Hotel bookings

[LonArcvarden]

Over the past few years, I have occasionally encountered shenanigans re: billing practices when booking directly with hotels (e.g., having to pay a substantially higher rate for nights 2 and 3 vs. night 1, for example). I'm tired of this. Do you get less of this when booking through Hotels com or other such on line travel sites?
Any other advantages/ disadvantages?
What are your experiences?
Thanks!

[MichaelSavan]

I have and use my Expedia account for some independent places but for a lot of my travel use my Choice and Wyndham logins and apps.

[princemeraj]

I’ve had the same whiplash from shifting room rates, so now I double check the full breakdown before hitting book. I’ve had fewer surprises by asking the hotel to send the rate in writing for each night. Places like a hotel near sydney airport have been upfront about daily pricing when I’ve stayed, so using that as a benchmark keeps me from getting blindsided by funny business.