In the past I've had much better luck with the "local tourist info center" approach than with any booking service or other internet search. Unfortunately, that requires arriving in town at a suitable time of day, a practice which seems to evade me in recent years.
I'd caution that Booking.com does indeed mess up from time to time, regardless of your position in their loyalty program. I've had conformed reservations which were never made, at least one price quoted for two days which the property owner insisted was valid only for one (and adamantly refused to honor), times when other booking agents were substantially cheaper for the identical rooms, burgeoning email spam which surged and receded according to my use, and most alarmingly two separate credit card hacks which were likely related to use of the app. The discounts for regular users are quite minor, though worth taking when offered.
In other words, don't get complacent.
Mark
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