Complain about a product or service

Expedia - Hotels

• Air travel • Hotels • Vacation packages --- News • Expedia Ordered to Reimburse Extra Tax Charged to Consumers

Tayo of San Marcos, CA September 20, 2009

I completed the reservation and fully paid for the hotel more than a week before the trip. The reservation was for a four-day stay, from August 6 to August 9, 2009, and was non-refundable. I called the hotel from Atlanta Airport (I was traveling from San Diego to Virginia) on August 6 to confirm if my request for early check-in would be accommodated. I was told by the person on the reservation desk that there was no reservation in my name. He said that I should call Expedia to find out what happened. I called Expedia, still from Atlanta Airport, and spoke with a CSR who said that she would check with the hotel. She put me on hold and spoke with the hotel. Later, she told me that everything was ok and that my room should be ready before I arrived in Virginia. By this time, I was about to board the flight to Virginia, and therefore could not call the hotel to confirm.

I arrived at the hotel about three hours later, and to my disappointment, there was no room reserved under my name. They said that I should call Expedia again to find out what the problem is. I called Expedia and was told that they had already sent a fax to the hotel. The hotel agreed that they had already received three faxes from Expedia, but that the reservations are not done by fax, and that this particular one should be done through the proper channel. The lady at the hotel's reservation desk spoke with Expedia's CSR and told her to make another reservation, but the CSR did not do this because, I think, of the increase in price. I was given the phone again, and the CSR said that I should allow her to make a new reservation for me at another hotel, or that my money would be refunded. By this time, I was dead tired, because I had traveled throughout the night. I was then not ready to move to another hotel. Therefore, I told her that she should try everything to get me into the hotel.

Anyway, I asked her to refund my money and that Expedia should be ready to pay for the difference incurred; this knowing that I would have lost my money if I had tried to change my travel date. About two weeks after I came back, I check to find out if my credit card has been credited. Alas, this was not the case. I sent a message (from Expedia's web site), on August 17, to Customer Service telling them about my experience and that my account had not been credited. I received the automated response to the message telling me that I should receive a response within 24 hours. I am still waiting for that response. About a week later, I called customer service, and the person that I spoke with told me that Expedia couldn't refund my money, not to talk about paying for the difference. It took me more than fifteen minutes before I was able to convince him why my money should be refunded. I asked that he allow me to speak to a supervisor, but he kept me on hold for more than twenty minutes until I decided to drop the call. On September 4, I sent a letter to Expedia's corporate office and Customer Service Department. I am also still waiting for the response to the letter. It is now September 20, more than six weeks after the trip, and my credit card has not been credited for the 186.00 charge, not to talk about the difference in cost incurred.

randy of yonkers, NY September 19, 2009

after booking World Quest Resort in Orlando FL for stay from 9/12 - 916: first our room (booked through a expedia.com package) was incorrect, there was no pull out bed as booked in the living room -- we changed rooms (only later to find out that all they needed to do was to roll in a folding cot). . . we are a husband and wife, my husbands parents and our 2 toddler children were joining us for our stay in this 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom suites.

we all left for dinner and on our return -- our rooms was infested with cockaroaches! many, many roaches, all over the floor, walls, even the beds the kids were to sleep in. we called the front desk, they sent a maintenance man armmed with a very large container of bug spray, which he could not use because of the children. they offered us a new room except in a different building, when we inspected this new room, we found the cabinet trim along the bottom floor was broken and splintered, with two toddlers this was not a good thing. after returning to our original room and finding more roaches roaming, we decided it best we leave.

I called expedia.com to see what they can and will do for me, i spoke with Customer rep who informed me that it was after hours and that the best idea was to check out of this hotel and check into another then call in the morning, as it was too late to do anything about rebooking. well we did just that. at 11:30 p.m. with two kids in tow and 250.00 worth of groceries purchased that afternoon at the local walmart, we drove around the disney area to find a new hotel to accommodate our family and food. . . after in and out of 4 hotels, we arrived at the homewood suites by hilton in lake buena vista. they had a 2 bedroom suites that that a 1/2 kitchen with a full size refrigerator. we booked it!! this new booking was more costly than the World Quest Resort was, but at this point, we really had no choice. we settled the kids in and got them sleeping, as well as all of us. .

in the morning around 8:30 a.m. i called expedia.com only to find out that they had already issued a refund for the WQ Resort of 467.00 the new hotel cost was 895 for the 4 nights. they would NOT book us a new accommodation as we 'had already done so' and 'they had already issued a refund for the hotel portion of our trip'! i spoke with them until i was blue in the face! i was willing to move out of homewood suites, and into a new expedia booking, they again said too late for this option, once they issue a refund they can not do anything else. i had emailed requests to expedia for a refund of the difference between their 467 credit and the 895 it cost for hotel stay. this incident had ruined our entire vacation, as being laid off a month before our trip we were already on a tight budget. we had to skip our planned visit to sea world, which disappointed the kids. . . i will continue to contact expedia in hope of reaching the right person who can offer some financial reimbursement. . . but two things,

one: avoid booking with expedia.com -- they do not stand behind their suggested hotels that pop up on their website and do not accommodate their customers in good faith. . . two: and by all means -- avoid a booking at the World Quest Resort, in Orlando Florida!! it's a condo kind of rental arrangement with a seris of buildings. . . it was a horror!! from check in to check out, not only the obvious roach problems, but on check in there was not a luggage cart of shopping cart to be found, we made 10 trips to and from our car. the TV remote did not work in the living room. the ice maker in the fridge did not work. there was only COLD water in one of the showers; the floor appeared not be have been vaccumed too well, as there was metal clips on the floor in the bedroom we had assigned to the kids. (ages 2 and 3). PLEASE AVOID BOOKING AT THE WORLD QUEST RESORT

Stacy of St Charles, IL September 8, 2009

I booked a flight and hotel from Expedia for August 9-14, 2009. The problems began at arrival of the airport. We were taken to our hotel, Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, Kingston, Jamaica. At first we were told by phone by the hotel that we would be able to check in early. Not until 4:30PM was I able to once again reach the front of the line to be told the room was still not ready. We had been at the hotel since 1PM. Once we finally received a room it was not an ocean view as explained on Expedia. It was a run down room overlooking a very noisy pool. The door facing the pool did not close all of the way, and there was simply a latch there that was not holding the door shut or keeping the bugs and noise out. I immediately contacted Expedia. They offered to move us to another room that would be less noisy for us. I told the representative that this entire hotel and experience was completely unacceptable. At that time I had been on the phone for nearly 20 minutes trying to get more information and I was told to contact the Expedia Representative at the hotel.

After finding the travel agent, she informed me that she could not call the Expedia number because it was an International Call. I made the call and was kept on hold for over 60 minutes with an on and off conversation with a completely incompetent representative who insisted we had not checked out of the hotel so therefore she could not move us to another hotel. After finally convincing her that we had in fact checked out with the Manager over an hour ago, she finally agreed to set us up at another hotel for an additional 65.00 for the week. Meanwhile I am being charged 1.69 per minute for these calls. After being transported for another 80 in transportation and an hour's time, we arrived at the second hotel. This was a much nicer place, but since it was Expedia's mistake, I feel they should have taken a hit on the upgrade or switching hotel charged. Also there was an additional 20 minute conversation with Expedia after our arrival, they had still not faxed the necessary paperwork, so I had to wait again on hold. All together this little fiasco cost me about 169 in phone charges and the additional 65 for the week. I have sent numerous requests to the representatives and I was only offered either a 50 or 100 voucher towards my next trip with them. This would be the first and last.

william of staten island , NY August 12, 2009

I recently purchased a hotel room from 07/30/09 at the Days Inn in Alsip Illinios and the price was 271.00. When I checked out I got the bill from the hotel for 207.04. I called Expedia customer service to see when I would see the difference credited back to my credit card and they said the I wasnt getting the money back for the difference because that week the hotel was giving discounted rates and they booked us for the normal rate. They tried to offer me a 100 coupon for the next time I use Expedia but I refused to accept it because #1 I'll never book on Expedia again and #2 I want my cash back because Im not going on vacation for a long time. Please help me get my monies back.

Aleksander of Staten Island, NY August 5, 2009

When booking my trip with Expedia I made several calls before hand to find out the details and stipulations of the arrangements. I eventually booked online and the next day found a promotional offer for 2 free show tickets to Mystere at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas, NV. I called into customer service and asked if I can use this in conjunction with and retroactively with my already made purchase. After a few minutes on hold I was told yes to which I asked for an email confirmation and the rep responded by stating that there's no need and don't worry everything will be fine just pick it up at the will call booth.

I called again after that to confirm once more, everything was still good so I called the hotel and they told me the same thing, just come to the booth and you'll have your tickets. In addition, I called once more to the hotel and asked and once again they confirmed that the tickets were waiting for me.

Once I got to the hotel and waited for about 45 minutes on the ticket line I encountered problems. Initially the advisor told me everything looked good I just have to make one call to the front desk to sign off on it. However, as I asked him multiple times and explained to them the situation he reassured me that all will be well and ultimately wasn't. The front desk stated that they had to get in contact with Expedia and we were on hold for about 10-15 minutes and finally I was rejected. The advisor at the hotel even told me exactly where my seats were supposed to be (Row KK) and said that he saw everything in the computer, however I never received my tickets.

The next 5 hours was littered with me calling both sides and each side treating me rather unfavorably and discourteously to which point I could take no longer of getting the run around and the lack of compassion so I raised my tone and got rather lucid on the phone about my displeasure. The rep did little more than say that there's nothing she can do but that is a lie as later on in the conversation a "solution" was brought to me that I promptly rejected because of the ludicrous style in which it was proposed and the nature of the future credit towards another Expedia purchase.

However to take advantage of the purchase I once again ran the risk of dealing with this disturbing level of "customer service" if I had again run into any issues with a vacation package after having this horrible experience this time around. In addition, to take advantage of this "solution" I would have to spend a lot more out of pocket to get that minimal credit towards a future package, which once again would mean that I would get the shaft.

Throughout the calls that I had made I was repeatedly told that I could go and buy the tickets for full retail price, as if permission was needed for me to go and buy the tickets. The tickets were not the topic of debate any longer it was the customer service experience that drained me and caused me to lose the first day of my (W-Sunday) 5 day vacation.

Once again, I was the one that felt the burn and burden of this horrible experience as Expedia and the hotel already had my money and I was left on the proverbial outside looking in.

Peter of Worcester, MA July 26, 2009

In February, 2009, I booked a trip for my wife, her sister and her mother to Newfoundland, Canada. The trip package consisted of airline tickets, hotel and rental car. At the top of the Rules and restrictions section, it states "You may cancel your hotel without affecting your other travel items(s)." However, when I called to change the hotel reservations to another hotel in a different city, I was told that "I could cancel the hotel but the cost of the hotel (740.97) was not refundable." When I replied that it didn't make any sense to be able to cancel a hotel if I couldn't get my money back, they told me about the fine print at the END of the Rules and restrictions section (which was "collapsed for normal viewing") which stated that the hotel was not refundable.

This is a very unethical business practice. You should not state one policy at the top of the itinerary and then have a contradictory clause hidden at the bottom. Especially since they now have TV commercials in the Boston, MA, area that proclaim, among other things, that one can cancel the hotel section of a reservation without penalty.

Marie of Carbondale, CO July 9, 2009

On June 18, 2009 I googled hotels near the airport in Denver and the first hotel that came up listed an 800 phone number which I called and it turned out to be Expedia, which is fine. The agent I spoke to informed me that the nearest hotel available for 6/29/09 with a park and ride package for 100.00 or less was Hotel 3737 on Quebec, approximately 14 miles from the airport. I assumed that I had booked at a busy time, and believed the agent. I was informed that it was a 3.5 star hotel with a pool and long-term parking with an airport shuttle, which I believed to true for the price of 100.00. I booked and paid for the hotel at that time.

On 6/29/09, I traveled to that destination from my residence in Carbondale Colorado, only to find an extremely run down facility with dirty bedding, rooms, hallways and outside premises. The pool was under construction of some sort because the paint was peeling and I did see a cockroach in front of the elevator as I made my departure.

I immediately called Expedia and informed them of the condition of the hotel and to find a nicer hotel, they called the manager while I was on hold to request a refund and returned to the line to inform me that the manager was only willing to move me to a cleaner room. I tried repeatedly to book another hotel with Expedia which had parking and airport shuttle service and they recommened a number of places near the downtown Denver area, despite my request for an Airport hotel. I drove towards the airport, turned off on Tower Rd and pulled into the one of the first hotels I saw which was the Courtyard Marriot, it was getting late and I had my 7 year old son with me. I just want my money back from the filthy hotel.

Mir of Karachi, MI July 7, 2009

We booked Washingtion Holiday Inn-Georgetown for july 3 to 5 to be in capital for July celebrations. I made the booking through Expedia on June 6, 2009. When we arrived at Holiday Inn after a long flight it was informed that no bookings have been made. On informing Expedia from the hotel they sent the hotel booking form to Hoiliday Inn who informed that they have no rooms since it was July 4th. After several hours of phone calls Expedia another hotel Washington Marriott and charged me extra money and as favor to compensate the misery offered four movie passes. We took a cab and spent another 30 and went to Marriott. The front desk at Marriott informed that there is no provision of movie passes on Expedia bookings. I lodged a formal complaint at Expedia website wich has not been addressed so far after a lapse of 3 days. Users of Expedia and other websites be aware of such incidents happening..

Widanardi of Depok, Indonesia July 2, 2009

I booked two rooms in Holiday Inn Olaya, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a business trip from June 26-July 1, 2009, via expedia.com. I agreed to pay U.1,853.30 (nett, including breakfast) and expedia.com charged my credit card for that. Before I left Jakarta, I checked the hotel, and they said the booking was confirmed.

When I arrived at the hotel almost midnight, I was surprised that the hotel refused to honor my agreed rate with expedia but promised me to check again. Later, the hotel informed me that they had told expedia.com not to sell at that rate anymore.

My complaint to expedia.com was responded by asking me to call their US number. I refused. When I checked out, the hotel said they never got any payment from expedia so they charged me. The manager said that I was not the first case and showed me the document from previous cases. To help solving the cases, the hotel issues a letter confirming that no payment has ever been paid by expedia and usually the money will be credited back in one or two days. I got the same letter, signed by he hotel's financial controller, and the hotel helped me sending the letter to expedia by fax.

My complaint to expedia was, again, answered by requesting me to call to their US number. I did make the call only to be redirected to the hotel after 16 minutes in waiting. Now, I'm worried that expedia won't return my money back. U.1,853.30 was credited from my credit card by expedia, never paid to the hotel and I want it back.

henry of louisburg, NC June 26, 2009

expedia stated that the room rate to two nights was 213.00 but i got a receipt for 155.00. it seems to me that 58.00 is excessive for a two night hotel stay. it will be my last expedia experiencs.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |