Another travel Q: Ever get burnt by a travel deal?

I can’t say I’ve ever had a deal go south. There are often flight problems, more in terms of delays rather than cancellations so far, but that has had nothing to do with how I booked.

The last flights I booked for China were with KLM and were online bookings that were cancelled due to Covid. I got a full refund eventually.

You are better protected if you book with a credit card. That way you are shielded from personal liability due to fraudulent activity and it is easier to claim your money back if the airline, hotel or other companies go out of business.

When I book directly with the hotel websites I have never had any problems. I travel a lot. I’ve stayed in Marriott family hotels, Hilton, Holiday Inn, all never problem.

When I used hotel.com I stayed in two different boutique hotels, two different cities, and one of them tried to charge when I arrived for an upgrade. I had seen reviews that some hotels put the people who book through the discount websites in the “worst” rooms. None of the rooms were bad, just terrible view, small bed, that sort of thing. Most hotels chains will match any other prices online.

Some hotel chains have cheaper rates for “advanced purchase” which means you cannot change or cancel, you will lose your money if your plans change. I prefer to pay $20 and have flexibility.

You will need to hold the reservation with a credit card, that’s normal, and you can see the cancellation policy, often with the major hotel chains you can cancel up to 6:00pm same day. In popular cities it might be 24 or 48 hours in advance so you don’t get charged anything.

I mention the cancellation policy, because you’re stressed out, and maybe if you know you can cancel it will relieve your stress, and easier to take the step forward. You can book what you think you want to do, and then still have time to change your mind no penalties. Again, you want a regular rate booked directly with the hotel chain, you can find it online and still talk to a reservationist at the 800 number to book. They can email you the confirmation.

B&B’s and boutique hotels often don’t have as much flexibility for changes and cancellations. You just have to ask the policy.

This doesn’t actually answer the Q as asked, but it might be of some help.

There are still travel agents out there who will likely get you the best deals and make the best arrangements, since you are not really confident about booking through the internet. Bonus, if they screw up, they could be found a certain amount of liable.

I overheard pretty much this exact conversation while waiting in a line recently. It made sense, and also my friend always still books through a travel agent.

And I think AAA still has travel agent services available.

@canidmajor Yes, I was thinking of mentioning that too. I haven’t used a travel agent recently but I have also heard they are still around and have considered using one to alleviate some of the anxiety around planning a trip. I think that is a great idea for Jeruba.

@JLeslie Good suggestions too!

I’ve booked (and been on trips booked by others) electronically, and almost never had any problems related to the electronic booking. Let me think of the worst things I can think of that have happened to me . . .

One thing that’s happened maybe twice, was the hotel charging a slightly higher rate than was agreed online. The only time I remember for sure that happening was with a hotel in Italy, and it was a long long time ago. I think they may have (intentionally or just by mistake) checked us in as if we’d just walked in, ignoring the reservation with the agreed rate. It didn’t make a huge difference in the price, and I think that’s an Italian issue rather than an electronic issue (I’ve seen a similar thing happen with an Italian taxi ride, and another crazy Italian hotel scam that didn’t involve electronic booking), but the way to head it off is to confirm the rate when you check in.

Oh, another thing that can be evil, is rental car companies. I had a reservation for a rental car at a certain rate pre-arranged electronically, to pick up in Dublin airport. When I arrived, they wouldn’t honor the rate, and wanted to charge me much more. However I stepped to the next door rental car agency (or maybe I had to try two) and was able to just book a car on the spot for much less. Again, that’s not necessarily about the electronic booking aspect – they might do that too if I’d made a reservation by phone.

I’ve had good luck with AirBnB, but I’ve heard tales from friends about some weird and problematic experiences there.

Checking details is important, and you’re often on your own to make sure things like whether you’re getting a smoking room or not, bed types, cancellation policies, etc.

The main thing I dislike about online trip planning is how much time it can take me to do it, seeing which site has the best price, what’s available on what date for what price, etc. There are still travel agents who can handle all that, but of course they have their fees.

Overall, I would say there isn’t much to fear from electronic booking itself, unless you get confused by the process and/or miss some details (fairly easy to do, especially if you’re new to it, but happens to me too sometimes because it can be brain-numbing using those web programs).

Of course, you can also still just use the Internet to find places, and then phone them up. Haggling for lower prices (if you want to do that) may still be easiest by voice.

The latest challenges posed have been COVID-related. Depending upon where you are starting, connecting ,and going, tests maybe required within a certain timeframe. If it’s not done, you are turned away. While it can be handled on one’s own, if travelling to another country, It might be beneficial to have a travel agent do it.

There have been numerous errors in travel plans. Flight cancelled due to weather (I spent the night on the Amsterdam airport floor and it was an adventure!); a flight cancelled and not finding out about it until arriving at the airport; lost luggage; it goes on. It’s just a matter of going with the flow.

@Pied_Pfeffer I spent a night on the floor at Schiphol Airport too!

@Jeruba‘s trip is domestic though so she probably wouldn’t have many Covid restrictions at this point except for the ones she follows herself.

@Jeruba The chance of some sort of slip-up is next to none. For the amount I traveled for work, the minimal mishaps are bound to happen. If you are traveling for an event when you you need to be there by a specific time, book the travel plans a day earlier if it will put you at ease.