kari92037

Orbitz changed my hotel at the last minute! Without notifying me, leaving me in a foreign country with no room! Scary!! Warning to women travelers!!

Has anyone else had this experience? I was traveling to Greece for 18 days and on the way back to the US we stopped in London. I was with my 58 year old Mother who is diabetic. After an 8 hour travel day, we finally reached the hotel I booked through Orbitz and had a confirmation for. I was quickly told by the Staff that we did not have a reservation with them and they could not help me...after speaking with the Manager and pushing the issue, they finally found a fax from Orbitz's travel Agent that said we had been moved to another hotel on the other side of London! I was appauled! I had not been notified via email or phone; much less-no where on Orbitz's website does it say they can do this!!! No compensation for our time, travel between the two hotels or extended cost to the airport in the morning was made. Instead of a 4 star hotel with four poster beds and historical relevance; we were put in a closet! The situation was made worse because my Mother is diabetic-she was low on sugar and needed to rest. I was afraid we were going to be left on the street with our luggage overnight! I have asked Orbitz to remedy the situation and they have done nothing. Curious if anyone has had a similiar problem?



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travel_addict

Have you received any kind of response from Orbitz?

saps

Are you saying they did this to you because you are a woman? I don't get the "Warning to women travelers"...seems a bit overdramatic to me.

At least they spoke English!

MikeT

It appears she's spamming all of Fodors with her criticism of Orbitz. She has posts in five different places.

jorr

Why is this a warning to Women travelers? There aren't any male (oops, I said male) diabetics. Your thread is a bit sexist I think.

travel_addict

I think the OP may have been wrong to add women travelers to her post, but ease up a bit, will ya? What if this happened to you, male or female? I certainly would not be happy.

GoTravel

Because as women travelers we are frail helpless things that need much more attention from our hotel providers.

SpeedBuggy

Please post when/if you hear more from Orbitz. I have read similar threads on this topic (but not just with Orbitz, and not just happening to females), so it does happen. Do you verify/confirm your travel arrangements on your own prior to travel? We learned the hard way that it is worth a phone call and/or email to have a verification from the establishment rather than solely relying on a TA, Orbitz type agent, etc.

Also, was this about the same time as the terror threat in the UK?

Barbara

Hey, 58 isn't old these days. Your mother may have additional needs because of diabetes, but not age.

colluvz

I do not see any warning that women should be especially aware of...
First of all I never book with Orbitz as they have messed up my car rentals or flight arrangments too many times. I am an expedia fan all the way and in 5 years of booking, flights, cars, hotel, international tickets, and trip extras, my reservations have always been accurate.

Sorry about MOm's diabetes, but always go on a trip prepared..that means carry insulin, or chocolate, or juice, whatever the needs are for that person. Personally, I travel with my two children ages 7 and 5 and never ever leave the state without a thermomoter, bottle of children Motrin, MY tylenol and any necessity that is needed at the time.

Sorry about your experiance...but everyone has BAD trips at some point in thier life.
May your next trip to England be nicer.

TravelTess

Oh! Hand placed ever-so properly on my forehead, palm out...the drama of it all. Come on, you're traveling in Europe and you and your YOUNG mother (58 is not old) can't handle changes well and she doesn't know how to keep her blood sugars at the right level? If you travel, you expect the unexpected and handle it intelligently without the drama and demeaning sexist mindset. Suggestion: write to Orbitz and stating the facts. Don't get emotional - just tell them of your expectations and what you expect in return.

kari92037

Maybe I should preface my email with...I'm an avid and experienced traveler. I travel to Europe and Africa annually. Usually, by myself for stints of 3-4 weeks. Instead this year, I took my Mom and it was the very first time she'd left the US. It was a special trip for her. I had no idea that my confirmation from Orbitz basically, meant nothing...Almost everything else I've read on this website has been pro-Orbitz and I want everyone to know your reservation isn't secure. You may end up with-out a hotel room in a foreign country. Had I not pushed the issue, I would have been sleeping in the Park with a sick Mom.

gail

In the future if your mother is low on sugar, she should eat something, preferably some protein and some carbohydrate. This will help her low sugar more than rest.

J_Correa

Orbitz screwed up my sister's reservation once - not in another country, just in San Jose, CA - but she was on the phone with Orbitz as soon as she realized her hotel didn't have her reservation. Orbitz got her another room in town - I don't remember which hotel she was originally registered with, but she ended up with the Hotel De Anza, which was definitely an upgrade. She paid the rate for the original hotel.

Obviously this tale doesn't help you after the fact, but from my experience, with all 3rd party reservation services, if there is a problem, the best course of action is to contact the reservation service directly.

Fairhope

First this"we had been moved to another hotel on the other side of London!"
Then this" I would have been sleeping in the Park with a sick Mom"
I know they goofed--but you say you had a room--please tell us the end of the story. Why would you have had to sleep in the park?

pat

Orbitz sold me an illegal connection on flights per their suggested itenerary, and I had to change my plans at the airport, when I found out. (My sister got to sit and wait for me in Savannah, not knowing what happened to me). Since then, I avoid Orbitz. I`d be mad too, if they changed my hotel to an inferior one without telling me. I always call or email the hotel before I go. Can`t trust anybody these days, not when it comes to travel.

luvs2pack

I would have been ticked too!!! Thanks for the warning!

starrsville

There seems to be more to the story that we were first told. In any case, she received a hotel room for the night.

sunbum1944

I posted an alert awhile back about the same thing. Friends travelling in Mexico at New Years - booked hotel on Orbitz and when they arrived there was no reservation and since it was New Years Eve no place to stay in that town.
Fortunately they happened to know someone there who took them in.

Orbitz was very unhelpful with the situation - eventually gave them a voucher for $25 for their next booking ( which of course they have no plans of booking through Orbitz again)

aliska

First, don't understand the specific reference to women. But...as a 15 year diabetic, I get why the OP was worried. I ALWAYS travel with my meds, a glucose meter to let me know my blood sugar and some healthy snacks, in case the flight is delayed, something goes wrong etc. Even for the best controlled diabetic, things can go wrong. You can't prepare for everything. But, the mother should always travel with back up supplies. Diabetes is a chronic condition which is very controllable if you use common sense. Would like to hear more of the OP's story - did Orbitz send her an email? Why was the hotel moved? Never used Orbitz, very satisfied with Travelocity arrangements in Europe.