The booking is your contract, so treat the confirmation and the cancellation policy as the documents everything turns on. A complaint against a hotel or a travel company works when you can show a confirmed booking that was not honoured, a room that was refused, a tour that was quietly changed, or a charge that was never disclosed — and when you have kept the evidence from the time of the trip. Where you booked online, the jurisdiction question usually lets you file where you live, against the right opposite party.
Before you start
- The booking confirmation, voucher or ticket, showing the dates, the room or tour details, and the price.
- The cancellation and refund policy as it stood when you booked, screenshot on the day of booking.
- Payment proof — the card or bank record and the travel company's invoice.
- Photographs at the property or on the tour, and a written note of what happened, made on the spot.
- The email or chat with the hotel or agency, especially where they promised a room, a view, an upgrade or a route.
Steps
- Read the cancellation policy as a contract term. The policy is not a courtesy; it is a term of the bargain. If the operator cancelled, or altered the plan without your consent, the policy's refund clause applies against them, not against you. Quote that clause in your complaint rather than arguing general fairness.
- Identify the deficiency that supports the complaint. The recurring ones are: overbooking and a "walk" to another property, the denial of a confirmed room or a downgrade without consent, a tour or itinerary substituted without your agreement, undisclosed taxes, resort fees or service charges added at check-in, and refusal of a refund the policy allows.
- Collect the evidence at the time. Photograph the room as found, the denial at the desk, the substitute accommodation, the tour vehicle, and any signboard or receipt. Email the establishment a same-day written complaint so the failure is recorded while it is fresh; screenshots taken a month later look manufactured.
- Settle who you complain against. A complaint may lie against the hotel or the travel company, and where the booking went through an online travel agency, against the agency that took the money and issued the voucher. Add the party that actually accepted your payment; a booking platform is not always the right respondent.
- Fix the jurisdiction for online booking. Where the booking was made online and you paid electronically, the Act allows the complaint where you reside or work for gain as well as where the opposite party carries on business, so you are not obliged to file in the city of the hotel or the agency.
- State the reliefs precisely. Ask for a refund of the amount for the services not provided, the cost of the substitute accommodation or travel you had to arrange, compensation for the harassment and the ruined purpose of the trip, and interest on the money wrongly retained — each as far as the facts support it.
- Send the notice and then file. Write to the hotel or agency demanding the refund and compensation within a stated time, then file before the consumer commission (District, State or National by value) through the e-Daakhil portal or at its counter, attaching the booking, the policy, the payment proof and the photographs.
Documents to keep
- The booking confirmation and the cancellation policy captured at the time of booking.
- Payment record and the operator's invoice.
- Photographs and a contemporaneous written note of the denial or the substitution.
- The same-day complaint email and any reply.
- Receipts for the alternate hotel, transport or rebooking you had to pay for.
What goes wrong
- Not capturing the policy when booking. Hotels and agencies change refund terms later. A screenshot with a date is worth more than a policy you cannot prove.
- Waiting to complain until after returning home. A same-day written complaint carries far more weight than a letter sent weeks later.
- Suing the booking platform alone. If the platform merely listed the hotel, the hotel or the travel company that provided and charged for the service is the proper respondent.
- Claiming the whole holiday's cost for one defect. Match the refund to the service that failed; over-claiming invites a reduction and a slower hearing.
- Ignoring the limitation. The complaint must be filed within the period the Act allows from the date the deficiency arose, with an application to condone delay if there is a good reason.
Common questions
Can I complain if the hotel overbooked and moved me to another property?
Yes. A confirmed booking that is not honoured, and a move to a lower-grade property without your consent, is a deficiency. Claim the difference in value, any extra cost, and compensation for the disruption.
I booked a package and the tour was changed — is that a deficiency?
If the itinerary was substituted without your agreement and the change was material, it is a deficiency, and the tour operator is answerable for the part of the package not delivered.
Where do I file if the hotel is in another state?
Where you reside or work for gain is available under the Act, so you may generally file in the commission where you live, against the hotel or the travel company that took your money.
Are hidden charges at check-in actionable?
A charge that was never disclosed at booking and is demanded at check-in is a deficiency as well as an unfair trade practice. Keep the final bill and the booking page that did not mention the charge.
Our consumer protection practice runs these complaints, and the consumer protection formats collection carries the working drafts.
FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, drafts and files these matters before the Calcutta High Court, City Civil and Sessions courts, magistrate, family, consumer and tribunal forums. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us for a free first consultation.