Family holidays are joyous occasions, but what if your vacation becomes an ordeal because the hotels you booked online via a travel portal turn are missing! Worst still, you are forced to spend a night in your car in freezing cold.In one such case, a consumer commission in Gurdaspur, Punjab, has directed MakeMyTrip India Pvt Ltd to pay Rs 48,775 to an advocate after he complained that two hotels booked through the platform for a family holiday to Srinagar and Gulmarg could not be located when the family arrived at the given addresses.
What the case is about
The advocate had reportedly reserved a family room at an inn in Srinagar for December 27 and 28, 2025. He paid Rs 5,788 for the booking. For the next leg of the trip, he booked two rooms at a hotel Gulmarg for December 28 and 29 at a cost of Rs 12,987. Both bookings were paid for through UPI on the MakeMyTrip platform.The family arrived in Srinagar at around 11 am on December 27. The man said that when they reached the address provided for the inn, they discovered that the location was actually a private homestay and not a hotel. According to him, the family was asked to wait for around two hours on the pretext that the place was being cleaned. They eventually had to arrange another accommodation by paying an additional amount.The journey to Gulmarg the following day was also delayed because of traffic and army convoy movement. By the time the family reached Gulmarg, it was late, the man said, and they discovered that the second hotel booked through the platform could not be found either.According to the man, his wife, daughter and son were left waiting inside a car during heavy snowfall, with temperatures falling to minus 4 degrees Celsius, after the hotel booked in Gulmarg was found to be non-existent.With heavy snowfall and no rooms available, the family had no option but to spend the night inside their car, according to the advocate. The family was also unable to use the gondola tickets that had been booked in advance. They eventually returned to Gurdaspur on December 29.The man said he contacted MakeMyTrip on all three days through WhatsApp, customer care and email regarding the problems faced by the family. He also sent a legal notice dated January 22, 2026, but said he received no response.
What the travel portal said
MakeMyTrip maintained that its role was restricted to that of a facilitator or aggregator. According to the company, when a customer makes a booking request, its software forwards the request to the hotel and the booking confirmation is shared with the customer once it is received from the hotel. The company said it neither owns nor operates or controls any of the hotels displayed on its platform, according to an ET report.MakeMyTrip further argued that it qualifies as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and therefore cannot be made responsible for services provided by a hotel. It said its responsibility was limited to arranging an alternative accommodation, if one was available, or processing a refund in accordance with its applicable terms.MakeMyTrip also sought dismissal of the complaint on the ground that neither of the two hotels had been included as parties to the proceedings. The company argued that the complaint essentially concerned the manner in which the hotels were displayed to customers, while the actual provision of accommodation remained entirely under the control of the hotels.
Court awards compensation to man
The man, however, told the commission that the payment had been made to MakeMyTrip and that the company had failed to provide either an alternative accommodation or a refund. He described this as a deficiency in service as well as business malpractice.The advocate appeared and argued the matter himself. His position was that the bookings had been made and paid for through MakeMyTrip and that the company had failed to assist him after the problem arose.MakeMyTrip told the commission that it had contacted both hotels after receiving the complaint. According to the company, both hotels responded that the man had never arrived and had consequently marked his bookings as no shows. The company relied on the hotel invoice to support this claim and said the man had neither contacted the hotels nor approached its support team during the period of his stay.The company further said that both hotels had declined to issue a refund because the bookings were non-refundable, despite MakeMyTrip having requested a refund on the man’s behalf. The advocate disputed this position and said he had informed MakeMyTrip about the issue immediately, on the same days that the problems occurred.MakeMyTrip relied on its user agreement and terms of service, which customers accept by clicking the I Agree option. The company said information about hotels is provided by the respective hotels themselves and that any dispute arising from those details or the stay had to be resolved between the customer and the hotel.Both parties submitted documentary evidence before the commission. Chohan filed his sworn affidavit along with 20 exhibits and also submitted a rejoinder. MakeMyTrip filed an affidavit, supported by six documents. Neither party submitted written arguments.Chohan sought a complete refund of the Rs 18,775 he had paid for the bookings, along with interest at 24% per year. He also sought Rs 5 lakh as compensation for harassment, mental agony, physical suffering, financial loss and the gondola tickets that went unused. In addition, he claimed Rs 25,000 towards legal expenses.The consumer commission ultimately directed MakeMyTrip to pay Rs 48,775.The compensation ordered by the commission is Rs 30,000 higher than the Rs 18,775 Chohan had paid for the two hotel bookings.
