Hotels.com Denies $133 Refund After False Free Cancellation Claim

I booked a stay through Hotels.com at the Gonul Sefasi Boutique Hotel in Amasya for August 8–9. I completed the payment on August 7, 2026. Since the booking page displayed a "free cancellation" notice, I assumed I wouldn't run into any issues if my plans changed shortly after.

I canceled the reservation about 20 minutes after making it. Despite this, the charge was never refunded. On top of that, the booking total originally showed as $127 before jumping to $133. I later noticed a "non-refundable" tag in the confirmation email, but during the actual cancellation process, there was no clear or explicit warning stating that I wouldn't receive a refund.

I contacted Hotels.com customer service to clarify what happened. They claimed the reservation was non-refundable and insisted I had accepted those terms. I explained that I saw a free cancellation badge on the site and received no warning while canceling. They promised to contact the hotel and follow up with me, but I never heard back from them.

When I reached out to the hotel directly, they stated that they never issued an invoice, never received the money, and that the charge was handled entirely by Hotels.com. In short, I never received any service and the hotel confirms they were never paid, yet Hotels.com still refuses to refund my money.

I demand that the $133 wrongfully charged for a service I never received be refunded to my card immediately.