Hotels.com review: fraud 42

I had a similar experience with them recently, hotels.com agent gave me false information about the location of the hotel as well as the refund policy. While booking the hotel I asked representative whether I will get a refund if for any reason I decide not to stay at this location or leave early and agent promised me that is not at a problem and even gave me a number to call for getting a refund. Prior to check in I went over those terms and learnt that this particular hotel doesn't refund the money, so I requested cancellation of the reservation as it was obviously an error. Upon follow up phone call with Hotels.com supervisor on call, she refused to cancel the reservations and/or refund the balance. Now I am disputing the transaction as well as evaluating legal options. It seems they have reached really low levels as they are giving out FALSE information to earn business.

I had a similar experience. I prepaid for a room. Upon arrival I was told they were overbooked and no room was available. I was sent to another hotel, and had to pay for another room.

When calling for a refund I got a run around from customer support. They refunded my original payment, but every time I got to speak with a supervisor I was disconnected. (Of course, I was getting pretty mad)... They also said they would send me an $80 voucher for future use, and call me back telling me how this won't happen again to me or other customers...

The same happened to us this summer, we booked and paid an hotel in Cerdeña and when we arrived to the hotel the booking was cancelled. We paid other hotel and when we finished our holidays, get in contact by mail with book in hotels.com and they said that will refund our money in two months. Today they haven´t refund nothing so I have taken all the legal measures to try to close their web, obviously their are thiefs and the web is a total fraud.

Please, do not use their web if you don´t want to be stolen.

I had a similar experience with bookinhotels.com and I´d like to warn people about their special refunds policy.They take your money as soon as you click on "book hotel" but then, if you cancel your booking, you have to wait more than 2 months to receive your money back. I have to phone them to complain but they never answer the phone, so I emailed them many times but never got a reply until I told them I would take legal action if they failed to refund my money.I thought I would not get my money back but I got it at the end and after many emails. I won´t book a hotel with them again and I advice people not to do it.

I totally agree with all of the above compaints. We booked a hotel in London and paid in full back in May, 2 days before we left in July we received an email from Book in Hotels that they had financial issues with the hotel and our hotel was cancelled. I phoned the hotel and they stated that they had never received a booking for us. In the email from Book in Hotels it stated that it could take up to 2 month to receive a refund. I emailed the company straight away re our refund and no reply. Two weeks ago I sent an other email and once again no reply. Now that I have read all the complaints about this company I am sure that I will not receive an refund. These people are frauds and operate from Istanbul. How I wish that they could be stopped and charged with fraud so no other traveller will get caught the way I did. I will be making this complaint to Mastercard as I am sure that they have a fraud squad who are willing to investigate it. As from today Book in Hotels are still advertising on the web. Please, please could they be stopped somehow.

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT do business with this company. I booked a hotel reservation and canceled two days prior to arrival and was under the impression that the cancellation had gone through successfully as I even recall the representative telling me to allow one billng cycle for the refund to appear on my statement. It has been more than one billing cycle and I called hotels.com to follow-up only to find that the cancellation was never processed and it has been well past the reservation date. Although I had done everything right I am now not entitled to the refund even if it was an error on the part of their reservations representative who was handling my cancellation wishes at the time. I would not be pursuing this aggressively if hotels.com had substance behind their claims. This company need to be investigated by the Better Business Bureau. Take your business to an honest company, do not waste your time and money here.

From Brasil,

I've booked the family accommodation at the Rodeway Inn (total of 16 days and US$ 649, 93) and two days before the scheduled date I received exacly the same e-mail of "Sbrain", financial issues, refund in 10 days, bla bla bla...
We need to make more noise on that, otherwise they'll deceive more people. FRAUD ! FRAUD ! FRAUD !
Regards,
Fabio

They mishandled one reservation and now they are a dishonest company? Really? Might you be overreacting just a little?

How about you dispute this with your credit card company so that they are forced to investigate?

Read all of the other post on Hotels.com! JEEZ!

So there's 10 complaints.

How many transactions do you think they perform a day? And how many of these "complainers" do you think actually read the terms and conditions? To complete the transaction they had to check a box that they read and agreed to them.

JEEZ!

I have checked in 20 hotel.com transactions in a day, and I live in a PODUNK town! And as far as terms and conditions go, if people don't read them, and they are putting their credit cards on these sites, feel sorry for them! But, there are people who will still try to call and cancel. Guest books with hotels.com, wants to cancel, calls hotel, hotel tells guest you must call hotels.com because they have a no-cancellation policy, hotels.com calls hotel to see if hotel will cancel AND refund the small portion of money the hotel actually gets from this transaction, hotel says, "will you refund the guest their fees that were paid" hotels.com says no, so hotel says no! Like you're caught up in a divorce or something! I keep saying it, do not use those booking companies unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE of your trip, otherwise, just call the hotel or the hotels franchises
1-800 number.

I agree. Bookinhotels.com is a FRAUD. They take you money as soon as you book a hotelroom but don't forward the booking to the hotel. Then after a while they send you a mail that your booking has been cancelled due to 'financial issues'.
I checked with the hotel and they had never even received my booking! Now I'm still waiting for my refund.
Also: after my booking someone tried to charge 550 dollars from my credit card. Coincidence? I think not. I reported this to my credit card company and they're investigating it as credit card fraud.
Do not trust bookinhotels.com!

awful experience. the staff walked into the room on several occasions without knocking. They claimed they had called the room first, but they did not as there were several other phone calls from friends that came into the room at around the same time and were answered. They put me in a room in a wing undergoing renovation that was closed off by a separate door. In the hallway outside the room, there was peeling wallpaper, smell of paint and dismantled lighting units propped up against the hallway walls. This part of the hotel was very different from the main part of the hotel in which the hallways looked fine. In the room itself, the bathroom did not flush, the TV stand was falling apart, the furniture was old, scratched and outdated, the bathroom floors were sticky, there were dirty stains by the bathroom sink, and there was a smell of urine. When I called the front desk, the attendant said he would come and spray Lysol in the room to make it smell better. When I asked to speak to the manager, Gia Ghandi, the attendant said I should wait ten minutes and the manager would come out to speak to me, when I asked after ten minutes, the front desk attendant said to wait a half hour, finally he said the manager was in a meeting and was not available to speak. When I asked to speak to the manager over the phone, the front desk attendant said this was not allowed. This was not a professional expeience.

Do not touch Bookinhotels with a bargepole as I found out to my cost. I booked a four star hotel in London in June 2009. Three days before we were due to go in August three emails from Bookinhotels arrived informing me they had cancelled my booking due to their company having financial difficulties & that my credit card would be reimbursed. I phoned the hotel to find my room was cancelled & they were full. I had to find another hotel in peak season that had room. Of course my credit card wasn't reimbursed & after numerous emailing (phone number only has a voicemail message) I am out of pocket & annoyed.
DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS EVER.

I also was conned by Bookin Hotels and suggest that you all make formal complaints to Visa as Bookin Hotels uses the "Visa Certified" logo on its website. They looked into it and eventually refunded the full amount. Hopefully if enough people complain, the credit card companies will sort this organisation out.

Hello everyone.
I have the same problem with BookInHotels. I have made a reservation for 5 nights to Stockholm and 3 days prior to my departure I received an e-mail saying this is an regretful situation but due to some financial problems my reservation is canceled and all my money used to pay for the reservation will be reimbursed to the same credit card I have used to make the initial payment. This message was sent all most three months ago and no signs to get my money back. From what I have seen it was mentioned that the payment was operated by the UK branch in London and therefore I am thing of making an official complaint to the UK customer protection, maybe something shall be done.
I used the method with e-mails myself but no luck in getting a reply from them.
The ### are thinking that they are getting away with this but no chance in hell I will keep trying until someone will do the right thing and that is to make them pay for what they did.
So in the end be aware of snakes like BookInHotels and avoid them always.

Yes Book In Hotels should be ran out of business.

Also had a negative experience with the last minute cancellation and refund never arriving ... Now I'm claiming the money back through credit card company...

Cretzu's idea to write to Uk customer protection is a good one. As many people as possible should contact them... I know I will . Although I'm quit sure I'll get my money back this company should not be allowed to go on, they should instead have lawsauits on their back cause they are clearly stealing money from people ...

I made a reservation through hotels.com Only because I was led to believe that I would receive a rebate. I read and re-read the requirementsvery carefully. I even had the help of one of their reps!

After I completed my stay I immediately sent the rebate form to Hotels.com and I NEVER received my rebate! They keep telling me they sent it but my bank is saying they did not and it's not on my statement so where could it be?

I am so angry that I have talked to numerous agents and SUPERVISORS and none of them have been able to resolve this issue! This is insane! I will NEVER book ANYTHING through them again and I advise you not to do so either!

I booked a hotel through hotels.com and then later that day found it cheaper directly through the hotel. I couldnt get on the hotel website earlier in the day otherwise I would have booked it through them. The price before taxes and fee's was the same 115.00 but hotels.com added taxes and fee's that brought the total to about 150.00 . The hotel site had the same room for 129.05 after taxes and HOTELS.com will not honor that price saying they only match the regular rate of 115.00 before fee's yet it says NOTHING about that in their so called "PRICE MATCH GUARANTEE" I've complained and argued the fact several times with them so I will now make sure I will not use them again and I will contact the better business bureau and post complaints where I can so others may see this and steer clear of Hotels.com

Hotels.com is a scam. I had the exact same problem. I booked Friday and Saturday night at a hotel for $134.00 per night, but the hotel website did not have a room open for Thursday night. I hit a search engine and Hotels.com came up with a room at that same hotel for Thursday night for $155.00 and Friday and Saturday night for $165.00 per night. I decided to book the Thursday night room for $155.00 through Hotels.com for convenience. I then contacted the hotel directly to find out if I had to change rooms when I switched from the Hotels.com reservation to the hotel's reservation. The hotel informed me that the $155.00 per night Hotels.com booking was for a smaller room than my $134.00 per night reservation directly through the hotel. When I pressed Hotels.com as to why I am paying more for a smaller room on a Thursday night than I am paying for a larger suite on Friday and Saturday, they stuck their head in the sand and said that they could not confirm the rate I got. I then e-mailed them my reservation e-mail and a link to the hotel website with the lower room rates quoted and they responded the same. Then Hotels.com stopped all contact with me and stuck their head in the sand again. So much for their room rate guarantee, what a scam!

You are right this company is dishonest. We confirmed a booking with them and they called to say they could not honour the booking. This is falsely representing a service, as they had previously confirmed the booking. Thank you for your suggestion I have filed two complaints with the Better Business Bureau, one for the misrepresentation and one for the appalling service we have had while trying to resolve the issue. I strongly suggest people follow the advice on this complaint and do not use Hotels.com.

I recently signed up for the rewards program: stay 10 nights get one free. After the initial sign-up, I used a smart phone to book a reservation. I did not see a login so I continued with the booking, assuming I would be asked prior to completion. I wans't. So the reservation was made without logging in to hotels.com.

When I saw I did nto receive a credit for one night stay I emailed the company and was told they could not credit my rewards account for the stay, even though I submitted the reservation and made payment after I had signed up for their program. Their system even sent an email to the same one used for the sign in page.

I emailed back and requested they delete my account. Found out I could do it on the site so I deleted it myself.

I will continue to use the various hotel pages directly and will never again use hotels.com. Absolutely foolish they could not simply look at the reservation and put down a credit for one night.

The "price match guarentee" on hotels.com is no guarentee. I found the same hotel at a cheaper price and they are supposed to match it. The agent said they couldn't because it was below market value. She flat-out lied to me twice during our conversation and refused to furnish her bosses name. The price match guarentee is a lie - there is no satisfaction here or matching. They will simply refuse to match. What a frustration! I will never again use this service for my travel needs.

We had a family reservation for 2 beds; however, when we arrived half hour before check-in there were no rooms with 2 beds available for the night. Huh?! How could that be? Either hotels.com or Marriot bungled our reservation and no one was out a penny, but us.. An extra 20, 000 pennies. Or $200. Boo! :0(

We were offered 2 rooms with 1 bed each instead. TWICE the price and we were staying for 2 nights. Instead of paying $242 for 2 nights as quoted by hotels.com, we paid over $450 dollars. BAIT and Switch. Totally unethical and dishonest! I expected much more from Hotels.com and the Marriot, especially in these hard financial times.

Very Disappointed! Our expectations of the Marriot based on our reservation through hotels.com weren't met at all!

NOTE: We Reported the issue to hotels.com and Marriott on 7/26 regarding our stay 7/22 - 7/24. There has been no customer service contact from either party to resolve the issue and MORE importantly, credit our account for the extra room we should not have needed.

Thought I was being smart making arrangements through hotels.com, but just discovered that it was a $41 mistaken for one night and $20 for another night. The people who checked in before me walked in and asked about a AAA rate and were quoted $112 incl tax...I looked at my confirmation email and saw that I had $153 incl tax. Ouch. I tried to correct it for my next night's stay, but it's too late to cancel and save the difference. I just tweeted @hotelsdotcom and @hotels_com and included #hotelsdotcomfail. I'm usually a savvy traveler, but trusted their rates way too much. I should know to call hotels directly...at least they're understanding and willing to work with you if your plans change. Hotels.com utterly fails.

Before booking with hotels.com call and ask to speak to a supervisor. You will be given the run-around and then disconnected. Everytime. I simply needed a detailed reciept to claim my travel/lodging at work. The hotel I stayed at couldn't give me a reciept because it was booked through a third party. Please call [protected] first, see how they treat customers and then make your decision.

Hotels.Com scammed me. I booked a room with two double beds, and per their policy paid for the room in advance. But when I called the hotel directly to confirm, I found out that the room had only one bed. Two people, one bed. I called Hotels.Com back to complain. Their solution: For an additional $133.00 they would guarantee a room with two double beds OR for an additional $25.00 per night, I could have a cot put in the room. Absolutely no refund. Was I scammed or what?

As part of Hotels.com summer promotion program HotelsSummerGiftaway I was promised a free Amazon Kindle after completion of my stay. I never received a confirmation email or the Kindle. I have tried repeatedly to get Hotels.com to address the issue and they refuse. What a rip off.

The following appeared on my hotels.com reservation: Coupon applied Free AMAZON KINDLE confirmed! Look for an email confirmation from Hotels.com 2 weeks AFTER your stay to confirm your shipping address. Visit HotelsSummerGiftaway.com for questions.

I booked this hotel April 6, 2011 for 3 adults and 1 child age 8. The hotel includes free tickets for up to 4 on the reservation at the onsite water park. I did not receive the reservation confirmation. I had to call 4 times and was disconnected twice.I contacted the reservation again department today April 7, 2011 and was able to get the reservation emailed to me, it was incorrect. It listed 2 adults and 0 child.

They now tell me that there would be $33.90 additional charges each for the 3rd adult and 1 child.

Received confirmation of two rooms reserved for four nights at the Days Hotel in Egg Harbor Township, NJ through Hotels.com.
Upon arrival told by hotel registration personnel that no such reservation had been received by them and that no rooms were available. No help from them in locating nearby accommodations. Called Hotels.com and after 38 minutes on hold their repeated attempts to transfer me to proper department to assist in finding alternative accommodations failed. Finally told by representative to call back tomorrow!

Their website is not updated! Was looking for a hotel as close the Panama City Florida airport as possible since I was arriving late. Booked a hotel through Hotels.com that was suppose to be under 5 miles away...it was 30 minutes away! The airport moved 2 years ago! Called the hotel from the cab at 11PM to be told that I was already charged and I needed to contact Hotels.com. Called Hotels.com to be told that there website is correct and this was all my fault that I spent and additional $150 for another hotel close to the airport! :(

I have experience the price guarantee offered by hotels.com. For my feeling, hotels.com just like "cheating" its customers. I deal with them in accordance with the T&C of the price guarantee. But, they say that my booking is non-refundable booking so it is not under the scope of the price guarantee.

However, I have read through the T&C of the price guarantee. There is no wording about "non-refundable" booking. I make a complaint to them and they were not willing to handle and not reply at email promptly ( 20 days no response from them even with repetitive reminder to them)

So, their service is very bad and the guarantee is just like rubbish.

I made a hotel reservation on hotels.com for the first time. When I got to the hotel (a Quality Inn in Ripley West Virginia), the hotel had no record of the reservation. I called hotels.com, and I had to speak to two individuals with limited English for 20 minutes to cancel the reservation and get a refund. Luckily, the hotel had a room left, which I got at the front desk - for about $18 less than the hotels.com reservation.

I guess hotels.com isn't the way to make hotel reservations.

It's a really bad idea to use any site like this, when traveling by car, because it can upset your trip if you have a car/weather issue. My wife was traveling and was delayed until the morning before checkout and she was not allowed to even get a quick shower. So, this is mostly her "fault" or that of the Clarion hotel. Anyhow, it's better to make your reservation directly (similar costs usually) or just pick something on the road - that way you haven't thrown away the cost of your stay.

Called Hotels.com to find a hotel that offered shuttle service and parking for cruise terminal Cape Liberty. Girl on phone assured me this hotel offered the service. She said she would send me an email with confirmation number and transferred me to another department to get driving directions. That young lady found my reservation and then told me she did not believe this hotel offered the services I needed, gave me their phone number and said I should call to be sure. Sure enough they did NOT offer what I asked for. Called Hotels.com to cancel and they have no record of this transaction, never received the email confirmation BUT my card has been charged. Talked to supervisor Nathan twice who has advised my to file a complaint with my bank as there is nothing he can do for me as I have no confirmation number. Never do business with this company. Rip offs .

Made a reservation for a hotel in Germany. I was told that I would pay nothing until I checked out and my reservation was fully refundable. Despite that, I was immediately billed by the hotel for the entire stay. I canceled it more than a month before the arrival date and received a confirmation. 30 days later I asked where my refund was and was told that my reservation was non-refundable. nobody will aknowledge that my confirmation says it WAS refundable. I have no way to prove it, but there is no way I would have made a non-refundable reservation