Hacker News Reader

In the last month I've used hotels.com twice because it was lower than booking directly.

In SF: Hotels.come was $180/night, hotel's website was over $300/night.

In Copenhagen: Hotels.com was $120/night, the hotel's website was over $180/night.

I'm not sure why these places are running sales on hotels.com, and not on their direct website. I try not to book on hotels.com because hotels have a reputation for giving those travelers the worst rooms (double beds vs. king bed, next to elevator, unrenovated rooms). However, it's hard to say "no" to 30%+ off.

TripAdvisor/Trivago - compare the rates there. Mentally apply the loyalty discounts and pick whichever is the cheapest. Also, I may be biased here as I used to work at TripAdvisor but I personally prefer their UI to booking/priceline. Expedia is okay too and I have heard good things about Trivago.

I pretty much just use them as well now, and for the same reason as you.