Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by to read Expedia, Scammers, and the “Closed” Hotel That Wasn’t Closed at All.
Picture this. I’m in Cusco, Peru for a few weeks. My next destination will be the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. My flights are booked. After much research, I have reserved my hotels.
Then all of a sudden I start getting weird emails from an address that is trying to fake a real Expedia email.
I thought I was dealing with a simple hotel reservation for the Galápagos Islands. Booked and paid in advance through Expedia. Instead, I ended up in the middle of what felt like a bizarre travel scam thriller involving fake Expedia agents, spoofed phone numbers, cancellation emails, and a hotel that was supposedly “temporarily closed” while guests were literally walking through the front door.
And somehow, despite me never clicking suspicious links or giving anyone my credit card information, one night of my reservation actually was cancelled and refunded through Expedia.
Even now that I’m back in Canada, I still can’t completely explain how this whole circus worked.
The Scam Emails Begin
Weeks before my trip to San Cristóbal Island in Ecuador, I started receiving emails supposedly from Expedia about my reservation at Hostal León Dormido.
The emails claimed the property could no longer honour my booking because of a: “temporary property closure”.
The subject line: Urgent – The property cannot honor your booking.
Please review proposed changes. Booking: Hostal León Dormido, 73233342269452 [ thread::3WdKiBRlJrywIWSQLJU7ADY:: ]
Hello, We’re reaching out about your upcoming reservation: {Hostal León Dormido}. We tried to call you, but were not able to get ahold of you. Unfortunately, the property cannot honor your upcoming booking, but we’re here to help you find a new option. Occasionally, properties change bookings unexpectedly. We know this is disappointing. We can help you find another property for your stay, or if you choose not to travel, you can cancel and receive a full refund. Either way, we’re here to help find the best option for you. Please respond to this email or call us at 844-814-6703 to let us know your preference by [10 Feb 2026 – 17 Feb 2026]. You can also call us at our international number: +1-417-521-1076. (Additional charges may apply). If we have not heard back from you by then, we will issue you a full refund to your original payment method. Let us know if you have any additional questions. We’re here for you and want to ensure you have a good travel experience.
Best Regards,
Frank Q. Expedia Travel Support Team.
Please note that we may utilize machine translation for email correspondence. If you believe there has been any misunderstanding, please inform us.
I ignored them.
A little later…
Seeing as how I didn’t respond to the email or phone them, they contacted me again with compensation for the cancelled booking that I needed to claim.
Subject line: Urgent – There are changes to your booking: 73251135496250 [ thread::mBBOls56JkmYu4Aej_dwyzY:: ]
Email message: Hello Cheryl,
We’re reaching out about your upcoming stay: Hostal León Dormido. Unfortunately, the property is no longer able to honor your reservation: Temporary Property Closure. We know this is frustrating, and we’re sorry for the unexpected change. There are a few options you can move forward with. Rebook a new property online and receive compensation The quickest way to make a new reservation is by rebooking directly online. If you choose this option, we’d like to give you the following to use towards your next booking: 25 CAD Coupon To receive your credit, please reply to this email, and we’ll add it to your online account within 48 hours. We’ll also process a full refund of any amount you may have paid toward your initial booking. Refunds may take 7-10 business days to go back to your original form of payment. Rebook a new property with an agent If you’d prefer to book over the phone with an agent, you can call us at 844-814-6703 and we’ll be happy to help. You can also call us at our international number: +1-417-521-1076. (Additional charges may apply). Rebooking through an agent does not qualify for the additional credit offer mentioned above.
Best Regards,
Alex E Expedia Travel Team
Please note that we may utilize machine translation for email correspondence. If you believe there has been any misunderstanding, please inform us.
Then came the incentives.
One email offered me a $25 CAD coupon. Another offered $56 CAD compensation if I rebooked elsewhere. Every message urged me to reply or call an Expedia agent immediately.
The messages included:
- My full name
- My reservation number
- The correct hotel
- My travel dates
- My contact information
That was the unsettling part. This wasn’t some random spam blast from a Nigerian prince promising millions. These scammers – or hackers – clearly had access to legitimate reservation information.
This is a classic scam progression. Offering me $25 compensation for my inconvenience and then upping it to a weird amount of $56. LOL! Seriously, when a hotel has to close down for some reason, they’re not offering cash to guests who’ve paid up front. All they do is refund and maybe give a credit towards a future stay. Maybe. If they’re an expensive hotel chain!
The Fake Expedia Phone Calls
Then the phone calls started.
A woman with a heavy accent called repeatedly claiming to be from Expedia. She mispronounced my last name and kept asking if I was there. I immediately muted the calls and eventually blocked the number.
Then they started spoofing what appeared to be Expedia phone numbers — including a real Expedia toll-free number.
That’s when I realized how dangerous this kind of scam could be for less experienced travellers.
Many people trust caller ID. They see “Expedia” or an 800 number and assume it’s legitimate.
It isn’t.
Spoofing phone numbers is incredibly easy now.
The Creepy Part: The Reservation Was Actually Altered
At first, I ignored everything because my Expedia account still looked normal.
Then one evening I received an actual legitimate email from Expedia saying that the final night of my reservation at León Dormido had been cancelled and refunded.
Not by me.
Not by the hotel directly contacting me.
It simply disappeared.
And how do I know this email is real? The message was also on Expedia’s app.
I immediately contacted Expedia through the official app chat. The representative confirmed:
- One night had indeed been cancelled
- A refund was being processed
- During the chat he tried twice to phone the property and they didn’t answer
- The rest of my reservation was still active
But when I tried rebooking that final night, Expedia suddenly showed: “This property is not available.”
At that point, I was six hours away from heading to the airport for my flight to Trujillo in northern Peru. I was still about 5 or 6 weeks from checking in to the Leon Dormido.
I decided I’d had enough.
Goodbye León Dormido, Hello Mar Azul
I cancelled the remaining reservation and booked Hotel Mar Azul instead.
Honestly? It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Mar Azul had:
- Friendly English-speaking staff
- A bright open-air layout
- Garden courtyards
- A nice breakfast area
- Continental breakfast included
- Water refill stations
- A quieter atmosphere
And unlike the scam emails insisting León Dormido was closed…
Mar Azul simply functioned like a normal hotel.
No mystery. No drama. No “urgent compensation offers.”
And, yes, I also paid for this hotel in full at time of booking. The advantage of doing this is so the charge from Expedia goes through in Canadian dollars and I don’t have to deal with payment at the hotel.
Whenever I book hotels on these types of platforms, I’m looking for a good cancellation policy, like I can cancel 24 to 48 hours in advance without penalty.
The real Leon Dormido reaches out
On January 4, 2026 when the shit was hitting the fan, I sent a message through the Expedia app to Leon Dormido hotel asking why they cancelled my last night.
They didn’t respond.
Until January 15.
They sent two messages in Spanish basically saying they are having trouble with the Expedia platform. Then they asked me to book directly with them and gave a phone number that Expedia redacted.
The issue seems to be less with Expedia and more with the scammers who hacked into the Leon Dormido hotel reservations system. The scammers could not see my form of payment because that’s not shared by Expedia. That’s why the scammers were eager to have me provide it.
I did not respond. I’d already booked the Mar Azul by this point.
The Plot Twist in the Galápagos
After arriving in San Cristóbal, curiosity got the better of me.
So I walked over to León Dormido.
Guess what?
The hotel was completely open.
No renovations.
No construction.
No closure.
No disaster.
No workers tearing apart walls.
Nothing.
The doors were open.
People were inside. Handwritten signs outside even advertised available rooms.
Pretty classy, hunh? Ha ha! The top paper says “Good day. For reservations call this number.”
Another piece of paper gives the same phone number for their reception.
And the last paper says “Yes, we have rooms.”
Printed on plain white paper and taped to the wall like someone had made it during lunch break.
The whole thing became unintentionally hilarious.
I had spent weeks getting fake cancellation emails about a hotel that was calmly operating business as usual.
The sandwich board on the sidewalk in front of the hotel is in English.
They’re also running a travel agency and a coffee shop on the premises, according to the sign. I didn’t actually step inside to verify that.
So What Was Actually Happening?
This is the part I still can’t fully answer.
My best guess is:
Scenario 1: A Compromised Reservation System
Someone may have gained access to reservation information through:
- A hotel booking platform
- A third-party property management system
- An employee account
- A phishing attack against hotel staff
- Weak passwords somewhere in the chain
That would explain how scammers knew so much about my booking.
Scenario 2: The Goal Was to Move Me Elsewhere
The scammers may have hoped I would:
- Cancel voluntarily
- Rebook through a fake agent
- Provide payment details
- Pay for another hotel outside Expedia
- Send identification documents
- Transfer money directly
This is a common tactic with travel scams.
Create panic first.
Then “help” the traveller solve the problem.
Scenario 3: Expedia and the Hotel Were Having Real Technical Problems
This may explain why one legitimate night of my booking actually disappeared.
Later, the hotel itself messaged me saying they were having problems with Expedia and suggested booking through another platform instead.
So there may have been two separate things happening at once:
- Real reservation system issues
- Scammers exploiting the confusion in real time
That combination created absolute chaos.
The Biggest Lesson
What saved me was simple:
I never trusted emails or incoming phone calls.
Every time I checked something, I went directly through:
- The official Expedia app
- The Expedia website
- Official support chat
I never clicked links in the emails.
I never gave information over the phone.
I never called the numbers the emails provided.
That probably prevented this situation from becoming much worse.
The happy ending
The contrast is striking.
León Dormido:
- Darker
- Narrow
- More urban
- Functional
Mar Azul:
- Open
- Airy
- Courtyard
- Garden
- Relaxed atmosphere
Here’s a few shots of the Mar Azul. And yes, the price was about the same for both hotels.
A lot of the hotels on the islands don’t look like much from the outside, they’re just part of a residential or commercial block. The Mar Azul looks like it’s more or less on one level and doesn’t have multiple flights of stairs.
Welcome!
Just a few steps down to the guest areas.
This way to the dining room.
Breakfast is served here.
Breezy passageway to the guest rooms.
The new hotel management is working on bringing the gardens back. Guest rooms around this courtyard. The rooms were clean, the air conditioning worked, and the location was quiet.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I still had a fantastic stay in the Galápagos. I walked over 15,000 steps some days, explored San Cristóbal, visited Tijeretas, and ended up in a hotel I genuinely enjoyed more than my original booking.
But this experience was a reminder that modern travel scams are getting disturbingly sophisticated.
These aren’t badly written lottery emails anymore.
These scammers knew:
- where I was staying
- when I was travelling
- my reservation number
- my email address
- my phone number
And they almost successfully manipulated an active booking.
That’s the part travellers should pay attention to.
Published by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on June 27, 2026.
