MY experience:

1. When booking through my corporate travel agency, benefits are always granted.

2. When I see a big disparity between an OTA like Expedia, Booking.com or the like, I call the hotel directly and ask for the in house reservations team or front desk team to see if they will match the rate. In every case, they would offer to match, in some cases on a non refundable basis or offer for some sort of upgrade by booking directly.

I'm not obsessed about getting the absolute lowest rate, but ensuing I have a trouble free experience or ensuring I have the room category I want. Difficult to do with an OTA. Booking directly with Hilton means the Hilton app or website will always show all the info for my reservation. In other words, one place for accountability for the reservation.