"Hotels.com is a NIGHTMARE!!!! I canceled a reservation directly with the hotel 3 days before arrival. 2 day is minimum for cancellation so I was within the proper time for cancellation. The hotel assured me there would be no charges, but when I got home after staying in a different hotel (that Hotels.com did not book) I found 2 charges on my credit bill by Hotels.com for the hotel I did not stay in. I spent THREE WEEKS on the phone - being on hold for 45+ minutes at a time, phone calls that lasted over 1.5 hours, getting disconnected, getting promises of call backs that never came, dealing with customer service reps that were completely helpless and uninformed and after all that they did not help me get my money back. I literally must have spent a total of 12 hours on the phone over 3 weeks with these clowns and this is not an exaggeration. There would be times where the person would put me on hold and after being on hold for over 45 minutes they would just hang up. The whole affair was really a nightmare. After all that Hotels.com was still unwilling to set things right and refund me my money for a stay I never had.
Shame on Hotels.com.
Buyer beware."

"Booked a night off for myself through hotels.com. Not too bad, nothing special, either. Certainly didn't feel like i was treated special. The hotel was nicer than it looked in the pictures, so that was a pleasant surprise. I think I got an okay deal."

"First of all, hotels.com is an Expedia company, so if you have had awful CS with one or the other, know that it is the same CS for both.  

Early September 2011, I booked a hotel reservation with hotels.com over the phone and was supposed to get a 15% off promotion.  The reservation agent (RA) said I would be charged the full $372 upfront, then receive a $55 statement credit after my stay was completed, in 1-2 billing cycles.  The RA also sent me a WRITTEN EMAIL CONFIRMATION of my reservation showing the $55 credit.  The email was from Expedia, which right away should have sounded the alarm, as I have had several experiences with Expedia CS misstating things, costing me money time and again.  However, this was a last minute reservation and I didn't have time to think about this.  Come November, I still haven't received a credit so I call Hotels.com.  The CSR informs me there is NO RECORD of any credit and long story short, it does not matter that I have an email from their company confirming the $55 credit, Hotels.com cannot/will not as a matter of policy do *anything* for me since the credit does not show up on their system. (No duh it's not in their system, that's why I haven't gotten it!).  Based on past experiences with Expedia, I know that escalating won't get me anywhere so I hang up and call my CC billing disputes department.  The CC CSR tells me that since 60+ days have passed, they cannot file a dispute with Hotels.com.  How coincidental I was told by the Hotels.com RA to wait a couple billing cycles and now I can't file a billing dispute!

Final Venting/Some Advice:.
- It's best to stay away from these companies, but if for some reason, you feel like you HAVE TO book through Hotels/Expedia, e.g., they are the only ones with your dates available, know that the after-care will be the opposite of care.
- it's happened to me no less than 4 times that a CSR will offer me a credit on my Expedia account, or, in this case, a statement credit, and it will not go through. A supervisor explained to me that CSRs do not have this authority/discretion and after the CSR inputs it, it will simply disappear. What is strange is that CSRs Keep Doing This! And even if you have incontrovertible proof, Hotels/Expedia will NOT honor their employees' promises. Escalating will only waste your time. Once I tried to escalate past the supervisor to the corporate offices, but couldn't because they have no direct line for customers and the supervisor, after promising to call me back "within 15 minutes" once she had Corporate on the line, never did. Botton line is that it is probably a waste of your time to get an "I'm sorry" credit on your Hotels/Expedia account, and if you are offered a statement credit, get WRITTEN PROOF. At least this way, you can file a dispute with your CC company, but be sure you do so within their time limits.
- Hotels/Expedia's after-care CS is overseas and poorly trained. I am not saying all overseas CS is bad, I've dealt with many professional and nice ones, but Hotels/Expedia's is by far the worst. When you get upset and frustrated with an American CSR, oftentimes they empathize and sometimes go above and beyond to help you. Even if they can't help you, having a sympathetic voice on the other end does wonders. When I have gotten upset with Hotels/Expedia's CSR on the line, they are like emotionless robots, reading off a script, and sometimes have gotten downright nasty, trying to make the situation seem like my fault, even yelling at me! I have NEVER been yelled at by a CSR EXCEPT FROM Hotels/Expedia. Many companies use overseas CSRs, but in my experience, eventually, you can escalate to an American CSR who is better-trained and has the authority to help you. This is NOT the case with Hotels/Expedia.
- Bottom line is as a matter of principle, it's best to stay away from Hotels.com/Expedia because their customer care policy is the worst you will experience and bad behavior should not be rewarded."

"Good luck getting any customer service from Hotels.com

Hotels.com really stinks. When you call them up they give you three choices. 1) book a reservation, 2) change a reservation, and 3) cancel a reservation.

The only one they will answer is #1.

Good luck if you try to change or cancel a reservation. You will wait 20 minutes to an hour of them telling you how important you are, and then they will answer and hang up.

They don't even answer the #3 option so forget about cancelling a reservation.

Only recourse is to dispute the charge with the credit card company.

"

"Hotels.com has HORRIBLE customer service. I called them in order to try and resolve an issue regarding extra fees placed on my card, and after 30 min getting nowhere with the rep, I asked to speak to his manager. He flat out told me "No!" I was appalled. What kind of customer service rep does that?! He then told me it was a waste of time, to which I responded: It would be wasting my time and his manager's time, but not his time. After that, I waited for awhile and heard some numbers being pressed. After more time, I looked at my phone and found out that they had hung up on me. Seriously?"

"I have used Hotels.ca many times for business and personal accomodation in Canada. I have recommended Hotels.ca to family and friends. I find the staff knowledgeable and friendly when I call. I can arrange accomodations even on short notice when I call the same day. Hotels.ca has a great variety of hotels to stay at with different price points to tailor your stay. I love the Welcome Rewards!"

"My use of Hotels.com would go up 5 times in value if
the company would be able to provide legal tax invoice
for my books.

Good prices and selection, but with no invoice
I have to limit my orders to private stays only.
Business trips go to bookings.com...
My annual lodging budget is above 9 000 US$."

"I have been using Hotels.com for many years and they are a convenient inexpensive way to book hotels. You can book online or by phone. They advertise Price Match Guarantee and in most cases they price match but in recent past I wanted them to price match but they refused so their is no complete truth in their advertising."

"I have never been disappointed by hotels.com or their customer service department!"

"I used Hotels.com on my recent trip to Medicine Hat. I had called the hotel initially and was informed that they were completely booked. I then called Hotels.com and they booked me two rooms, one for myself and one for my friend whom I hadn't seen in 8 years! We were ecstatic! And, they offered us a better rate! Thank-you Hotels.com! From now on, we will always call you first!"

"An excellent one-stop shop for finding, previewing and booking a hotel."

"I enjoy using and navigating hotels.com. While I have gotten amazing deals through this site before, this time I was able to get a better deal directly through the hotel and canceled my reservation at hotels.com. It's always best to do extra research."

"Loved the service for the ability to tune the hotel settings to find just what I wanted. Then I discovered reservation to them does not mean the same thing as it does to me.

They canceled my Hotel reservation 6 hours before checkin. They charged my credit card 2 weeks prior, I had a confirmation number and a "reservation". They told me the Hotel was not honoring the reservation. I dont think they understand what a "reservation" is, if it doesn't really reserve a room. The did me the honor of checking me into a 2 star hotel which was lower quality than my reservation (Comparison $75/night vs $155/night) at the same price already fully paid for. My bay area commute went from 10 mins to 45 mins to the new hotel. It was a nightmare.

If I had canceled on them within 24 hours of check-in, I would have forfeited the entire reservation amount. However when asked to refund my amount (Due to my cancellation requirements) I received zero response from them.

I will never "kinda-reserve" a room using them again.
"

"I rented two suites at the Suites at Fisherman's Wharf in July. The price was very competitive and service was fine. No problems at all."

"Hotels.com consistently gives me the best room rates out there, and has a broad selection of properties to choose from. I love the Welcome Rewards program. I have used my "free" room nights and it is a nice bonus to have that deduction from your reservation."