In my experience, it's not Expedia but the hotel that refunded your money. I've experienced both refund (Brussels) AND refusal to refund (Paris). In both cases it was entirely up to the hotel. The refund happened during Covid, when the hotel first told Expedia they'd let me re-schedule within one year. When I tried to re-book for one year in advance, they balked, and finally just said they'd refund. The Paris hotel just said, "Sorry, nonrefundable," even though I'd had multiple strokes and offered to provide medical documentation. Expedia was just the middleman; all decisions were made at the hotel.