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Expedia - Hotels

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Marion of Staten Island NY (01/20/09)
I made a reservation at a Quality Inn in Pt. Pleasant, NJ, to enjoy the last days of summer at the beach with my daughter. This motel was advertised as being near the beach. It is over a mile away from the beach in an ugly industrial area. I never checked in. The motel owner would not refund my account and EXPEDIA (after fighting with them for the past four months) continues to refuse to refund my money even though I never stayed there and they practiced deceptive advertising.

They took 211 as payment from my American Express card and refuse to refund it, even with the threat of a lawsuit. They have NO ETHICS.

Wayne of Placitas, NM January 6, 2009

Wayne of Placitas NM (01/06/09)
Booked and prepaid for a Comfort Suites hotel in San Clemente Calif (14 nights in Dec 08) based on Expedia web site description. We got there and signed in , then we went to the room. My wife and I found the room completly unacceptable - lumpy bed, no makeup counter, no drawers. I told Expedia the hotel was unacceptable and they said they are not responsible for the hotel descriptions on their web site. Then Expedia charged me one nights stay to get out of the contract.

Expedia then booked us in another hotel in San Clemente (Hampton Inn & Suites) and charged me 135 a night, claiming this was a discounted rate from 152/night. I approved the hotel choice and accepted the rate of 135/night. I learned later from the hotel front desk that the price for the same room walking in the hotel front door was 129 - that is what I paid for an extra night. Expedia promotes the lowest price rates - not true. Buyer be ware when dealing with Expedia.

Out of pocket costs ~130. Not worth taking legal action but consumers should be awre of my story.

Dennis of Austin, TX December 8, 2008

Dennis of Austin TX (12/08/08)
EXPEDIA RIP OFF

Folks I don't normally go off on a subject like this, but my experience with Expedia is a slap in the face. They must view their customers like cattle, just dumb enough to fall for anything. When you book a hotel with Expedia, beware. While any hotel will allow you to cancel your reservation, with varied time clauses from 48 to 72 hours, not Expedia. They charged me 25, 99 for a cancelation that I made, six weeks prior to staying at the hotel. When I questioned them on this, this was Expedia's explanation.

Expedia negotiates special arrangements with our partner hotels to guarantee the lowest prices available. In order to continue offering these great rates, we need to charge a 25 change/cancellation fee. But that fee allows us to bring you the best possible hotel rates in your future travel.

Germaine, Expedia.com Customer Service Team

Well, I thought I would see what kind of savings that the expert negation team at Expedia had achieved to justify this claim. This is what I found. I compared a booking for December 18th, with the Marriott in Budapest. Going directly through the Marriot web site, my rate was 165.39, or 130.00 Euros. Through Expedia: 164.81 per night

Hmm, now I really feel validated, and assured that the expert negotiation team of Expedia has actually saved me .58 cents! Folks, please get the word out, under no circumstances use Expedia for hotel bookings. We have been a very active customer of Expedia for the past three years. They do not give any customer appreciation points and will jump at the change to gouge you for any nickel or dime they can get away with.

Expedia's response to my .58 cents savings was:

Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request for a refund on the cancellation fee. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you and would like to assure you that every reservation is important to us.

Meredith, Expedia.com Customer Service Team

Hmm, what is important to Expedia is squeezing every cent from your wallet!

I was screwed out of 25.99 through Expedia, when I could of gone direct with the hotel and canceled without a charge. I was cancelling a room 6 weeks in advance.

Ed of Upper Saddle River, NJ November 11, 2008

Ed of Upper Saddle River NJ (11/11/08)
On October 8th, 2008 I called Expedia's customer care by phone to inquire about their Best rate guarantee policy for a hotel reservation in Connecticut, which happened to be 40 higher than a reservation I could've made at the hotel directly. For some reason their representative claimed he was not able to get an online quote at the hotel site, even when he exactly followed my instructions. I offered to send him a screenshot, but he refused. So I told him to attempt booking the same hotel on Orbitz, where he got a quote that was only 5 lower than Expedia's Best rate.

Then, after proving him a proof I could get a less expensive rate for the same room at Orbitz.com he promised a credit for the difference in rate (5 instead of the 40, but still better than nothing!) and 50 coupon for a future reservation to be sent to me in 24 hours. However, more than 1 month later - nothing happened! I have contacted Expedia several times since, but the only answer I was receiving Again, we could only ask for your patience on this matter, though we know that you have exerted all possible efforts to be patient. We would really appreciate your kind understanding and we look forward to resolving this issue for you soon.

40 for overpayment, 50 coupon promised by Best rate guarantee policy and a lot of aggravation and wasted time!

Tashia of Rochester, NY September 12, 2008

Tashia of Rochester NY (09/12/08)
My first phone call to Expedia was very pleasant as I booked a hotel for a scheduled trip. Upon finding a much better hotel to stay in I called back and upgraded my reservations at a different resort which also went well considering the check in time and refund policy would be the same should anything change. Unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I ended up needing to cancel the trip all together so I contacted Expedia.com by phone to make them aware.

Upon speaking with the representitive who would cancel my reservation I was given information that the entire cost of the trip would not be refunded instead I would be sent a 25 coupon for my next reservation should I choose to use Expedia again. Explaining this to the agent he advised me to view my itenerary which ironically at that moment I had been trying to access on line and even had him verify my itenerary number incase I had it wrong. Surprise, it had been deleted.

The agent began refering to ESR hotels and other information that obviously a consumer would not have any knowledge of but he refused to refund the full purchase price. If the company can afford to send a 25 coupon why can I not be refunded the full purchase price. Mind you I'm canceling this trip 3 weeks in advance.

Unsatisfied with the outcome I called back immediately and explained the situation to another agent who stated it would be difficult to determine what the hotel rules were in regards to the refund policy because the itenerary had been deleted. She then placed me on hold for about 35 minuets and another agent answered who had no idea what was going on so I explained to her the situation. She then said she would speak with her supervisor.

After holding for an additional 20 minuets she came back on the line and apologized. She stated that the terms of the hotel state that I would be charged 25 for cancelation. I advised her this is not what I was advised and also refered her to the company's web site which also advises there would be no 25 penalty for hotel cancelations if they are made 72 hours prior to the check in date. She too refered me to my itenerary which had already been deleted by the agent there. When I advised her of this and asked her where she was getting her information she told me that it is in the documentation so I asked her where I could find this documentation since I have no itenerary. I even offered her to send me a copy of it. She began to stumble over her words so I asked to be forwarded to her supervisor whom she placed me on hold to speak with.

After a hole HOUR of holding the same agent came back on the line and advised me her supervisor has ok'd the refund and I should be receiving an email shortly confirming the transaction. I work in customer service and sometimes handle difficult supervisor calls and I am absolutely appauled!!! I really hope that they follow through with what I was told today. I will keep you posted!

Barbara of Paso Robles, CA September 2, 2008

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