Otelz.com Took My ₺6,500 Payment but Didn’t Pay Hotel

I made a hotel reservation in Egypt through Otelz.com and paid ₺6,500 (approx. $145 per night) 15 days in advance. Despite my early payment, Otelz never transferred the money to the hotel by the time I checked out. When my spouse and I arrived back at the hotel around 3 AM, exhausted from an evening event, we were denied entry into our own room—with our belongings inside. The hotel demanded another payment on the spot. My credit card didn’t have enough available limit, and no one cared when I said I had already paid Otelz.com.

We ended up spending the entire night on poolside lounge chairs. In the morning, after hours of trying, we finally reached live support. They said they’d pay the hotel by 4 PM on the day we were checking out, which was completely useless. I told them the hotel was holding our luggage hostage and we had a flight to catch. Their solution? “You pay again now, and we’ll refund you later.”

We had to scramble and increase our card limit to pay $291 again, just to retrieve our belongings and leave. At 6 PM that day—after we had already left—they claimed they had finally paid the hotel and that the hotel would refund us. We had to argue with Arabic-speaking hotel staff for the refund and thankfully managed to get it after great stress.

Still, the fact remains: we never got to sleep in the room we paid for. I demand a full refund for at least one night. I’ve used Otelz for years within Turkey without major issues, but this international experience was a nightmare. If Otelz can’t handle overseas bookings properly, they shouldn’t offer them at all. I will also be filing a formal complaint with the Consumer Rights Court, and I have all receipts and chat logs to support my claim.