Booked a 3 night stay in Venice last August, arrival Wednesday, departing Saturday in mid March, with the hotel directly, booking dot com had similar pricing, but they did have the full bedroom type choices, like the hotel did.
I prepaid, and knew the risk of this, and it was a good bit cheaper.
when i asked the hotel about the virus implications, they immediately offered(without me even asking), a reservation date change to any dates of my choice for the rest of 2020, so i moved it to October, at zero additional cost.
I don’t believe i would have received the same flexibility, if i had booked with one of the hotel wholesalers like booking dot com. In my revised reservation, i also included a Saturday night, which is the most expensive night to stay in the hotel- this was not an issue.
It can work out better to book directly with the hotel.
I would be confident, if it turns out the city remains on lockdown in October, the hotel would offer a further date change, however i am hoping thats less likely, as its 6 months from now.