Travelodge review: Reservation cancellation

I booked the Travelodge by Wyndham in Barrie, Ontario, for the nights of October 10 and 11, 2025 confirmation # 829840675. Let me first say that I'm a veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy. I recently lost my wife, who was also a veteran, to cancer. My doctor suggested that, to help the grieving process, maybe a change of scenery would help. I have a friend who is also a veteran who lives in Barrie. He's not well, so I decided I would visit him, hence the booking at the Travelodge. Approximately a week before the trip, I fell and hurt my foot. The swelling in my foot was not going down, so I saw my doctor on 9 Oct, and he sent me for an X-ray. Turns out I broke a bone in my foot and was required to wear a boot for the next 6 to 8 weeks. Needless to say, I was unable to make the trip to Barrie. I immediately called the Reservation.Com to cancel and request a refund. They informed me that my booking was non-refundable. I explained to them the reason for cancelling and they said I would have to contact the hotel directly to request the refund. I called the hotel and explained the situation. The person I spoke to said I would have to email the General Manager (GM) and request the refund. I did that and the GM responded with the following:
"Thank you for reaching out, and please accept our deepest condolences on the loss of your wife. We’re very sorry to hear about your injury and truly understand the difficult circumstances you’re facing. Although your reservation was made under a non-refundable policy, we are making an exception in this case and have approved a full refund for both nights of your stay. As your reservation was made through Agoda, we kindly ask that you contact them directly to request the refund. Please inform them that the hotel has authorized it. If Agoda requires confirmation from our end, they will give us a call and we will approve the refund for both nights without issue. Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery, and we hope you’ll be able to make the trip under better circumstances in the future. Thanks."
Although I didn't make the reservation with Agoda, I went on the their website and entered my confirmation number and they stated that they had no record of that number. So I went back to GM and informed her. She replied with the following email:
"We will reach out to them directly from our side to help clarify the situation. We will keep you informed of any updates as soon as we receive them. Thanks."

After hearing nothing for a few days, I went back to the GM and requested that she issue the refund soonest and this was her reply:
" We have completed everything on our end regarding your request. I can assure you that we contacted the third-party website, processed the refund from our side, and also confirmed the approval directly with them by phone. At this point, the matter is in the hands of the third party, and any further follow-up will need to be done directly with them. We appreciate your understanding."
So I asked her who the third party was and how I could contact them. This was her response:
"It is Agoda-contact- [protected]."
I tried that number, but it's for hotel use only and was of no use to me. I relayed that information to the GM on 24 Oct and have heard nothing from her since.
I made the reservation through the Reservation Desk. Com and have no idea how Agoda was involved. Why the hotel itself cannot issue the refund is beyond me. Like I said, I'm a veteran and a pensioner and cannot afford to throw away $320.00. Any help anyone can give me at this point would be most appreciated.
Since I submitted this review, I heard from Reservation.com requesting more information which I provided. Then, on 6 November 2025, I received the following email from Reservation.com:

"Thank you again for contacting us regarding your Travelodge by Wyndham Barrie reservation. We have reviewed your inquiry, checked our records, and made a request to our hotel partners on your behalf to obtain approval for a refund exception.

Unfortunately, we have been informed by our hotel partner that a refund will not be granted due to the cancellation policy that was provided and agreed upon at the time of booking. We value you as a customer and apologize that we are not able to offer your desired resolution at this time.

Should you need further assistance, please respond to this email and a member of our Escalations Team will take good care of you.

It was a pleasure assisting you with your request.

Regards,
Gabriel
ReservationDesk.com

I have copies of all emails.

I do realize that my reservation was non-refundable. However, it's been my experience that there are always exceptions to every rule/policy and if my situation doesn't qualify as an exception, then I don't know what does.

Thank you