"I booked a fully refundable hotel for a stay in May 2020, which I cancelled almost 2 full months before we were due to arrive. When cancelling and requesting a cash refund, the cancellation confirmation email stated they had automatically converted it to a voucher and I'd have to email to request a cash refund.

After several back and forths over email with them offering +10% and then +15% on top of the voucher, they eventually agreed to process a refund which could take up to 60 days.

60 days have passed and, despite chasing several times I hadn't had a response, so raised a dispute with Amex. They upheld this until Otel.com disputed it and send back all the documentation and emails PRIOR to my request to cancel and states I broke their booking terms. They failed to include the numerous emails which confirm they are processing a cash refund.

I get travel agents and low cost booking sites are under significant strain right now, but this behaviour and attitude is sly and underhanded. Judging by the amount of reviews on here along the same subject - I'd imagine I'm not the exception!

"

"
YES! It is! We booked and paid for hotel in Greece in January and when we arrived at the hotel last week, they said Otel.com had cancelled our booking with them and showed us proof of that. AND we received no less than 3 reminders from Otel.com in the week leading up to the booking! Needles to say we had to pay the hotel directly as well. We have lodged a fraud case with our bank against Otel.com!"

"I tried to cancel a hotel reservation due to Covid 19. The hotel itself indicated they were accepting cancellations up to 24 hours before the arrival date. I asked for the cancellation 5 days before my arrival date. I never even got a response to my cancellation request. The only thing I got was an automated message indicating they would be in touch. When I tried to call their telephone number, the greeting said that cancellations should be submitted online. My travel date has come and gone and now Paypal refuses to issue a refund. If you search around you will find that this is a common pattern, poor customer service and exceptionally poor handling of cancellation requests. "

"terrible customer service with no answer even though I emailed them 5-6 times. Only call option in Turkey with a lot of calling fee."

"STAY AWAY FROM OTEL.COM

PAY ATTENTION OTEL.COM STOLEM MONET FROM TRAVELLER POCKETS

I confirm you the negatve experinece with Otel.com.

Here you can find the reply of customer service of Otel.com related to the cancellation of the booking and voucher for a holiday from 11 to 13 of April 2020 in Rapallo - HOTEL EXCELSIOR PALACE that they make without any authorization from my side with the refuse to refund me the advance payment.

I understand that for COVID situation Hotel will be close from 11 to 13 of April and is not a problem for me to stay home n this period but I consider unacceptable the fact that OTEL.COM REFUSE TO REFUND the amount of money that I pay in advance last November 2019 with the excuse that hotel suppliers are charging to OTEL.COM full for this booking, so they are not able to provide a refund.

In below E-mail you can find the reply receipt from customer service of OTEL.com for my refund request :

4 apr 2020 - 23:38, Sahar Dashti write:

Dear Guest

Greetings from Otel.com.

We regret to inform you that despite our best efforts, the cancellation fee waiver request was rejected by our partners due to the strict voucher conditions.

Since our hotel suppliers are charging us full for this booking, unfortunately, we are not able to provide a refund.

We appreciate your kind understanding.

Please let us know if you need any further assistance.

Kindest Regards,

Sahar Dashti"

"We booked a hotel stay in Jackson Hole for the week of March, 2020. We put it on our American Express card and paid it off last September. When we arrived last week, they had closed all activities due to the Coronavirus. The hotel manager at Snow King Resort assured us that we could check out early and get a refund for 5 days we didn’t stay. We booked an early flight back to Alabama, and the front desk clerk told us since we booked it with Otel.com we would have to get our refund from them. I have tried numerous times to contact them to no avail. I finally contacted American Express and filed a dispute. Please do not use Otel.com! It has been a total nightmare!!! Thank God for American Express!"

"Tried to make an amendment to the reservation and in their policy it said you have to cancel the reservation and try again, it also said you can not get a refund for any cancelation, it's a childish practice of business, ripping people off when you can book through the hotels website, directly with a better price! There's no advantage to using them. It's the worst website on the internet it's a crime that it exists. Every time someone uses it you're helping the **** that came up with this garbage sleep better at night for this dog **** they call a paid service. Eat 12 dicks. **** you
"

"i booked one year ago and when i wrote directly to the hotel they answer that they don' t have any reservation with the code given by Otel.com neither by my name. I chat 3 times and never got any answer or solution. BEWARE as when i booked it was mentioned that it was refundable and status have changed now and it' s written non- refundable. Well i ll see if i ll have to involve a lawyer and justice to get my money back. Never had such a POOR and horrible service. I have all my emails exchanged, print screens of the chat with them.Also the original booking session made on march 16 at 10.01am"

"We booked a room that was 40% the cost of any other web-sight, should have been the clue. Called the next day to cancel and the international number said 1 minute wait. Was on hold for 30 minutes before I hung up and called the credit card company to reverse the charges. Should have done a simple google search first. "

"I made a booking for a hotel. The voucher I received from the company looked fishy. I emailed the hotel & they told me they don't have a reservation for me. They said Otel.com is not a company that they work with for booking their rooms. They have poor customer service & you can’t speak to anyone there. I’m trying to get my money back. Don’t book with this site!
"

"We paid to extend our stay. Otel said there was availability.... our hotel informed them otherwise. So, we lost $240. Had no room. They refuse to email me back. Even paypal sided with them."

"They listed one price on their website and I checked out at that price. Everything went through and then I got a fraud alert from my credit card company saying my card had been charged almost $20 more than the checkout price. I talked to customer support they went and found my hotel on their site for the $20 more price saying it was always that price and there is nothing they can do to help me. I went back and did a Google search for a hotel and the same deal came up with the $20 less pricing. Their website changes prices! I took a screenshot of the lower price and how it was on their website at that price but the customer service person wouldn't help me. Super ridiculous, I was able to stay at the hotel but it is a scam. I have the chats and screenshots of everything. I believe they just called me too because I told my credit card company that they overcharged me. Someone from their team e-mailed me after and asked me why I submitted the complaint to my credit card company and I send them all of the info I had, they didn't respond."

"Please do NOT use this company to book anything. They confirmed my hotel room with several emails, even the day before. They took my money (which I’m now disputing) and I had to pay an extra 400 for a room the night before my vacation. They had to nerve to email the day after my trip to tell me that the hotel was booked. It was very stressful trying to find a room last minute on a holiday weekend. "

"
Otel IS A SCAM, I booked two rooms a Deluxe and Superior room and when I checked the reservation two weeks before the trip the Deluxe room was cancelled. When I contacted them that I saw the room was cancelled they said sorry and would booked another room. But what they did was to replace the Deluxe room that was cancelled with a Superior room a $431.46 difference in cost. I called, open a ticket and messaged with them several times for more than a week, they now claim when they advertise a deluxe or superior room that they are the same thing.
"

"Otel is a scam. Do not use them. I booked a hotel through Otel and my credit card was immediately charged. I cancelled well before the cancellation date. I received a confirmation email that said it would take 10-14 days to get a refund. I waited. No refund. I emailed Otel. It took about three weeks to get a response. They claimed some kind of technical error and said it would take ten more days. Still no refund. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company. I cannot understand why they are listed on any travel web site."