I've booked through Expedia before. I think you pay in full upon reservation but if you cancel there are charges that apply, depending on how long beforehand you actually cancel. ( I think you can lose the cost of a night's stay if you cancel in the 24 hours before you are supposed to stay - basically if you have to cancel it's best to tell them as soon as possible) It will tell you the cancellation charges applicable to the hotel you select before you actually make the reservation. And it also says Expedia will consider a refund depending upon the circumstances you have to cancel. Hope this helps

Would just like to tell you of our recent experience with Expedia (sorry a bit off topic) We recently stayed 1 night in Liverpool at a luxury apartment booked through them. When we arrived we couldn't find the door to the apartments so feeling a bit stressed phoned the number to be told that the apartments weren't open yet and we had been put in different ones. We should have had an email about it but hadn't got one. It took us ages to find the other apartments and a lot of the kitchen utensils were broken or missing and there was washing in the washing machine. Apart from that it was a lovely apartment and actually nearer to the theatre that we were going to (by chance)
On arriving home we emailed Expedia to tell them of the problems and immediately they sent us a voucher for £100 to book with them again so we were quite pleased about that. We have just got our credit card statement and they have refunded half the cost of the apartment. To say that we are delighted is an understatement and we would definitely book through them again.

I've booked a hotel with expedia a couple of times, their cancellation terms are quite good in that case. You have to pay in full when booking, if you cancel up to about a week in advance there's just a service charge of about £20, between then and the arrival day they charge the first night. If you just fail to show and don't cancel by the arrival day they keep everything. These terms may vary by hotel, especially if you book a discount rate, but they are always shown before you pay.

Obviously if you have a genuine reason to cancel then your insurance should cover it (although the excess may be more than £20).

We used Expedia for the first time this year when we booked flights and a hotel for Dubai and I have to say they were excellent.

Firstly, the day after booking the flights and hotel, the cost of the hotel came down the very next day by £140. (why o why do I check prices when I have already booked) Anyway, I phoned them and they were very helpful and said I could cancel the hotel and re-book it and all it would cost was a £16.00 canx charge. However, we then had a change of heart re the hotel we had booked and decided to change to a different hotel completely so I phoned them back and we could change to the new hotel with no additional costs for changing (obviously we had to pay the extra as we were choosing a slightly more expensive hotel).

The staff were always very helpful and friendly, and quick and efficient service. Also good that they don't charge a surcharge for credit cards.