Cleartrip via Smartbuy - Boon or Bane?

[Sriim]

Ever since I started using smartbuy in 2022, I was always surprised to find that Cleartrip has cheaper prices for the same property compared to MMT or Yatra. I'm not a frequent traveler - I have booked 5 stays in the last 2½ years. When I used Cleartrip for the first time, the experience was smooth, contrary to my expectation.

But last week, I had booked a property via Cleartrip using smartbuy. The difference in price between Cleartrip and MMT was Rs 200/night. But when attempting checkin, hotel denied checkin stating they don't accept bookings via Cleartrip as they are unable to login to their Cleartrip account and that Cleartrip has not resolved their issue despite multiple complaints. Cleartrip call support picked up immediately on call and tried to convince the hotel management, but they didn't budge. After a 45 minute call, customer support promised full refund and I checked into a nearby hotel.

I'm planning to book another hotel for this month end. The price difference this time is Rs 900/night. I called the hotel and asked if they accept bookings from Cleartrip, they replied stating "We're not aware of this website. We do accept bookings from MMT, Yatra, Agoda, Goibibo and Expedia".

So

1. Can I try booking with cheaper price using Cleartrip? Or is it not worth the risk?
2. Anyone has any relevant experience? Either good or bad
3. Is there any case for compensation for my experience last week?

 

[Jkt]

Even in the background, you will have some other aggregator, that's how the business runs.
what u can do is, book the hotel, and post one day call the hotel and confirm.
if the hotel says no booking is available, you can cancel and look for other alternatives