In short
When you book through an online travel agency (OTA), two companies are involved. The OTA took the booking, and often the payment. The airline, hotel or car company provides the service, and its rules usually decide refunds and fees. Start with the OTA when it charged your card, and check the card statement to see who the merchant of record is. For a flight the airline cancelled, the agent that is merchant of record must refund the fare. Get OTA phone numbers only from the OTA's own app or website, never from search results. Booking.com and Expedia say they never ask for card details by phone, text or WhatsApp.
How complaints work in this industry
- DOT says ticket agents (travel agents and online travel agencies) that are the merchant of record must make proper refunds of airfare when an airline cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from or within the U.S. The merchant of record is the company shown on your card statement for the ticket. DOT: Refunds
- DOT says that if you bought the ticket through an online travel agency, you should contact the agent directly for a refund before you contact the airline. DOT: Refunds
- Ticket agents are not responsible for refunding fees for paid extras that were not provided, or bag fees for a significantly delayed or lost bag. DOT says to ask the airline for these refunds, even if the agent charged you. DOT: Refunds
- DOT takes complaints against ticket agents as well as airlines and directs the identified airline or ticket agent to respond to you directly. DOT: File a consumer complaint
- For hotel stays, Booking.com's terms say that cancellation and no-show fees, and any refund, depend on the property's own policy. Booking.com says most flights on its site are sold through a third-party aggregator, and the airline's contract of carriage applies. Booking.com terms
- Booking.com requires a 60-day Internal Review Procedure before individual arbitration. Expedia requires a signed Notice of Dispute by certified mail and 60 days to resolve it before arbitration. Both allow small claims court. Booking.com terms, Expedia terms of service
Your leverage
- The airline refund rule (rule
dot-refunds-rule) applies to ticket agents that are merchants of record for the ticket. DOT: Refunds - Since May 12, 2025, the FTC fee rule (rule
ftc-junk-fees-rule) requires anyone who advertises short-term lodging, including third-party platforms and travel agents, to show the total price with all mandatory fees more prominently than other prices. 16 CFR part 464, FTC fee rule FAQ - A charge for a trip that was not provided as agreed can be disputed with a credit card issuer as a billing error. The issuer must receive written notice within 60 days after the first statement that shows the charge (rule
fcba-billing-error). 12 CFR 1026.13 - DOT publishes complaint counts against named travel agents every month, so a DOT complaint is on the public record. DOT Air Travel Consumer Report, September 2026
Traps
- The airline 24-hour free cancellation rule does not apply to tickets booked through travel agents or online travel agencies. Agents may offer something similar, but they do not have to. DOT: Refunds
- Expedia's terms say its own fees are not refundable unless the booking process says otherwise. Expedia terms of service
- Booking.com lets you opt out of arbitration only by a notice sent through its Dispute Resolution page within 30 days after you first become subject to the agreement. Opt-outs sent by third parties have no effect. Booking.com terms
- Expedia says Basic Economy and other restrictive fares may not allow changes. Expedia help: flight cancellations
Scams to watch for
- Criminals take over hotels' Booking.com accounts and message guests in the app, by email or on WhatsApp, asking for payment or card details. The UK's Action Fraud logged 532 reports and £370,000 in losses from June 2023 to September 2024. Travel Weekly, January 10, 2025
- Booking.com says it will never ask for credit card details by email, phone, text or WhatsApp, or for a bank transfer that differs from the payment policy in your booking confirmation. It says to report a suspected scam to Customer Service. Booking.com: safety for travellers
- Expedia warns that fake Expedia phone numbers circulate through search ads and whole fake pages. It says it never asks for your password, a one-time passcode, a wire transfer or a gift card. Expedia: get in touch (archived copy of May 18, 2026)
- The BBB reports travelers who searched online for an airline or Expedia phone number, reached impostors and paid rebooking or cancellation fees; one Expedia customer was asked for $150 to cancel a booking that could be cancelled free. The BBB says to call the number where you bought the ticket. BBB scam alert, updated September 9, 2025
- The FTC says not to assume a phone number in search results is real: scroll past paid results and type the company's address into the browser. FTC consumer alert, April 3, 2025
By the numbers
- July 2026 complaint cases with DOT against travel agents: 414 in total, 250 of them about refunds. Expedia had 80 (41 refunds), Booking.com 47 (33 refunds), Kiwi.com 31, Justfly 27, CheapOair 19 and Priceline.com 19. DOT Air Travel Consumer Report, September 2026 (July 2026 data)
- ACSI 2026 online travel agency satisfaction (0-100): industry 76; Booking.com and Tripadvisor 77; Trivago 76; Expedia 75; Travelocity 72; Priceline 71; Kayak 69; Orbitz 68. ACSI: Online travel agencies