About Hotels.com
Hotels.com is a US-based online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, founded in 1991 as Hotel Reservations Network and rebranded in 2002. It lists over a million properties worldwide, from budget hotels to luxury resorts, as well as vacation rentals, apartments, and hostels. European travelers book in their local currency via regional subdomains: nl.hotels.com for the Netherlands, de.hotels.com for Germany, and fr.hotels.com for France. Checkout accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal; iDEAL and Klarna are not available at Hotels.com's own checkout. Hotels.com runs a loyalty program called One Key, shared with Expedia and Vrbo, but reward earning is restricted to USD-denominated bookings, which effectively excludes most European users paying in euros. Most listings offer a free cancellation option, though non-refundable rates use the same booking interface and require careful reading at checkout. Booking confirmation is instant for the vast majority of properties. Account creation requires only an email address, with no phone number or identity verification needed.
What are alternatives for Hotels.com
Pros of using Hotels.com
- Access to over a million properties worldwide, including hotels, apartments, and vacation rentals
- Regional European subdomains with local currency pricing eliminate currency conversion fees
- Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal are accepted at checkout
- Free cancellation options are available on a large proportion of listings
- Account creation requires only an email address, with no phone or ID verification
Cons of using Hotels.com
- Trustpilot score: 1.2 / 5 based on 11,922 reviews, rated "Bad", with refund failures as the dominant complaint
- One Key rewards program only earns points on USD-denominated bookings, excluding European users paying in euros
- Bookings have repeatedly failed to transmit to hotels, leaving travelers without a confirmed reservation on arrival
- Customer support relies primarily on a chatbot; phone wait times are widely reported as long
- Hotels.com does not intervene effectively in guest-property disputes and typically defers to the hotel's own cancellation policy
