"ctrip finally emailed me ~ 84 hours after making the online prepaid reservation saying the reservation will be canceled as the rooms were sold out."

Elong has just pulled precisely this trick on me. (Actually, my reservation had been confirmed.) Are elong and ctrip outsourcing to the same unreliable outfit?

It's becoming pretty clear that booking through these third-party sites is worthless; the "confirmation" means nothing. Except that if YOU don't show, expect a charge to your credit card.