Category: The Travel Troubleshooter

Vrbo offered a refund after my husband lost his job. Where is it?

By Christopher Elliott Updated on:

When Betsy Bair’s husband loses his job, they cancel their Vrbo rental. Are they going to lose all their money even though Vrbo offered them a refund?

Question

My husband unexpectedly lost his job last year [2021]. We had to cancel a two-day vacation rental through Vrbo. I spoke to a Vrbo representative, who agreed to issue a partial refund of $751. I waited a month but did not receive anything.

I called Vrbo and the company told me it approved the refund, but that I would need to contact the property owner since the owner was the one that was holding up the refund. I contacted him again. Now he says he doesn’t know anything about a refund and never agreed to a refund.

Can you help me sort this out? Initially, all I wanted was a refund of the cleaning fee since we weren’t there. But ideally, I would like them to honor their promise of a partial refund. — Betsy Bair, The Dalles, Ore.

Hertz sent me a $700 bill for eight extra days! How do I get a refund?

By Christopher Elliott Updated on:

When Elie-Anne Chevrier rents a car in Palm Beach, Fla., she expects to pay around $200. So why did Hertz just charge her over $900 for extra days she didn’t have the vehicle?

Question

I recently rented a car from Hertz for three days in Palm Beach, Fla. Hertz billed me for 2 hours and 11 days.

I have contacted the car rental company several times to try to resolve this. But Hertz employees haven’t been able to fix this problem.

The hotel didn’t open as scheduled. What does Marriott owe me?

By Christopher Elliott

Cindy Tomlinson made a reservation at TownePlace Suites New York/Chelsea, but then Marriott canceled the stay. What’s going on here?

Question

I recently made a reservation to stay at the TownePlace Suites New York/Chelsea at a rate of $416 (for two nights). Recently, Marriott notified me that it would not be open when I arrived.

A representative said they could honor my reservation at the SpringHill Suites Times Square South and that I should contact the hotel. I tried calling the hotel directly, but I got cut off multiple times. So I called Marriott Customer Service to see if they could help. They contacted the SpringHill Suites, which told them to have me send an email with my confirmation information, and they would honor the rate.

I accidentally booked two rental cars on Hotwire. Can I get my money back?

By Christopher Elliott

When Robert Sharp accidentally reserves two nonrefundable rental cars on Hotwire, he assumes the company will cancel one for him. But it doesn’t. So who should pay for this mistake?

Question

I booked a prepaid, nonrefundable rental car through Hotwire recently. Then, a few days later I booked another car for the same dates by mistake. So now I had two (nonrefundable) rental cars reserved for the exact same time.

I tried to cancel one of the bookings and request a refund. Hotwire refuses. Obviously, I can’t drive two cars at the same time. Their system shouldn’t allow someone to double book. I have used Hotwire for many years. Before this, I was a satisfied customer. Can you help me get my $178 back? — Robert Sharp, Swampscott, Mass.

My online travel agency canceled my flight but didn’t tell me. Now what?

By Christopher Elliott

Donna Fredkove says her online travel agency, MyFlightSearch, canceled her Sun Country flight to Newark without notice. Now she wants help getting a refund for the new, more expensive tickets that this cancellation forced her to buy. Can we help?

Question

Last year, I bought roundtrip tickets through MyFlightSearch for my husband and me on Sun Country from Minneapolis to Newark. MyFlightSearch charged us charged $477 for these tickets.

The night before our outbound flight, we tried to print our boarding passes on the Sun Country website but got the response that we had to check in at the airport. When we got to the Sun Country check-in desk, a representative told us our tickets were not valid. Sun Country staff called MyFlightSearch and found out that the online travel agency had canceled our reservations. We had to book a new, more expensive flight to Newark.

Iceland Car Rental charged my card, and my refund is missing

By Christopher Elliott

When Kristen Nelson cancels her trip to Iceland in 2020, the refund for her rental car is frozen. The car rental company wants her to accept a credit. Can it do that?

Question

I’m trying to get a full refund from Iceland Car Rental for our trip to Iceland in August 2020 that was canceled because of COVID. At the time we booked the rental, in March 2020, they offered a “100 percent money back” guarantee. We notified them to cancel our reservation as soon as our flight was canceled, in July 2020. Can you help me get my $545 back? — Kristen Nelson, Minnetonka, Minn.

My Antarctic tour never happened, so where is my deposit refund?

By Christopher Elliott

Steven Meisel paid Aurora Expeditions a $5,000 deposit for an Antarctic tour back in 2019, and he wants a refund. The reason? The pandemic forced the company to cancel and reschedule the trip multiple times. Can we help?

Question

In 2019, I booked a trip to Antarctica through Aurora Expeditions, an Australian company. I reserved the tour through Expedition Trips, a Seattle-based travel agency. I made a $5,000 deposit, and the trip was scheduled for late 2020.
Of course, the pandemic caused this trip to be canceled. Aurora rescheduled the trip for November 2021, and we agreed to accept the reschedule.

But since that time, Aurora has rescheduled the trip two more times. Now, they are departing from Chile instead of Argentina due to COVID restrictions. That, combined with some recent health issues, made the trip much less desirable.
I’ve been working with my travel agency, and Aurora has agreed to cancel our reservation and return our deposit.

Norway stopped us from visiting. Will Expedia extend our travel voucher?

By Christopher Elliott

After the pandemic outbreak, Norway closed for travelers, and Kent York was forced to cancel his planned tour. The hotel and Expedia easily granted him a future travel credit. But that was a year ago, and the expiration date of the credit is looming. York hopes we can convince Expedia to extend his voucher. Can we?

Question

I booked a hotel stay at the Opus XVI in Bergen, Norway, in 2020 through Expedia. The hotel was part of a package. I had to cancel the trip because of COVID.

Expedia refunded our airfare and issued a $1,875 credit for Opus XVI that expires in December 2021. Norway has been closed to U.S. travelers, so we have been unable to use the credit.

What happened to my refund for our trip to Iceland?

By Christopher Elliott

When Kim Josund cancels her trip to Iceland, she believes she’s entitled to a full refund. Why are her hotel and dive operator refusing?

Question

I had to cancel a trip to Iceland and I expected a full refund. Unfortunately, my fully vaccinated daughter and her boyfriend, who was supposed to travel with us, contracted COVID-19. So I canceled all the prepaid components of our trip, which required many emails and phone calls. I was within the cancellation window for all the components of our vacation.

Most refunds were prompt. But I’m having trouble with the Blue Lagoon, a resort hotel, and a snorkeling trip. The Blue Lagoon will not respond to any inquiries, even though I received confirmation of cancellation. I have not seen a refund from them.

Why did Orbitz switch our flight to Aruba? Our hotel is in Tahiti! Help!

By Christopher Elliott

Jennifer Waters recently booked an air and hotel vacation package through Orbitz. But just days before her family was set to leave, she discovered that Orbitz had made a significant switch to the flight part of the package. How significant? Very. The change left the family with a nonrefundable hotel in Tahiti… but a flight to Aruba.

Now the trip is impossible, and Waters is asking the Elliott Advocacy team for help. Can we figure out what’s going on here?

Question

We had a vacation to Tahiti booked through Orbitz. My husband called Orbitz to see how much it would cost to change the trip to Aruba. He was just gathering information. But then Orbitz made the switch to our flights without our permission.

Even worse, Orbitz only switched the flight — not the hotel. Now we have a flight to Aruba, but a nonrefundable hotel in Tahiti. I have tried numerous times to get this corrected with absolutely no help. I’ve done this through phone calls, emails, Facebook Messenger, and the Orbitz website chat.

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