trivago - Reviews and experiences

I landed in Curaçao for a funeral and the last thing I wanted was booking drama. I had booked through Trivago via Otel.com and paid with my credit card ahead of time. Smooth, I thought. Nope. At check-in the hotel told me the travel company hadn’t paid their invoice. Awkward. Hotel staff actually rang Trivago/Otel to sort it, which was nice, but that didn’t fix anything. The day I was supposed to leave they suddenly said I couldn’t go until the bill was paid. So there I was, arguing politely while trying not to look like someone on holiday. I called Otel.com — several times, from my mobile all the way to Turkey — and was put on hold, promised things would be fixed, hung up, and then nothing had changed. Eventually I paid the hotel myself, twice over if you count the original charge, and then sent proof to Otel.com on Dec 22. Trivago never replied. Otel.com asked for paperwork and then went quiet. I could afford to pay twice, but what if it had been a huge bill? Felt messy, stressful and unnecessary. The hotel was actually fine. The middlemen? Not so much. Would’ve liked clearer communication and faster refunds, or at least someone picking up the phone.