Hotel asking to rebook rooms even though already made reservation through a travel site

I would not rebook with that hotel becasue i would no longer trust it. Either they are desperate for money and want the few extra bucks, or they are basucally unethical . Euther way i would not sleep there.

Which hotel and which booking site.

No, I don't think any reputable hotel would ask someone to do "extra work" of booking again as some sort of work around....of course hotels don't want to pay third party commissions, but no one forced them to sign third party contracts in the first place. If they agreed to be listed on third party sites, then they should honor the outcome without trying to undermine it in their favor (while putting the potential guest in an awkward position, as seems to be the case here).

If the guest reports this to the booking site, they most likely will contact the hotel. I would book elsewhere.

I don't see a problem with re-booking with the hotel. Yes, they probably want to save the commission they pay to the booking site, but this may also provide a discount for cash payment, which the booking site will not do.

If the travel is taking place in peak season and especially in the near future, my preference would be not to mess around with changing reservations and so on, as it could be difficult (if not impossible) to get a booking at another hotel.

This is exactly why I never use booking sites, but always prefer to deal directly with the hotel.

I'm with Ken, I never use a booking website in the first place. They'll tell you it's the lowest rate, but I have enough cases where I got a better rate booking directly than I would have through a booking website, to know that's not true. Plus, there is a whole world of properties out there that don't appear on booking websites and are less expensive than those that do.

I totally agree with the ethics of the situation as spelled out by Agnes. The hotels listed on booking sites are already getting a certain amount of free exposure to people who see them listed on sites but find the hotels' own contact info and book direct. Your friend could have done that, but she chose not to. Now the hotel is asking her to help them evade their contract. Unethical on their part and unethical to assist them in doing so. I also agree with Pat in not wanting to do business with such folks.

Yes, ethically it is not right. I can not remember the name of the hotel.

Ethically correct or not, sometimes one has to be pragmatic according to the circumstances. Rather than worrying about the ethics, I'd crack-on and get the booking done.

I would question the validity of the email. It is an unusual business practice. If you have thoughts of making the change, I would telephone the manager of the hotel first, ask if this email is legitimate. Do not use the telephone number on the email received but on the hotels main website.

Repeat of this scam when Booking.com's site was hacked?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29942503

Yes, it is will be best to call hotel on the main website number to check validity as it might be a scam as Linda mentioned.

We are in agreement with Ken and Lee in that we never use booking sites period! We always deal directly with the hotel. If an issue arises it can be sorted out directly. It might be "old school", but it keeps things simple. And there's nothing better, in our opinion, than "KISS" -- keep it short and simple.

I think there is a difference between not using the booking site at all and changing the booking later so the hotel can avoid the booking site's fee. And I agree that it would not sit right with me to collude with the hotel to deprive the site of its fee.

In addition to the possibility of the scam raised above, and even if I were willing to set aside the ethical matter, I would want to make sure all the terms were the same. One of the reasons I used booking.com this last trip was that there was some uncertainty about our travel plans when I booked and booking through booking.com for the hotels I chose allowed me to cancel with no penalty until the week before arrival.

I would question the validity of the email. It is an unusual business practice.

This is the best advice. Sounds like her e-mail may have been hacked and the bot was able to skim off her e-mail and the fact that she booked at a certain hotel...the request to rebook is a way to extort money from her by pretending the e-mail is from the hotel. That's a great idea to call the hotel's number directly and try to rule this out. I would advise the third party site as well.

Agreed on confirming
if you are not comfortable calling ; wait a day or two and email the hotel from the website contact us link.

Also to Ken's post about the booking sites.
Years ago they were always cheaper than hotel sites, now the prices are typically the same within the US but for many Italian
hotels the prices will be the same or cheaper by about 5% if you contact the hotel directly.
Best thing to do is to use the booking site to find the hotel you want than go to the hotel's website and compare the rate and/or email the hotel directly for what you want and see what rate they email you. I would not ask for a lower price just ask for your dates and see what they offer.

Some examples from this upcoming trip I am planning:
One hotel's website offers choice of free parking, late check out or free bottle of wine if you book on their website for the exact same cost as the booking sites.

Also on multiple occasions for a coming trip. The hotel's website and booking websites did not show the room type I wanted for a particular date or may have had it available for 2 of the 3 nights I wanted.
Emailing them and requesting that room type for the dates I wanted on 3 different occasions they sent me back a confirmation with the room I wanted which I could not have booked on any website. Not sure if they hold a few upgraded rooms and took from that inventory?

Our Venice hotel, Palazzo Vitturi had a room that was only available on their website (this rooms has frescoed ceilings and a large balcony but cost barely more than rooms that do not), I was lucky to get this unique room by booking on their site.

Some of the cancellation policies are better or have later dates if you deal via email vs. booking sites.

There are still some Italian hotels that do not list with the booking sites, it is not uncommon for some to be lesser known but others are #1 rated for their towns on TA and limited number of rooms so don't feel the need to lose any money in the process they are confident they will fill up either way. Rick Steve's favorite hotel in Montepulciano and the #1 rated hotel on TA in Montepulciano is this way. The Cinque Terre I suspect is filled with examples of this.

"Years ago they were always cheaper than hotel sites, now the prices are typically the same within the US but for many Italian hotels the prices will be the same or cheaper by about 5% if you contact the hotel directly."

I've found that many hotels will provide a discount of about 5% if the bill is paid in cash, rather than using a credit card. They may not offer that same discount for guests that reserve through a booking site, as they will have to pay commission to the booking site.

As TC mentioned above, I also try to practice the "KISS" principle and eliminating the middleman is one way to do that (and I use the same principle when booking flights).