Checking out checking in.

I see lots of commercials for sites like Expedia and Hotels.com. They promise me these great deals on hotels and in their commercials show prices like $97, which would probably be a good deal even in
Stockton,  Texas. But when I contact them, which I have tried doing often in the past few years, their prices seem no lower than the hotel's and sometimes even higher. Today for instance, I tried booking directly with a Washington, D.C. hotel. The rate was $209 a night. Ah, I thought, it must be much less with Expedia. But when I went to them, the same kind of room and the same nights were an average of $236.00 a night. So where are these great savings? In addition Expedia charges my credit card immediately (for a booking two months away) the hotel only when I check in. And the hotel has a much more flexible and less complicated cancellation policy. Maybe there are people who are getting great deals on these sites, but I'm sure as hell not one of them.