Sam C.

I'm a front desk agent for Hilton. I just had a guest try to check in, but I couldn't find his reservation anywhere. Come to find out, he booked through reservations.com. There was nothing I could do- he had to call their customer service hotline. He came back to the desk an hour later and said the reason I couldn't find his reservation is because they got his name wrong. Not like a minor spelling error, but like a totally different name. Luckily I was able to find it and get him checked in. That ended well- there have been so many times where 3rd parties from all over the internet have overbooked us. Often times a guest will come in with a confirmation page but we don't have it in our system, and sometimes we can't get them a room because we're sold out. Don't let this happen to you. Call the hotel directly, ask for an in-house reservation or use their OFFICIAL website. Consider signing up for loyalty programs (like Marriott rewards or Hilton HHonors). Even if you are paying a few dollars more (the real hotel rates are not usually drastically different), the peace of mind of knowing you actually have a reservation and that you can make changes to it- is worth it.