Rebelyell

I just booked a room for my wife and as soon as she got the email learned that I had booked the "special" rate rather than the "published" rate. I immediately called and tried to change it, but no luck. I called the hotel and tried to pay extra to get my wife her points and credits, but that was a no-go as well.

I hate Egencia. They put these "special" rates in small print so that you don't realize you are booking them. Then when you do, you lose out on a free hotel night and hotel nights and perhaps hotel status. So to save $5 you lose hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

I hate Egencia, and I think it is wrong of Marriott not to allow those who have been tricked into booking the "special" rate to pay extra to get their hotel credit. Sigh. Rant. Rave.

p.s. to make matters worse, I browbeat my wife into staying at a Fairfield to get her Megabonus free night certificate. She hates Fairfields. So a bad hotel stay with neither hotel certificate nor points as a salve. Double sigh. Double Rant. Double Rave.

socrates

1) Egencia is Expedia's B2B product (try contacting Expedia's customer service team and see if they can assist)

2) Marriott isn't able to change it because you purchased a "wholesaler" rate, they were not party to the transaction between Egencia and youself and have no access to any of that information - in fact Expedia will only forward the wholesale amount for the room not what you paid - MI has no idea exactly what you paid including fee's

NathanRasmussen

Egencia offers different rate plans to travelers including negotiated rates your company has secured with a hotel, published or rack rates that a hotel makes publicly available, Egencia's business preferred rates and Expedia's special rates. Each rate has its own advantages and our goal is to allow you to choose the best rate type for your trip. The Expedia Rate can be up to 40% lower than the public rates; these low rates or “special rates” are made available by removing some features such as hotel loyalty points - this is due to the discount at which the hotel allows us to sell the rooms. These rates are designed for those that prioritize price over points. Based on your description, it sounds like this is the type of hotel room that was selected for your wife. I'd love to see if there is anything that my team or I can do to help rectify this situation. If you could send me an email with your contact information and itinerary number I'll look into this right away. Additionally, we would also love to hear any additional feedback or recommendations you might have - we’re always working to improve our product and service.

(Written at 35k feet – I don't just manage business travel; I'm also a road warrior myself).

Thanks, Nathan
Nathan Rasmussen
Director, Account Management
Egencia, an Expedia Inc. Company
[email protected]

darthbimmer

In my personal experience, Egencia's special rates are often the same as the hotel's regular rates. My employer requires me to use Egencia for flights but makes it optional for booking hotels and cars. For a while I tried to be a good employee and use it for everything but I got too frustrated with missing features, dumb policies, and infuriatingly bad phone support that I now use it only where absolutely required. And even then I double-check EVERYTHING Egencia shows me against other sources.

outjet

I just googled "Why I hate Egencia" and found this thread. Here's my experience...

I tried to make a booking in NY March 25-28:

Hotel's website: $379, Points: YES Early Cancel: YES Late Changes OK?: YES
Egencia website: $379, Points: NO. Early Cancel: NO. Late Changes OK?: NO.

Why can't I get way better room restrictions for the same price from Egencia.com? I had to call the Egencia agent, and have them manually book me direct through the hotel (can't do it through website) for $379 with all the benefits.

I am going to talk with our company president to see if we can look at other options. When I started with this company, all the other road warriors warned me:

"Book your flights through Egencia but book the hotels on your own so you don't get ripped off."

cfischer

Considering they need to earn a living as well I am not sure what you are complaining about. This is widely known and pretty much the case with all OTAs. I don't get your point at all. If you want points you book with Marriott, it's that simple.

outjet

That sounds correct.

That sounds less correct. Some firms mandate Egencia for corporate travel, making it "not that simple." For individuals in that boat, it appears that calling Egencia and requesting that the hotel be booked directly may be the only viable workaround, until Egencia is willing to publish those rates (that have far more customer-friendly terms) on their website.

TallestHotelInJapan

+1. Never saw a rate that is lower than the hotel's website!

cfischer

You risk getting no points when booking outside of Marriott.com This is well-known. That is all I was saying; I did not say you cannot ever get points.

socrates

not true...not true at all....you can book through any channel you'd like, but you must book pub avail rates, not wholesaler rates which the ota's like to offer BUT even the ota's have the ability to book pub avail rates (they just earn less on them so they'd prefer not too)

PWMFlyer19

I'm not sure if it helps, but my company shows the ESR's and EPR's at the top, but if you click on View All Rates right next to it, it will show you regular published rates. For Marriotts, this usually includes AAA and AARP rates, though for other chains it is hit or miss, and yes, they are usually lower or the same price.

Cheers.

TravelTechDoug

This is because while Egencia is charging you that rate they are only paying a portion of it. I ran into this with a stay recently. Advertised at 95 on hotel site and Egencia. Difference was no points through Egencia. When I pulled the reservation through the hotel's app I see Egencia is actually paying 65 per night, but charging us the same damned rate as the hotel. They are a total fraud.

RogerD408

Actually, they are a business and entitled to make a profit. The fact that many of their customers don't bother to dig in to find out the "cost" of doing business with them is the real problem. Too many people expect something for nothing so matching the hotel site appears that is what is happening. You would expect the rate paid to the properties by reward stays or employee rates would be closer to their cost to operate the business yet we all are willing to pay more than that.

CPRich

5+ years later, I suspect outjet has already pursued the actions he outlined.

btw - selling you a room at a price you are free to accept or reject, making a markup on a wholesale rate that they receive from Marriott, is far from fraud. It's basically the business process of any retailer.

ethan76