I stayed at OYO Times Square, New York from Dec 23 to Dec 26. This was one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had.
At check-in, the reception demanded a $100 security deposit. I offered to pay cash, which was refused. I was told they only accept cards. When my card was charged, I noticed they deducted $134 instead of $100. The staff casually claimed this extra amount was a “service charge” and said this was “normal.” I have stayed in multiple hotels across the US and have never encountered this practice.
It has now been over one month, and no security deposit has been refunded.
Attempts to resolve this:
Emails: No response at all
Phone calls: Staff repeatedly claim they have no record of my booking, despite having a valid booking reference, and then disconnect the call
Agoda support: Agoda confirmed they attempted to contact the property multiple times but received no response from the hotel
The front desk staff were hostile and intimidating, not helpful. Any question about the refund was met with dismissive behavior, raised voices, and bullying tactics rather than customer service.
What makes this worse is that after my stay, I found numerous similar complaints online describing:
Inflated “security deposits”
No refunds
Property denying bookings afterward
Complete lack of accountability
In my experience, this hotel’s deposit handling appears deliberately opaque and misleading. I strongly recommend avoiding this property unless you are comfortable risking your money and spending weeks chasing a refund that may never come.
I am posting this review to warn future guests and to document my experience publicly, since private communication has failed entirely.
Avoid this hotel.