vinny32951

I’ve used booking.com and viator occasionally to book tours and travel accommodations. Never again.

Booking.com: We were in Taormina (Sicily) and decided to stay a couple of extra days. The place we were staying was booked so I went a couple of websites to find a hotel or apartment,. Booking.com showed an apartment with availability. I went through the booking process, got confirmation for the booking, and got ready to head over to the new place. Except … the next morning the apartment owner emailed me and said Booking had made an “error” and the apartment wasn’t available. That was it. No explanation from Booking. No offer of assistance.

We had also booked a driver through Booking to take us from Naples to Sorrento. One day before he was supposed to pick us up, I got an email saying he couldn’t pick us up because of “unforeseen circumstances.” My guess is that he was able to get customers to pay more than the price we agreed to a month ago. Again, that was it. No offer of help from Booking. See ya later.

Viator: We had booked a tour in Taormina with a driver. We agreed on a time and pickup point. We arrived at the pickup point and waited 20 minutes past the appointed time before calling the driver. His answer: He was doing another tour and was canceling us. He said he “wrote” to us to cancel the day before. That’s a lie, as we never received any messages via cell phone or email, which were the only points of contact he had for us. When I complained to Viator about it, their answer essentially was, “We’ll, he didn’t charge you.” So failing to show up to pick up a customer is no big deal? I suspect on the day of our tour he hadn’t booked enough people to make a profit and just decided to blow us off.

MmePerdu

Regarding booking.com, you make no mention of contacting them to ask for help. On the rare occasion that I’ve had an issue with an accommodation made through the site, after contacting them they’ve acted immediately & resolved any difficulty. As a result they’re my go-to site. So pout or consider letting them know so they can help.

I have no experience with Viator but imagine a similar scenario given the previous paragraph.

janisj

I've never seen the need to use Viator. They're simply a re-seller. Knowing their business model - small vendors do rely on Viator to get their product out there/visible but it isn't easy for them. The fees Viator charge and the cash flow problems caused waiting weeks or months for payment. This is NOT an excuse for what happened but having a Viator booking for this week that I won't get paid for til maybe August if I'm lucky, or a customer there today with cash in hand . . . it might be a hard decision.

Re Booking.com (also a re-seller, really) - I've used them many times and my experience is similar to MmePerdu's - excellent customer service the very few times some issue has popped up. Did you ask Booking for help or just wait for them to contact you?

sassy27

I used Viator and only recently had any issues with my tours. It was the tour company not Viator as Janis said, they are just a 3rd party/reseller whatever terminology you want to use.

My canceled tours sent messages both via email and through their website. I did find it very confusing as one I confirmed but when I got to the meeting point, they didn’t have me listed but took me anyway. I even got refunded as one rescheduled tour was cheaper. It wasn’t ideal and the tours weren’t what I wanted but it was something to do that I didn’t have to figure out logistically. They also provided the local tour company and contact information if I needed it. So I have not had an experience like you and have used them for many years now.

As for booking.com, I’ve only used them a few times without issue. One time, I actually got upgraded which wasn’t what I wanted but I took it and it made it work. I don’t think it was booking but rather the hotel establishment.

balthy

<<Except … the next morning the apartment owner emailed me and said Booking had made an “error” and the apartment wasn’t available.>>

Except it would be the apartment owner who made the error, they are the ones who keep their availability calendar & rates up to date, not booking.com. And yes, problems like this should be directed to booking.com for assistance and also for them to be informed of issues with the apartment not doing their bit.

crellston

I know nothing of Viator but don’t see how booking.com can be termed "re-sellers". They don’t buy anything from the providers so how can they re sell? They simply operate as online agents. I have used booking.com literally hundreds of times to book hotel rooms. They are without doubt my preferred provider based on price, service and transparency of T&Cs. On the few times I have had problems, they have been very proactive in resolving the issues.

They seem to have made a big move into the apartment rental market presumably to challenged AirBnb’s dominance. I think that is where the main problems lie i.e. the lack of professionalism of many apartment owners. The situation described by the OP has happened to me on a couple of occasions with AirBnb I suspect that my issues were down to the owners getting a better offer ( as in longer stay) or simply inept diary management.

No mention that the OP actually approached booking for assistance but as they are simply online agents, it is difficult to see what they could have done other than refund payment without delay. If someone required the reassurance of having someone sort out these sort of issues then they need to use a full service travel agent which, I suspect, will involve additional cost.

balthy

I think they’re incorrectly termed a reseller because it is thought they buy things to resell, which of course they don’t. They’re agents, like estate agents who sell houses on behalf of someone else or an insurance agent. I don’t know if it’s a US term but you see it mentioned a lot to describe online travel agents, that they’re just ticket sellers or resellers. But they have no products of their own to sell to start with.

Aside from a refund, BDC could offer assistance for finding alternative accommodation and will contact the apartment owner in case they have training needs in keeping their availability calendar updated.

janisj

I perhaps my use of the term 'reseller' was inartful. Neither Booking nor Viator buy up availability and 'resell' it. What I meant was they are both 3rd party agents who simply book hotels or tours provided by other entities. Unlike 'consolidators' who actually do buy say airplane seats and resell them.

Nothing to get hot and bothered about -

crellston

Who is getting “hot and bothered?

Dukey1

I have used Booking.com many times with total success but I fully realize that accommodations USE Booking to move inventory and on the occasions when Booking has nothing available I always go directly to the accommodation website or other inventory movement sites to get a possible space. Works for me and sorry your experience was disappointing

Surfergirl

The only time I use either is when I'm in a spot.

I'll probably end up using Viator or some similar middle-man for tickets to the Last Supper, since the official website doesn't update every three months like it states to get tickets.

sassy27

I don't normally do this but because you sound like me a few months ago, I will share this. I booked my last supper tickets 4 months prior through www.milan-museum.com. I panicked as I thought it was the official website but it wasn't and thought I got scammed. I didn't as I think I used them before but for Venice. I was able to put in my order before tickets actually opened and had no issues. I did pay a bit more for them, but I didn't have to do the leg work. They did it for me and got my tickets right when they opened. I got an email, printed them and they were accepted at the ticket office. I actually was the first group of the day and couldn't believe how smooth and non-crowded it was even when the sign said sold out. You might want to look as I would have them get tickets for me again. Sometimes it does pay to use a 3rd party.

uktravelover

I usually check prices with booking.com and/or Expedia, but also look at the hotel website. Sometimes I got a better price with booking.com on other occasions I found a better option with the hotel direct. Personally I have never had any problems with booking.com.

Regarding Viator, I often look at what they have on offer for a specific destination. It is possible to review similar tours and compare different excursions. When I was going to Taormina in May, I found a great small group Godfather tour on Viator at a very reasonable price which I did not see anywhere else. On a positive note, it is possible for the customer to cancel at relatively short notice, but I appreciate that for many small/individual suppliers, this must be very frustrating.

Sue_xx_yy

It sounds like you encountered a lot of frustrating moments, I hope they didn't spoil your holiday too much.

Re wanting to extend your trip for a couple nights: To add to what others have said: I am not excusing that apartment owner - he or she should have updated their inventory availability as it was showing on Booking. But that said, I would not myself have expected an apartment renter to be content with renting for only a couple of nights - they cater to the medium to long term rental market. You needed to seek out a business hotel as they would be geared for short term bookings and also for last minute ones. Of course, that might have meant a hotel in Syracusa, not Taormina, or perhaps near the airport.

For tour operators and drivers, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You were the bird in the bush and some 'cuckoo' came and stole your nest, or at least your booked cab or whatever. Viator caters to the general market, you needed to find someone who specialized in a more upscale category. Or failing that, just find a cab at the Naples train station. You would likely have to fight them off with a stick if you had offered to pay the cab fare Naples to Sorrento plus the 'dead head' return run (since they don't make money driving that far with no customer in the cab.)

Bokhara2

I can't comment on Viatour as I've not and probably wouldn't use them.

I do use Booking.com quite a lot though & never had any problems. They were very helpful indeed a few years ago when I had to make a last minute trip to England & Germany and was changing plans on the run. They managed everything exceptionally well.

Often I do use them as a reference point on prices and subsequently book direct with the property.