Jim,

There was only one guy who reserved a whole year, and he was heavily criticized by every FlyerTalker under the sun as soon as he said he did. Yet all the articles I've seen so far talk about him as if these were the only kind of people who have pending reservations. Why? I'm guessing it's because that's the most sensational, most "easy-to-sell" part of the story. And I'll admit, it is a great hook. But it isn't an accurate representation of the rest of us, and it sends the wrong signals to the reader. Why aren't any of the articles talking about Expedia's failure to communicate in a cohesive manner? Why aren't any of the articles talking about Expedia's cancelling of re-confirmations of re-re-confirmations? When you "confirm" something, you establish it as a truth. Something that has been confirmed twice should only be more so. Retractions of triple-confirmations should not be okay by anybody's book.

The press is our voice and the only check-and-balance consumers have against corporate behemoths like Expedia. With the publicity this event will be getting, I suspect Expedia's resolution will have a lasting impact on the industry's attitude itself. Expedia must know that it cannot send confirmations and guarantees to its customers, then backpeddle and disregard their own words.

If consumers are expected to be held by all sorts of legal boundaries when entering into a contract with a company, then the company needs to be held accountable for contracts it enters into with the consumer as well. To acknowledge otherwise opens the doors for all kinds of abuse.

Kind regards,
FlyingToFly