BookOnline

I was in urgent need of a hotel room for June 11th - June 12th (one night), so on June 6th, in a rush, I searched for 'holiday inn express ms' on Google and clicked the first link that looked legitimate. This was the first time I had booked a hotel room, so I was unfamiliar with the differences between IHG (the parent company for Holiday Inn Express) and third-party booking websites.

After booking the hotel through BookOnline, I waited a few hours and received no confirmation whatsoever. Instinctually, I decided to dig a bit deeper and found IHG, then booked a second *real* reservation with the actual Holiday Inn Express I was to stay at. BookOnline has no way of requesting a refund or cancelling their 'booking,' so if you commit to purchasing, you're essentially screwed if you change your mind later.

On the day of check-in, I received a very shady-looking text message from 'HotelPlanner' that contained a confirmation number. Luckily, I had my genuine hotel reservation through IHG, so I was able to check in without any issues.

Just for curiosity's sake, I asked the hotel clerk if the BookOnline confirmation number was valid/in their system. After cross-checking the number with their internal system, she found that it was an invalid number (meaning BookOnline gave me a fake number). If I had solely relied on BookOnline, I would've been denied a room even after having 'paid for it.'

I'm very fortunate that I trusted my gut instinct and booked an actual reservation through IHG, so this could've ended much worse than it did. Even so, I'm still out $197.23, and PayPal denied my case filed against them (a separate issue entirely with PayPal).

I also tried reaching out to BookOnline's helpdesk support, and none of my emails garnered any response (let alone an unhelpful one). This is a classic case of 'live and learn,' and I definitely learned a good lesson here. Thankfully, I wasn't scammed for thousands of dollars.

It is also worth mentioning that BookOnline oddly uses several company aliases, probably as a safeguard to protect the entity from customer complaints. Here are the names I saw being used:

- BookOnline (the original, where I bought the 'reservation')

- Lexyl Travel Technologies, LLC

- HotelPlanner

- HotelReviews

Actually ZERO! This is exactly what happened to me!!!

I called back to cancel and all they did was cancel the insurance which was not all I needed! I had thought it was for the whole thing. I needed a reservation with 3 days notice free! I immediately called back, and they did cancel, however they charged for one FULL night for a mistake and a 5 minute, YES, I hit the wrong box and called them within 5 MINUTES or less!

I could have sworn I was on my Hotels website when basically this company SOMEHOW JUMPED IN FRONT. This company immediately took the entire amount out of my checking account when I called and canceled within 10 minutes.

They told me that they could only give me everything except for one night stay back because that was what I hit! I made a few second error which entitles them to a full night!

They are basically using trickery to take MY VACATION MONEY! Here I am on a limited budget Social Security and yet for 5 minutes they earn $421.00.

Yes they took $421. And change!!!

Does that sound right? NO

Over 3 weeks I have been trying to get in contact with a representative regarding my refund. Confirmation # H1031****.

Received notice of refund of $1,452.60 being processed but only $882.37 was reimbursed to my PNC card on 2/3/25. Claim is that the computer only processed that amount but the balance would be processed & forthcoming. Other confirmation # RZX 4060. Please refund the balance.

Used you before for trip to Portugal, New Orleans etc. never had a problem. Dont want to have one now!

Ive called (855) 229-****, (800) 497-****, (800) 319-****, just to name a few. Please address this problem.

I thought I was on the hotels website when basically this company hijacked you and sent you to their website then I thought I was making a reservation. This company immediately took the entire amount out of my checking account when I called and canceled within 10 minutes.

They told me that they could only give me everything except for one night stay back because They were entitled to that for a cancellation fee.

When I tried calling twice to cancel my reservation, it just dropped the call then when I tried calling four different times to speak to an operator it just dropped the call making it nearly impossible to speak to someone. They are basically using trickery to take peoples money!!