<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by neophyte:
Now, why would anyone want to book through Hilton site ?
Without an online bonus and Best Price Guarantee (*wood has both) every soul on this board will turn around and start booking through the outside engines as long as it gives points and counts as a stay.
I understand that any non-prepaid booking using these sites will work:
Expedia
Travelocity
hrs.com
Travelweb
Hotelcoupons
Roomsaver.com
Even my company's internal booking agent beats Hilton's prices!</font>
Because, Hilton will still have the E-copuons if you book thru their site. Further, unless I am wrong -- which is quite possible -- you cannot get the lowest rates for a Hilton, et. al., if the booking engine has something like a Travelocity Best Buy, Expedia, etc., as often the single person charge via Hilton beats it and you earn points. For instance, I am unable to pull a AAA rate from the above when they have their specials.
Finally, many of Hilton's specials are not listed and presumably unavailable to the outside booking engines -- at least that has been my experience.
The best thing to do is shop around, and I concur that one should check with Travelocity and Expedia, and most importantly with TravelWeb, for they will list a AAA rate that the other 2 might not supply if they have negotiated their own price. And remember, those specially negotiated prices often do not result in points, the only exception to my knowledge is some Quikbook rates.