If a hotel gives you the wrong room, has no room available, adds an undisclosed mandatory fee, or provides an unsafe or seriously substandard stay, act quickly. Document the problem, notify the hotel and booking platform in writing, and request a specific remedy.

A refund isn't automatic. In the United States, the result usually depends on your reservation terms, what the hotel promised, what it provided, your payment method, and applicable state law. A nonrefundable label generally addresses voluntary cancellation. It doesn't settle every dispute over a room that was unavailable or materially different from the booking.

For properties outside the U.S., the rules can differ.

What controls a hotel booking complaint?

Problem Main rule or policy What it means for your complaint
A mandatory lodging fee was hidden or added late The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees The rule addresses upfront price disclosure, not a guaranteed refund for every fee dispute.
The room was wrong, unavailable, dirty, or unsafe Your confirmation, hotel promises, platform terms, and applicable state law Ask the hotel to fix the problem or provide an appropriate refund. No federal schedule sets the remedy.
An Airbnb reservation has a serious issue Airbnb's reservation and rebooking policy The policy includes a 72-hour reporting window after discovering a Reservation Issue.
A credit-card charge was for a service not provided as agreed The card issuer's billing-error process Written notice may be required within 60 days of the first statement containing the error. This is not the same as a debit-card dispute.

The FTC fee rule took effect May 12, 2025. It covers short-term lodging, including hotels, motels, inns, short-term rentals, and vacation rentals. The FTC's fee-rule FAQ says a mandatory fee that can't be avoided must be included in the total price shown to consumers. Itemization is allowed, but the prominent price can't make the required fee easy to miss.

The rule targets truthful price presentation. It doesn't set a standard refund for a dirty room, require a hotel to compensate every guest who dislikes a property, or replace a hotel's cancellation terms. A fee shown clearly before booking may still be disputed for other reasons, but it isn't automatically unlawful or refundable just because it is unpopular.

What to do in the first hour

1. Protect your safety and access to lodging

If the room has an urgent safety problem, leave the room and ask the manager for a safe alternative. For immediate danger, contact emergency services or the appropriate local authority. Don't remain in an unsafe room just to collect more evidence.

If the problem is serious but not an immediate danger, ask the hotel to inspect it while you are present. Note the time, the employee's name, and what solution was offered.

2. Preserve proof before the situation changes

Save:

Keep the original files. Don't rely only on edited screenshots or a description written days later.

3. Report the problem on-site

Ask for the manager or the person authorized to resolve guest complaints. Describe the difference between what you booked and what you received.

A useful request is specific:

Reporting promptly gives the hotel a chance to correct the problem and creates a record that you didn't simply abandon the reservation.

4. Decide whether to stay, move, or leave

If the hotel offers an acceptable replacement, compare its location, room type, dates, accessibility features, and total cost with your original booking. Get the offer in writing before accepting it.

If no acceptable room is available, tell the hotel and booking platform in writing that you are leaving because the booked accommodation was unavailable or materially different. If you need another hotel, keep itemized receipts. Reimbursement of replacement costs isn't guaranteed, but the records can support a refund request, insurance claim, or billing dispute.

Don't press a cancellation button that describes the cancellation as voluntary until you understand how it will affect the claim. Ask the hotel or platform to confirm the reason for the cancellation.

Match the complaint to the remedy

Overbooking or being sent to another hotel

Hotels may move a guest to another property when they have no room available. No nationwide formula sets what the hotel must provide in this situation.

Ask for:

A hotel chain's relocation promise or loyalty benefit may help only if it applies to your reservation. Don't assume a policy for one brand, membership tier, country, or rate type applies to every booking.

Wrong room type or missing promised amenities

Compare the confirmation with the room you received. Room category, bed configuration, accessibility features, view, kitchen, parking, breakfast, and other amenities can matter if they were part of the paid booking.

Ask for a move first if the hotel can correct the problem. If it can't, request a refund that reflects the difference or the portion of the stay you couldn't use. If the missing feature made the room unusable for your needs, explain why and request a full refund for the affected night or stay. The outcome will depend on the facts and terms.

Cleanliness, maintenance, or safety problems

Take photos before housekeeping changes the room. Report the issue and give the hotel a chance to clean, repair, or relocate you unless doing so would be unsafe.

Describe observable facts rather than conclusions. For example, identify a broken lock, exposed wiring, a nonworking smoke alarm, visible pests, or an unclean bathroom. If you leave, state that the condition made the room unacceptable and explain when you notified the hotel.

For a serious sanitation or safety issue, you can also contact the local health or licensing authority. That agency's role varies by location, and a report doesn't guarantee a refund.

No-show charges and arrival problems

Review the no-show and late-arrival terms. If you arrived, tried to check in, or told the property that you would arrive late, preserve proof such as a check-in record, call log, message, or timestamped email.

Ask the hotel and booking platform to remove the charge if the property marked you as a no-show incorrectly. A no-show charge isn't automatically fraudulent just because you disagree with it, so describe the facts accurately.

Hidden or unexpected mandatory fees

Compare the price shown before booking with the final receipt. The FTC's lodging example uses a $199 nightly rate plus a mandatory $39 resort fee. A mandatory fee like that should be included in the upfront total rather than omitted from the main price.

If the fee appeared only at checkout:

  1. Save screenshots of the earlier price and the final checkout page.
  2. Ask the hotel or platform to remove or refund the undisclosed amount.
  3. Keep the receipt and the response.
  4. Consider reporting a misleading pricing practice to the FTC or your state consumer-protection office.

The FTC rule doesn't create an automatic private refund process. An agency report may help identify a pattern, but you still need to pursue your individual refund with the hotel, platform, or card issuer.

Unauthorized bookings or suspected scams

Contact the hotel or platform using the contact details in your confirmation or official account. Then contact your card issuer or bank through the number on your card or statement.

Tell the issuer whether the charge was:

Don't describe a reservation as unauthorized if you made it and are disputing the quality or cancellation terms. Use the correct dispute reason and preserve any phishing messages, fake confirmations, or suspicious website details.

How to write a hotel complaint

Send the complaint to the hotel manager and, when applicable, the booking platform. Keep the message short and factual. State the remedy you want and give a reasonable response date, especially if you are still traveling.

Subject: Request for resolution - reservation [number], [dates]

Hello [manager or support team],

I booked [property and room type] for [dates] under confirmation number [number].

At [date and time], I found that [describe the specific problem]. This differed from my booking because [explain the difference]. I reported it to [name or department] at [time], and the response was [summarize response].

I am requesting [move to the confirmed room, removal of fee, refund of $ amount, reimbursement of documented cost, or another specific remedy].

Please confirm in writing by [date] how you will resolve this. I have attached the confirmation, relevant price or listing screenshots, photographs, messages, and receipts.

Thank you, [Name] [Phone and email]

Avoid threats, insults, or unsupported legal conclusions. A clear timeline is more useful than a long account of how upset you are.

Complaining through Booking.com, Airbnb, or Expedia

The business named on your receipt or card statement may be the hotel, an online travel agency, or another payment merchant. Check that detail before deciding where to send the complaint.

Direct hotel booking

Start with the front desk manager, then use the hotel's official corporate or guest-relations route if the property doesn't resolve the issue. Use the email address or case route in your confirmation or the hotel's official website. Ask for a written decision and a refund reference if money is being returned.

Booking.com

Open the reservation in your Booking.com account or confirmation and use the support option associated with that booking. If the issue occurs during the stay, report it to the property and the platform promptly. Upload the same evidence to both channels when possible.

Booking arrangements differ. Booking.com may facilitate the reservation while the hotel controls room availability or part of the refund decision. Ask which business processed the payment, who is reviewing the complaint, and whether accepting a proposed credit or partial refund closes the matter.

There is no single seven-day or 14-day response period that guarantees a result for every Booking.com reservation. Keep the case number and follow up in the same message thread.

Expedia

Open the trip itinerary in your Expedia account or app and use the support route attached to that booking. Send the confirmation, a concise timeline, photographs, and the remedy you requested from the hotel.

If Expedia offers travel credit instead of money, ask about the amount, expiration date, restrictions, and whether accepting it ends your refund request. Don't assume a platform credit has the same value as a refund to the original payment method.

Airbnb

Airbnb's official rebooking and refund policy says the guest who made the reservation must contact the host or Airbnb within 72 hours after discovering a Reservation Issue. Report the problem through the platform and keep the conversation there.

The policy says that when a host cancels before check-in, the guest is entitled to a full refund and, where appropriate, Airbnb may help find a similar place depending on availability and comparable pricing. Airbnb may generally offer travel credit to facilitate rebooking, but the policy says guests can request a refund to the original payment method instead.

These are platform-policy procedures, not a universal U.S. hotel law. Airbnb can assess the evidence and the reservation terms, so report promptly and don't rely on a verbal promise from the host.

When a credit-card dispute makes sense

A credit-card billing dispute can be appropriate when the hotel or platform charged you for a service that wasn't provided as agreed, charged the wrong amount, or failed to correct a qualifying billing error. It isn't a guaranteed shortcut around a valid cancellation policy.

The FTC's guide to disputing credit-card charges says to write to the card issuer. To use the federal billing-error procedure, the issuer must receive your notice within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent to you.

Follow these steps:

  1. Find the billing-dispute address on your statement. It may differ from the address used for payments.
  2. Send a written notice identifying the account, charge, date, amount, and reason for the dispute.
  3. Attach the confirmation, complaint, hotel response, photographs, receipts, and proof of any promised refund.
  4. Keep a copy and proof of delivery or electronic submission.
  5. Continue paying amounts that aren't part of the dispute.

The issuer generally must acknowledge the complaint within 30 days unless it has already resolved it, and it generally must resolve the dispute within 90 days. These are billing-error procedures for credit cards, not a universal refund deadline for hotel complaints.

Debit cards, prepaid cards, bank transfers, and payment apps can have different protections and deadlines. Contact the bank or provider promptly and ask for its written dispute procedure. Don't wait for an OTA's internal review to use a deadline that may apply to your payment method.

Credit-card dispute template

[Date]

Billing Dispute Department [Card issuer name and billing-dispute address]

Re: Billing error for [amount] on [statement date]

I dispute the charge of [amount] from [merchant name] dated [date] for reservation [number].

The problem is: [the room was not provided, the service was materially different from the booking, the amount was incorrect, or another accurate description].

I contacted [hotel or platform] on [dates]. The response was [summary]. I am requesting correction of the disputed amount.

Attached are copies of my reservation, price or room description, correspondence, photographs, receipts, and other supporting records. Please confirm receipt of this billing-error notice.

Sincerely, [Name] [Billing address] [Last four digits of card]

Don't dispute a charge as fraud if you authorized the booking and are actually claiming poor service. Don't seek a second recovery from the merchant and the card issuer for the same amount.

How to escalate when the hotel or platform refuses

Escalate in an orderly sequence:

  1. Property manager: Send the written complaint and ask for a final response.
  2. Hotel corporate office: Use the chain's official guest-relations channel if the property is part of a chain.
  3. Booking platform: Open or update the case attached to the reservation and identify the hotel's response.
  4. Card issuer: Use the applicable dispute process without missing its deadline.
  5. Consumer authorities: For misleading mandatory-fee pricing, consider the FTC or your state consumer-protection office. For serious health or safety issues, consider the relevant local authority.
  6. Insurance or legal options: Check whether travel insurance covers the event. For a substantial loss, review the reservation's governing-law, arbitration, and notice terms before considering small claims court or professional legal help.

A regulator complaint usually isn't a private refund order. Its value may be documenting a suspected pattern or directing you to the proper state or local office.

Build a clear evidence file

Put everything in one folder and name files by date. A simple chronology should answer:

Use the confirmation and the final receipt as the core documents. Add listing screenshots, messages, photos, call records, replacement receipts, and the card statement. If another traveler witnessed the problem, record their name and contact information, but don't share anyone's personal data publicly.

Common questions

Can I get a refund for a nonrefundable hotel booking?

Possibly, but not simply because you changed your mind. A nonrefundable term may apply to voluntary cancellation. If the hotel canceled, had no room, charged an undisclosed mandatory fee, or provided something materially different, make a separate complaint based on those facts and ask for the appropriate refund.

Is a hotel required to compensate me for overbooking?

There is no single U.S. federal hotel compensation schedule. Check the reservation terms and any applicable hotel policy. Request a comparable room, documented cost difference, transportation, or penalty-free cancellation, and get the offer in writing.

Does the FTC fee rule guarantee a refund?

No. It requires covered short-term lodging businesses to include mandatory fees in the upfront total price. It addresses deceptive or unclear pricing, not every service-quality complaint or a fixed refund amount.

How quickly must I report an Airbnb problem?

Airbnb's policy says the reservation holder should contact the host or Airbnb within 72 hours after discovering a Reservation Issue. Report through the platform and attach evidence.

Should I file a chargeback immediately?

Contact the hotel or platform promptly, but don't let an internal review cause you to miss your card issuer's deadline. For a credit-card billing error, the FTC describes a written notice process tied to the first statement containing the error and a 60-day deadline. Other payment methods follow different procedures.

Start by saving the confirmation and the price or room description, then send a factual written complaint while the details are still fresh.