randix

I've used Orbitz frequently, from time to time, and sure didn't see this type of behavior coming...

What happened:

1. On Friday I booked a one night stay at the Valley River Inn in Eugene, OR, for 10/6, on the Orbitz website

2. After clicking on the hotel in question among the listings in Orbitz and before I booked it, in a prominent blue box, 6" long and 1" high, this statement appeared:

"Great news! You get FREE cancellation before 4:00 PM local hotel time on 10/5/15 for your selected room!"

3. Knowing I could cancel the reservation if need be, I booked the hotel.

4. On Saturday I decided to cancel the reservation.

5. When I went to "My Trips" to bring up my reservation, and clicked on "Cancel" it told me that the reservation was non-refundable, that was the hotel's policy. No big deal I figured, cause I paid Orbitz, not the hotel, and clearly took notice of Orbitz's assurance that I had till 10/5 to cancel.

6. I called up Orbitz customer service, figuring this was routine. Whoa, was I wrong!

7. A nice elderly woman answered, asking how she could help? I explained the facts and she put me on hold. She came back and told me that the reservation could not be cancelled, that was the hotel's policy. When I pointed out the blue banner that appeared at the time of booking on the Orbitz website that said I had till 10/5 to cancel, she said it didn't matter. I couldn't believe it.

8. I then woke up and went into attorney mode (41 crusty years of it)... I directed her to the listing that still existed, pointing out that the banner was STILL THERE. She said it didn't matter (what?), but she would see what she could do. She came back and said as a ONE TIME COURTESY, they would refund my money, but she said the hotel's policy still controls and this was only a one time favor they were doing for me.

9. I calmly waited until she emailed me confirmation of the refund, then I really exploded. She finally said she would let tech support know (as if this was a technical problem).

False advertising, making it difficult for folks who were induced into going ahead making a reservation on the thought they could cancel it later, but then making it difficult for them to do so. Some hungry state attorney general's consumer protection office would have a field day.

Did I expect to encounter this at Orbitz? Not by a long shot. You can bet I'll do my bookings elsewhere.

Dieuwer

Expedia just bought Orbitz. What do you expect??

sonofzeus

I shun Orbitz except when they offer $100 off $100 (1 nite min) on non-chain hotels. 9-)

SinglePapa2

When will Expedia take-over finalize? I heard it may not happen at all?!

randix

By Mario Trujillo - 09/16/15 04:48 PM EDT
The Justice Department on Wednesday gave the go ahead for the merger of Expedia and Orbitz, concluding that the deal is "unlikely to harm competition and consumers."

The department concluded that the merger of the two online booking agents will not result in increased prices for consumers and found that the online travel industry has gained a number of new competitors in the past year and a half, including platforms from TripAdvisor and Google.

"The Antitrust Division investigated the concerns that have been expressed about this transaction. We took those concerns seriously and factored into our analysis all of the information provided by third parties. At the end of this process, however, we concluded that the acquisition is unlikely to harm competition and consumers," Assistant attorney general Bill Baer said in a statement.
The Justice Department also found that the deal is unlike to affect the commissions the companies take when negotiating with airlines, car rental agencies and hotels.

The companies' stock prices surged amid the Wednesday news. Expedia stock shot up about 5 percent, while Orbitz stock rose more than 6 percent by the close of the markets.

Some estimates find that Expedia will control about a three quarters of the online booking market for hotels, airlines and rental cars after the deal goes through. It's largest online rival is Priceline.

Expedia in February announced that it would acquire Orbitz at a value of $1.6 billion. Expedia already owns a number of booking sites, including Hotels.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, trivago and others. Orbitz controls sites like cheaptickets.com and ebooker.com.

Hotel and lodging trade groups had pressed to block the deal and warned of increasing consolidation in the industry. Some consumer advocates as well as a few Democrats had also been weary of the merger.

“By approving this deal, only two players control the online marketplace: Priceline and the behemoth Expedia," The American Hotel and Lodging Association said in a statement expressing disappointment with the approval.

it added: "Together, these two players control over 95 percent of the online travel agency bookings in the United States. We continue to believe that increased consolidation is bad for consumers and bad for business."

http://thehill.com/policy/technology...-orbitz-merger

sonofzeus

I call radishes on this assertion.

Orbitz

Hi Randix,

My name is Charlotte, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at [email protected] and enter my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.

Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Charlotte
Orbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL

tatterdema

They must have fixed it, because the non refundable rooms are clearly marked, with no banner saying free cancellation.

tatterdema

Lol, they didn't even do their research very well. Tripadvisor and Google platforms simply pull from the OTA's. There is no question it will hurt consumers.

cestmoi123

Not Tripadvisor.

BearX220

I clicked on this thread expecting -- from the headline -- to read a story of some customer service bouquet. Orbitz disavowing an explicit commitment, on the other hand, doesn't surprise me at all.

And I'm sure just telling angry customers they're out of luck, as OP heard, works for Orbitz a goodly portion of the time.

The merger, like other recent travel provider mergers, is not going to improve anything for anybody except execs and shareholders.

tatterdema

Huh? I have never seen where TA has negotiated rates with any hotel or airline, but simply direct customers to the whatever source they want to. Maybe I am wrong?

cestmoi123

It's something they've been rolling out, targeting independent hotels.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/InstantBookingPartners

tatterdema

Like I said, it pulls from other OTA's or the hotels own booking engine. The hotel I work in gets a lot of these. TA does not negotiate rates and availability like a true OTA does. Yet at least.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ConnectivityPartners

cestmoi123

Actually, you didn't mention the hotels at all, you just said:

That's why I made the correction.