Expedia and co. claim that their reservation is guaranteed. But I find cheaper rates in the hotel's website.

Is reservation less guaranteed if I reserve directly with the hotel?

I've read some horror stories about people who found that their reservation was not honored. Is this commonplace?

I plan to arrive relatively late at some hotels (7pm or so). What are ways to make sure that the reservations are guaranteed?

Thank you so much.

Read comments both here and at Tripadvisor.com about the hotels you intend to stay at. See if there are complaints about overbookings. If you see none then you can safely assume they are reputable hotels.

Actually there really isn't anything you can do to "guarantee" a hotel booking is honored whether you use Expedia, the hotel's website, or call the hotel directly. Hotels can overbook just like airlines do. It isn't as common but it does happen. If a hotel is full they aren't going to evict someone else to move a new person in.

There are no guarantees, but probably 98-99% of the time a confirmed reservation is honored . . . .

The reason you are finding cheaper rates on the hotel's own website is because the hotel is paying Expedia a fee to sell the room.

The Expedia guarantee isn't any better or worse than the one from the hotel.

If you can find the same room (notice I said the SAME) room on the hotel's website then I would book it there.

Hi the,

The best you can do to guarantee a room is to give them a credit card number and inform them that you will arrive late.