Smooth, Excellent Refund Process

I would like to express my gratification with the way Hotels.com handled my booking in conjunction with Expedia Group and The Square Boutique Hotel by Misty Blue Umhlanga.

Early in 2020 I made a booking on Hotels.com to stay at The Square Boutique Hotel by Misty Blue Umhlanga. 6 weeks after the confirmation of my booking COVID-19 pandemic hit South Africa and it was announced that the country is going on full Lockdown. I immediately phoned the The Square Boutique Hotel by Misty Blue Umhlanga to enquire about cancellation and the refund. The hotel attendant explained that my booking was indeed confirmed with the hotel, however the money part was being handled by Expedia Group. A week later I received an email from the company to either take a full refund or defer my booking to a later date. I rep**** back and opted for a refund. I received my full refund a few days later.

I've heard many of my friends had serious issues when the Lockdown came into effect ranging from 25% deduction to a no refund at all stories and that made me realize that I was lucky to have made a booking with such ethical company and all its affiliated partners in this case being Hotels.com. Expedia Group and The Square Boutique Hotel by Misty Blue Umhlanga.

Right now I want to booking a holiday to either Zanzibar or Thailand but the majority of the traveling agencies' reviews doesn't look good at all. To me its ********* for traveling agencies deduct peoples money for reason beyond the their control such as their clients not being able to provide service or natural disasters such as COVID-19 pandemic and many other reasons that are not the traveler's fault.

I just want to applaud the 3 companies being Hotel.com, Expedia Group and The Square Boutique Hotel by Misty Blue Umhlanga that were involved in the process of my booking to keep up the good work.