Getting a refund when a hotel and booking site blame each other
Booking platforms and hotels often point fingers at each other, claiming the other party processed the payment and holds the money, which leaves customers trapped without a refund for unprovided services. This buck-passing forces people to dispute the charge directly through their bank via a chargeback.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1disputing the charge through a bank or credit card company via a chargeback
- 2asking customer support to reopen and escalate the case
- 3using alternative travel booking websites
- 4filing a dispute with the credit card company
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“we just said no, this is a poor accommodation not as described, we are leaving and requesting a refund.”source ↗
“The “reception” claims that booking.com took the money, not them, so they can’t do anything.”source ↗
“They then claim that the hotel processed the charge and they cannot issue a refund. Are you kidding me?”source ↗
“Booking.com saying the hotel took the charge when our credit statement just says booking.com is insane to me.”source ↗
“I couldn’t believe that both sides just straight up lied and wouldn’t do anything.”source ↗
“They beat me for $180, those cunts”source ↗
“I will definitely be issuing a chargeback as Expedia has resorted to the same canned message over and over despite my request to escalate.”source ↗
“I was sold a service that was not provided and denied a refund because they couldn’t contact the service provider?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7How to get a refund when an online seller won't ship or reply
- 8How to get a refund from a third-party booking site for a canceled hotel
- 2Custom order took so long I missed the refund window
- 2Clients who refuse to fix underlying problems before repairs
- 2Seller refusing refund for AI-generated item not disclosed in listing
- 4Client ghosted me after I handed over the completed work and unpaid invoice