Consumer Alert: Beware of online travel agency math

One of our readers gets stuck with a $1,172 bill after his hotel slammed the door on him

Lianzhong Zhang got some bad news recently: The Comfort Inn he'd booked through Hotels.com in Gainesville, Fla. — and for which he'd already prepaid $1,172 — couldn't accommodate him.

But he also got some good news. Hotels.com had secured a room at another hotel for just $1,038. Best of all, the online agency would use the original amount he'd paid to cover the new hotel, and there would even be a $134 refund for the price difference.

But when he arrived, the new hotel charged him $1,038 anyway. 

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