Originally Posted by
Clipper801
Yes, it's true!
I recently stayed at a Novotel in North America and booked my stay through Amex Platinum Travel Service. APTS' rate was 10% cheaper than the rate on Accor.com for the same room type, dates and property. I booked through APTS to save the 10% and the only difference was no Platinum status recognition during my stay including no point accrual because I booked it through 3rd party.
Since room upgrade is based on availability, there is no guarantee that one would get an upgrade. So it's up to the individual to decide whether the 10% premium is worth the lottery risk.
No Platinum "perk" would be offered if the booking was through a 3rd party, including early/late check-out, room upgrade, etc.
This is not the same situation. You are talking about booking on a corporate booking engine which may propose lower fares than the hotel itself, because they negotiate global volumes and deals with hotel chains to propose them to their customers. Same with sites like expedia, hotels.com, etc.
The OP was talking about cheaper rates on individual Accor brands web sites (e.g. sofitel.com, novotel.com, etc) versus the global Accor site (accor-hotels.com).