Complaint Review: Rodeway Inn - Rohnert Park California

On June 4, 2024, I used Expedia to book a hotel reservation at the Rodeway Inn at Rohnert Park, California for my travel dates of June 7, 2024 through June 9, 2024. I was charged $257.03. On June 7, 2024 at around 2 p.m., I checked in at the Rodeway Inn under my prepaid reservation with Expedia. The clerk at the front desk identified my prepaid reservation in the hotel’s computer system. Before Expedia sends a prepaid reservation to a hotel, it must first obtain the customer’s credit card approval. All hotels know or should know that if they have a traveler’s reservation from Expedia in their computer system, Expedia had already obtained credit card approval.

          About 15 minutes after I had checked in at Rodeway Inn, the front desk called me on their motel-room telephone and said something that I was not able to understand. I thought it might have been a mistaken telephone call so I hung up. About 15 minutes later, I got a second call on the motel-room telephone from the front desk and was told my credit card was declined. I told the front desk that my reservation was prepaid and that Expedia had obtained credit card approval. After this second call, I went down to the front desk to discuss this unusual problem and was told again that my credit card was declined. The staff at the front desk made this false and embarrassing statement in public in front of other people. I vehemently disputed that false allegation with the staff at the front desk and told them that I would provide them with my Expedia confirmation number. I returned a short while later with my confirmation number from Expedia, and I told the front desk to contact Expedia to straighten this problem out.

          A short while later, I got a third call on the motel-room telephone from the front desk informing me again that they checked with Expedia and my credit card was declined. At this point, I was extremely perturbed. I told them that I was not going to pay any extra money and they told me to leave. I subsequently vacated the premises. In the hotel’s view, they considered me a non-paying guest.

          Later that day, I called Expedia customer service and explained the problem as described above. Expedia told me that Rodeway Inn agreed only to a partial refund of $128.53. I informed Expedia that Rodeway Inn owed a total refund and that I would dispute the balance of the charge. I also requested Expedia to claw back the entire amount of $257.03.

          Apparently some time later, the hotel discovered that they had made a terrible mistake and had in fact received proper payment from Expedia for my reservation. They learned that my credit card had not been declined. Since the hotel told me to leave, and I immediately complied, they have to refund all of my money, not just part of it. They are not allowed to play fast and loose.

          I allege that the aforementioned acts and omissions perpetrated by Rodeway Inn constitute deceptive practices. Under California and federal law, deceptive practices constitute fraud. Rodeway Inn knew or should have known that my credit card had not been declined because they had my Expedia reservation in their computer system. This alone is probative evidence that my credit card was approved for this reservation all along.

          Expedia can definitely claw back all of the hotel charges if the hotel is found to be engaging in fraudulent activity. We clearly have failure to provide booked services, and other deceptive practices. Expedia has clauses that address fraudulent activities and the repercussions. These agreements often allow Expedia to withhold payments or seek refunds if fraud is detected. Expedia has policies in place to protect its customers. If a customer reports fraudulent activity and provides evidence, Expedia’s customer service team may intervene to resolve the issue, which could include refunding the customer and reclaiming the charges from the hotel. Expedia might involve legal teams to recover funds and take appropriate action against the fraudulent hotel.