Originally Posted by
RichardInSF
No, it's not a flame. But it's not correct either. Given two identical booking possibilities, one through the hotel's site and the other through an online agency, I'd likely pick the hotel site.
But it is frequently the case that the online agency offers more. Consider booking online through Amex FHR, for example, for those eligible. It's an agency that stacks on significant extras, even if the rate is the same.
Good point. I'll reword to say booking with online agencies comes with non-zero risk and thus one should question and understand if there is any upside to offset.