Travel Blog April Archive

Never again will I use Expedia.com

By Wilbur Corncob at 04/07/07 08:09

Contrary to the excellent service I received from expedia with respect to a hotel reservation in New York, I had much the opposite experience in Panama.

I made a reservation with Hotel Roma in Panama City for a one night stay in February. I also followed the instructions on Hotel Roma's website for their free airport pickup.

When I arrived in Panama City I couldn't find anyone waiting to take me to the hotel. Copa Air was nice enough to call the hotel for me. I learned that the "free" pickup from the airport advertised on their website was going to cost me $27!

I think the trick is that the procedure outlined on their website is one that can never actually be completed so you will never be picked up -- or only if they feel like it.

I made the decision that I would use a different hotel and at worst would have a one night charge to dispute.

Sure enough late in February a charge for $60.55 appeared on my credit card which I disputed. To my surprise another charge for $60.55 appeared on my credit card in late March.

I disputed that as an unauthorized transaction. My credit card company replied that it was a "subscription" and I needed to cancel it with the merchant. An completely absurd request since I never made any subscription with any merchant!

I guess Hotel Roma finds it suitable to charge you $60.55 a month (for ever) in addition to leaving your stranded at the airport!

Now, since I provided my credit card number to Expedia for the reservation, I went back to them. Expedia claims they never entered me into any subscription, and they absolutely refuse to resolve the issue unless I "telephone" them.

Now, I entered into the transaction online, and that is where the customer service should take place.

Additionally, upon notification that one of the companies they are giving credit card numbers to is abusing the information they need to very promptly get on top of the matter!

I am happy to argue about whether I am responsible for paying for the 1 night reservation that I "missed" (becuase they left me stranded in the airport). There is no arguement about the "subscription". That is down right fraud and shame on my credit card company for not jumping the merchant and shame on Expedia for shrugging it off as well.

Expedia Handles Payment for Hotel With Respect!

I recently make a hotel reservation for my wife to stay in New York City. Although I checked many places on the web, I decide to make the reservation through www.expedia.com.

The main reason was the combination of price and location. Many places were too difficult to deal with (the prices on the web were differnt than when you called, an answering machine to leave a message about availability, etc).

My preference is not to call anyone, but to do it all online.

When I made the reservation, Expedia was abundantly clear that my credit card would be charged the full amount of the hotel reservation the moment I made the reservation. Thank god!

Not only was the charge made immediately to my card, when my wife checked into the hotel there were no hassles. No request for a credit card, no request for a deposit. When she checked out it was just as easy as saying, good bye. No disclosed card numbers, no double charges, just the simple transaction that it is.

One reason I like the instant charging of my card for the full amount is that it avoid problems with credit limits in the future. On a recent trip to Brazil, the travel agency waited weeks and weeks to actually charge my card. Since the total cost of the trip was near my total credit limit, I was unable to use that card for anything until the travel agency charge posted.

I was also worried that if that charge posted too close to the trip date, I wouldn't be able to pay it off before the trip and wouldn't have the use of that card at all on the trip!

Expedia needs a thumbs up for first of all clearly informing their customers how the transaction will be handled and second for actually handling the transaction like they said it would be.