I'm not sure where else to put this. I booked a motel through a popular web site. Family illness, I cancelled.

[3Hotdogs]

It used to be that you booked through the website and got to cancel without penalty. Now, you need to prepay and pay for additional insurance if you might need to cancel.

I booked, paid and bought the insurance.

I called the motel and they said I needed to cancel through the company. They said if I booked directly from the motel, no penalty to cancel,

I logged on to the company and canceled. One week later, no refund. Their website - a bunch of loops, leading to nowhere. No 800 customer service number or live human to contact.

They used to be good. this is the last time I'm using that service. Yes, you're right. It is the most popular booking company. I won''t mention the name so's not to get a hide. But go to the website and "Test book" a motel and you can verify which site it is.

So any help - and buyer beware.