Michael Kotula and his wife booked a hotel room through Expedia eight months in advance of their daughter’s University of Delaware graduation in late May. They reconfirmed directly with the hotel two months before the big event.
Two days before check-in, Expedia told them in an email the hotel was canceling. And when they called the Hilton Wilmington/Christiana in Newark, Del., to complain, Mr. Kotula was told reservations made through travel agencies like Expedia weren’t as secure as booking directly with the hotel. “I wish I had known before that my reservations with Expedia were built on quicksand,” Mr. Kotula says.
