Anyone with good/bad experience with booking hotels from off-name travel sites?

The two sites that I've interested in are www.airfare.com and www.1800hotels.com

I have found great deals on hotels from the sites and was wondering if there was any risk in booking through them?

most hotels have price parity, meaning you should see the same rate across the board. a few ways to get better deals is to 1) look for advance purchase rates. These usually require prepayment and have tougher cancel restrictions, but can save you 10-20% off per night. 2) If flying or renting a car, look for "package" deals on sites like Expedia, Orbitz, etc. You can usually find a better deal on all components doing this.

Remember, if it looks to good to be true, it usually is! Most hotels do not honor requests for bedding/smoking on reservations booked on 3rd party sites. However, most will if you book through their website or 800#.

Hotels.com almost always seems to have the best prices. I shop around but in the end use them almost exclusively.

Anyone know of a travel site that I can book a package (car + hotel) with multiple hotels? I can book car + 4 nights for ~$460, or I can book the car for $200 and the rooms $125/night if I do it separately.

The thing to watch out for when pricing the hotels, is that some sites don't show the taxes and fees until you are about to confirm the reservation, while others are up front with it. There are other sites that don't charge the taxes and fees, and you are required to pay them directly to the hotel when you arrive. This is kind of a shady tactic they use to lure people in with supposedly lower rates, when in fact you are paying the same rate, just not all at the same time. It often catches people off guard.

I had a situation one time where my secretary booked a room for me on TravelWorm. When I got to the hotel, they had no record of my reservation. Turned out that TW had gone bankrupt and failed to send the $ to the hotel. Actually worked out for the better as the hotel gave me a free upgrade at the same rate, due to the inconvenience. Secretary was also able to get credit card refunded for TW charge.

So I guess the only thing I'd be leary about in using an off-name site is whether or not they will do what they promise.

I have experience with hotels.com. I really have a great experience. I have spent almost a week along with traveling.