Whether that argument holds in court or not, Expedia certainly has managed to lock up a surprisingly large share of the online travel agency game. Under the umbrella of Expedia Group sit some of the largest names in online travel, including Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Trivago. According to the lawsuit, 80% of all US-based bookings that happen via an online travel agency happen on an Expedia-owned platform.
Same. The hotel has the product, these companies offer a slight amount of ease, not otherwise don’t provide any value, but they want a cut of every booking through their site. They are pure middlemen, and often times won’t even let you cancel.
Book thru the hotel and you’ll get a better deal, and you’ll generally be able to cancel your reservations without going through tons of bullshit.
Even if the hotels can’t give you a better price due to some BS agreement with a reseller, booking direct often results in you getting a mini bar voucher or something.