Travelocity - Has anyone used them?
 

I've booked through Booking.com previously and all worked out well... Lately I've been booking hotels for our trip to Austria/Germany next year and found an exceptionally good price on Travelocity for a place near Zell am See. The savings is about 170 euro for 3 nights so I'm concerned that if it looks too good to be true it is.

Does anyone have experiences with Travelocity to share?

My only experience was buying tickets to a sporting event in another country. I needed to ask some questions and clarify something, and it was impossible. Zero customer service. Not just no available answers; actually no one to speak with at all.

Wholly-owned subsidiary of giant Expedia.com, headquartered in Bellevue , Washington, so should be safe.

If you want customer service, why use an OTA?

That being said, Travelocity is one of the Big Four OTA's (along with Expedia, Orbitz, and Priceline), so it's reputable.

I used it years ago as one thing I liked was you could split airline tickets on it easily which you couldn't do on an airline's own website -- ie, go on United, return on Delta, for a good fare. I think after some years, they changed and didn't have those options any more, so I kind of stopped looking at it.

But all those big names are wellknown and are of equal quality, I think (Expedia, Orbitz, etc.). It's been around for many years, if you find a good price on a hotel, better than others, I'd book it. I found the same thing on booking.com last year and couldn't believe it, but booked it (since it was not prepaid), checked directly with the hotel to make sure they had it, and all was fine. It happens, I think some places use one more than another (Orbitz seemed to be used a lot in Mexico, for example).

If it's not prepaid, do what I did -- book it and then email the hotel directly to get their quote of what the rate is going to be booked at as it should be in local currency, anyway.

I also used to use Travelocity a lot, but over time, and for various reasons, I started using Expedia for flights and booking.com for hotels. I never had a problem with Travelocity, so I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I feel better about using them and about their reliability, as long as everything goes according to plan. I'll be certain to check with the hotel to confirm our reservations. I was so happy to find a deal but then I got to thinking it might be a mistake, so now, I'm just happy to get a great price. Your responses are all very much appreciated!

Agree with Christina - I recently booked with them for a hotel in Hong Kong - emailed the hotel directly to confirm the reservation, once you have contact with the hotel you can address any issues with the contact directly. The hotel likes getting the business from the OTA and usually is willing to work with the client directly once the booking is made. There can be a few exceptions to this, but I think you can assume the booking is reliable.

<<<i>...I feel better about using them and about their reliability, <u>as long as everything goes according to plan.</u></i>>>

There's the major issue. These online travel agencies are notorious for being unavailable/unhelpful should some irregularity occur. Given that virtually any property in the world will meet or beat any rate available through a third party, what benefit is there to introducing this needless middleman?

At the time I saw the rate that was significantly lower than what the hotel offered and much lower also than other booking sites, I thought I should jump on it quickly... didn't want it to disappear into the ether.

I'll make certain to email the hotel to verify all is correct.

Understand the attraction of the lower price, for sure! Do agree it is prudent to follow up with hotel to obtain their confirmation number (which may differ from that of the OTA)