Each time a hotel has had an issue Expedia and hotels.com has fixed the issue for me by refunding the difference or giving me a credit for another booking
Cancelling through hotels.com has always been easy. Even for bookings that have been non refundable, they can call the hotel and make exceptions.
I would never not use it. Dealing with sites directly is a nightmare.
Each time a hotel has had an issue Expedia and hotels.com has fixed the issue for me by refunding the difference or giving me a credit for another booking
Cancelling through hotels.com has always been easy. Even for bookings that have been non refundable, they can call the hotel and make exceptions.
I would never not use it. Dealing with sites directly is a nightmare.