Hotels.com Refuses to Change My Reservation Dates Despite Hotel Approval

I made a hotel reservation through Hotels.com for August 24–26. Later, I realized I had made a mistake with the dates and wanted to move my stay up to August 17–19. When I spoke directly with the hotel, they told me they could help with the date change and that the modification was possible.

Following this, I first contacted Hotels.com via email and was told I would get a response within 72 hours. Because I couldn't wait that long, I explained my situation to the site's virtual assistant. Even though the hotel was completely fine with changing the dates, Hotels.com stated that no changes could be made to my reservation. They told me that if I wanted to cancel or modify it, the entire payment of roughly $249 would be kept as a penalty, offering absolutely no flexibility or alternative solution.

The platform's refusal to allow the modification despite the hotel's explicit approval, combined with their attempt to keep such a large amount as a penalty, has caused me significant frustration. Since the hotel already approved the date change, I demand that my reservation be updated to the new dates without any additional penalty fees, or that Hotels.com provide a reasonable solution to make this right.