping arrangements are important, book direct. Also -- I think you are more likely to get the better room or upgrade if available than if you use the third party.

It depends. When I can, I book directly with the hotel because it's usually refundable up to 6 pm on the day of the booking. I just booked a package to Paris on Travelocity, the price was unbeatable and I got non-stop flights both ways. You have to do your research and it does take time to sort it all out.

I've used trivago, as well as expedia, travelocity, and booking.com, and have never had a problem. To be on the safe side, I call a week ahead to follow up on the resv, relating my preference and when it was originally booked. If there are also extras included with the resv, ie;conceriege level, continental breakfast, free valet parking, i'll make an inquiry to make sure it's been noted, and always get the name of the employee. So far i've been very fortunate in everything going according to plan.