Hi All,
A family friend of many years was taking her out of town family and booking
two rooms at The Hyatt in Denver
I proudly offered up my guest of Honor awards which I have more than I can donate.
She asked me how much the hotel would be and I said the lowest rate on Hyatt.com
is just over 200 per night plus taxes
So in this case 800 dollars for 2 nights 2 rooms plus taxes.
Imagine my embarrassment/surprise when she came back and shared that a 3rd party site
was 200 dollars plus total cheaper
and oddly the rate included taxes as well.It made me think how badly have I may
have been beaten up using Hyatt.com without more comparison shopping.

She said thanks we will pass and book on our own.Can't blame her really
Out of wanting to learn for myself what I may be missing out on I asked to see a copy of the booking
Low and behold received a copy and its fully refundable to boot
The more expensive Hyatt.com rates some were non refundable!
The old SPG strategy brought to Hyatt sadly and the rates are barely lower

I do realize that hotel booking websites inflate their prices typically and only drop when their projections fail miserably.
A vast departure from the historical past where the early bird booking got the worm (better deal)
After rethinking things about suite upgrades and the difficulty with them some less desirable than rooms
and the declining benefits over past years in breakfast quality/ variety & closed clubs it left me wondering.

I am now thinking about using 3rd party sites when or where they are trustworthy and may make sense
if the price is considerably lower.
Admit the hotel companies have led me to believe booking through their channels were always in my best interest.
I'm rethinking my booking patters going forward.I can see clearly now why Hyatt in particular made
its best price guarantee nearly unusable with massive hoops to jump through.
Thoughts?
Anyone else booking with success on 3rd party sites or is this an isolated one off?