Originally Posted by
etgohomeok
Unless they plan on publishing a list of government-approved hotels then I don't see any practical difference between booking through the agency vs. booking yourself and sending the info for the agency to have on file. And it still fits with the spirit of the policy which is to have a sponsoring agency be aware of your rough whereabouts throughout your stay in the country.
I believe if you book through an agency they're always involved in your communication. They can keep track of changes in your booking etc. If you're doing it yourself, they just blindly trust what you're submitting.