You are quite correct on some points. If I book a cheap hotel for a few nights in a city even I use booking.com. If I book a weeks holiday for my family in a villa rental in far flung destination I want something else and I want to speak to the people with knowledge. Sad maybe but a lot of us like this!
Users, specifically in this industry, often don;t find what they want. They find what the aggregator wants them to find, that's more often that not margin generated!