WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. \u2013 A West Bloomfield man says he\u2019s out more than $1,000 after he booked a hotel with an AI-booking website.<\/p>\n
Local 4 is learning he may not be the only one.<\/p>\n
Ziv Barlach, of West Bloomfield, has been waiting 10 months for his money back — with no end in sight. <\/p>\n
The nightmare began when Barlach booked a trip to see his childhood friend for a birthday in Israel last summer. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how many birthdays I have left because I am 80, not 18,\u201d Barlach told Local 4. <\/p>\n
Barlach booked his flights, rental car and his hotel. He used his CapitalOne credit card to make the purchases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made the reservation on June 6, and everything was set,\u201d Barlach said. <\/p>\n
Or, so he thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn June 13, a war began between Israel and Iran. As a result of that war, the state of Israel locked and shut up the airports. No arrivals and no departures were allowed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He had to cancel the trip, so he called CapitalOne. Eventually, they refunded him for the rental car and flights, calling the war an \u201cact of god.\u201d CapitalOne said he needed to call the specific booking platform for the hotel. <\/p>\n
Although he had paid for the hotel with his CapitalOne card, he\u2019d booked it with a platform called Algotels. It\u2019s an AI-driven site aimed at making hotel booking more affordable. <\/p>\n
Barlach called and emailed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey said they would take care of me. Now, we are 10 almost 11 months later,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Then, he called the hotel directly. They said there was no reservation under his name. <\/p>\n
If someone were to search \u2018Algotels\u2019 on the Better Business Bureau scam tracker, there are several people who say the same thing happened to them. <\/p>\n
Eventually, they rejected his request.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are writing me that you are going to get back with me in 24 hours. You did not,\u201d Barlach said. <\/p>\n
Local 4 reached out to CapitalOne. <\/p>\n
They responded with a link to travel protections for CapitalOne cardholders. <\/p>\n
Local 4 pressed them for more. They say they sent the information to their investigations team and plan to have an update to Local 4 later this week. <\/p>\n
Local 4 also called Algotels but could not get through to anyone. Additionally, Local 4 did not hear back via email.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not because of me, I did not cancel the flight,\u201d Barlach said.<\/p>\n
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