Hotels Fight Comparison Shoppers With Lower, Locked Rates | nytimes.com

For hotels, they are some of the most maddening of customers — those who repeatedly book and cancel rooms at no cost in search of the best deal. While the customer ends up with a low rate on a good room, the snubbed hotel is left with an empty room and no revenue. It is a practice that has grown in recent years as powerful new search and comparison tools become available on the Web.