Originally Posted by sdsearch

And keep in mind that since you have to book through the portal, it is likely to be treated as a third-party booking by the hotel and thus if it's chain hotel with a loyalty program you may not get points, night credit, elite benefits if any, etc. So it's great if you're booking indie hotels or hotels where you don't belong to the program anyway, it's not so great if you usually book hotels in programs where you want to earn stuff and get stuff for your stays through the hotel program.