Orbitz & Expedia ~ BEWARE!

[ashey063009]

WOW! Tammy, thanks a million for posting this. I've had an issue with overbooking and Expedia before-- but I never realized it was so prominent. It's mindboggling!

[Joss]

Those are crazy stories. Especially the guy who's dedicated a site to "victims of expedia." I've booked hotels etc. through Hotwire and never had a problem. I wonder if this is a case of all discount travel sites are not created equally?

[ldeavila]

I’ve encountered problems with Expedia before. When FI and I went to PV for my Bday last year, we booked our flight and hotel through Expedia. We had reserved four nights at the Sheraton Bungavilles with a nonsmoking king size. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told they had no reservation for us. Luckily I had a print out of our itinerary. The lady checking us in said she had availability and she would check us in, but it was at a higher rate than what we had paid for with Expedia. Not wanting to ruin our vacation, I agreed to pay that rate and then take it up with Expedia when I returned home. Well, after we returned home I called Expedia and explained my situation. They said there was nothing they could do for me. They had sent my reservation to the hotel and it was the hotels responsibility for making sure all reservations are honored. They blamed the hotel for the mix-up, even though I had gotten a confirmation from Expedia stating I was guaranteed a room at the Sheraton. Well, I asked Expedia for a refund since I ended up paying for the hotel myself when I was in PV. They stated they couldn’t give me a refund because the hotel had collected the money on the first reservation I had done. I was fuming!!! They kept insisting that the hotel had our money and we needed to file a claim with the hotel. Well, long story short….i called my credit card and explained the situation and they were able to refund me the hotel portion that I had paid to Expedia.! Lesson learned: Don’t deal with Expedia! I will be telling my wedding party this horror story hopefully to deter them from booking with them and going with my TA.

[ldeavila]

I’ve encountered problems with Expedia before. When FI and I went to PV for my Bday last year, we booked our flight and hotel through Expedia. We had reserved four nights at the Sheraton Bungavilles with a nonsmoking king size. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told they had no reservation for us. Luckily I had a print out of our itinerary. The lady checking us in said she had availability and she would check us in, but it was at a higher rate than what we had paid for with Expedia. Not wanting to ruin our vacation, I agreed to pay that rate and then take it up with Expedia when I returned home. Well, after we returned home I called Expedia and explained my situation. They said there was nothing they could do for me. They had sent my reservation to the hotel and it was the hotels responsibility for making sure all reservations are honored. They blamed the hotel for the mix-up, even though I had gotten a confirmation from Expedia stating I was guaranteed a room at the Sheraton. Well, I asked Expedia for a refund since I ended up paying for the hotel myself when I was in PV. They stated they couldn’t give me a refund because the hotel had collected the money on the first reservation I had done. I was fuming!!! They kept insisting that the hotel had our money and we needed to file a claim with the hotel. Well, long story short….i called my credit card and explained the situation and they were able to refund me the hotel portion that I had paid to Expedia.! Lesson learned: Don’t deal with Expedia! I will be telling my wedding party this horror story hopefully to deter them from booking with them and going with my TA.

[Brenners]

I have booked a few trips through Orbitz, however, I have always called the hotel in the days before the trip to ensure that we still had a room as well as checking with the airline. My OCD makes me want to double-check everything. After reading this though, I am going to just use these sites for price checking and go directly thru the hotel/airline or TA. I don't take many trips so I want to make sure that when I do go somewhere, I won't have any headaches or hassles - especially for our wedding!

[MissLucky7Bride]

Thanks for the heads up Tammy!

[courtney_b00]

Omg that is so scary. I hate how so many people just make a business out of ripping people off. Thank you so much for sharing!

[JenniferSS]

Keep in mind that just because a hotel may be able to confirm your reservation the days prior to travel doesn't mean that you still won't get walked if they are oversold! It's part of the contract that the mega online agencies have- no protection for their clients!

 

There are times that out prices are higher as TA's - however our suppliers also have a no walk guarantee- our clients will NOT be walked if the hotel is oversold! This is especially important in high season and over holidays!

[courtney_b00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TA Jennifer Keep in mind that just because a hotel may be able to confirm your reservation the days prior to travel doesn't mean that you still won't get walked if they are oversold! It's part of the contract that the mega online agencies have- no protection for their clients! There are times that out prices are higher as TA's - however our suppliers also have a no walk guarantee- our clients will NOT be walked if the hotel is oversold! This is especially important in high season and over holidays!

I've never looked into this stuff, mainly because I haven't booked any big trips myself. Thanks to everyone for opening my eyes to this! It's crazy...and I would definitely pay more money to go through a TA so I wouldn't have to deal with all the stress and possible "what-ifs".

[CatxAshxTrophe]

I just went through a nightmare experience with Expedia this afternoon! After finalizing my flight/hotel i got a price of 1100 per person, so 2200 for the whole shebang, which was superb, but after the charge went through the said "actually the flight went up, so you are now going to pay 4000 and you card has been charged" where the hell do they get off charging me another 1800 bucks without my consent. I called, the customer service was AWFUL. after an hour of feuding with them about how wrong they were, they gave me my money back.

 

Just sent TA Dina an email and am hoping that things can only get better from here!