Best Western Hotels Booked a room at a B&W Carmel By the Sea through Hotels.com. Had a family emergency and had to cut short our vacation which had another two days to go. We two days to go when we cancelled the booking through Hotels.com and also sent a note to the hotel. Phoenix Arizone

Sorry but you are incorrect. It doesn't matter what you "figure", it matters what the policy is. It is YOUR responsibility to understand that Cancellation Policy BEFORE you book your hotel. Contrary to your comment, a 4-Day Cancellation policy is not fraud, in fact, it is actually common and on the low side in some areas and certain time periods. I've booked rooms with cancellation policies with everything from no cancellation, cancel up to 6 PM the day of arrival all the way out to a 14-day policy. But the difference is that unlike you, I actually review the policy BEFORE I book.

As for 3rd party sites, Hotels.com was right they have zero say in the hotel policy. The manager is also correct that it is not their fault if Hotels.com told you something different.  If you have proof that Hotels.com told you something different where you were entitled to a refund, then your issue is with them.  But this is why I never book through a 3rd party site and always book directly with the hotel. The savings are often not worth the hassle if you run into issues.  Very often(but not always) if you call the hotel directly and tell them you saw a lower rate they often will honor that rate.