Expedia has dropped the ball
 

Hello - I am in a terrible mess tonight. We are leaving first thing in the morning - 5:20 am ferry - to travel with our young children to Scottsdale for spring break.

We booked a package in December through Expedia.com - paid nearly $6000 for airfare / car and 7 night stay at the Fairmont Princess.

I called the hotel tonight to verify our room set up (we asked for 2 beds - to accomodate our family of 4). While speaking with guest services, they reviewed my reservation and saw a booking for 2 nights instead of 7. They recommended I talk to Expedia. Three hours of time on hold / talking to Expedia Customer Service I have learned the following:

1 - They made a mistake and booked us for 2 nights instead of 7.

2 - Even though on the Expedia website they show rooms available at some Scottsdale / Phoenix hotels - they are explaining to me that everything is booked solid.

Long story short - we paid in full for this trip in December. We are supposed to leave in a matter of hours - we have no place to stay.

We are sad / frustrated / confused. We have time off work - dogs @ kennel - suitcases packed - and now I don't think we can go.

Does anyone have any ideas / things I can try to do in the next few hours to right this?

Thanks so much for your help!

Do you have written confirmation from Expedia for 7 nights? If so, it seems clear that Expedia sold you that number of hotel nights and that it is up to them to make it right. Am I being naive?

I think I would get back on the phone with Expedia and keep going up the available ranks until you get some help. Take a VERY careful look at your paid confirmation/receipt that you indeed paid for the correct number of nights and have them fix the problem. Obviously, if yo have been charged for 7 nights and they only booked 2, it seems to me it is their obligation to fix it or find you other suitable accomodations. Get names and times you talked to whomever you talked to.

According to their website, "You can count on us to provide support throughout your trip. Whether you have questions about your itinerary, have a change in travel plans, or need help resolving a problem with the trip you booked, we're here to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our job is to satisfy you!

We guarantee that the travel you booked with Expedia will meet the descriptions on our site and in your itinerary (as confirmed on our site within 24 hours of travel), or we will work with our partners on your behalf to find a solution.
We’ll take responsibility—at no additional cost to you—if we make a mistake booking your travel.
If you need to change your travel plans at any time, just call us at 1-800-EXPEDIA (1-404-728-8787 outside the continental U.S.), and we'll work with our partners to find the best available solution."

It seems to me if your itinerary through their site shows 7 days, they need to fix it ASAP.

Seems very logical to me, socialworker, unless I'm just as naive.

Assuming you have a 7 night reservation from Expedia, I'd give them two alternatives. Provide the other 5 nights of SUITABLE lodging, or refund the full amount -- period. If they can't do it, I'd take my own car and head to a nice place for a week that pehaps you can even drive to. And pocket the rest of the refund.

Thank you all so much for your replies. I finally (after a total of close to 4 hours on the phone) got to speak to a supervisor. I do have record / receipt showing that I paid for 7 nights - had names / dates - so they admitted that they made a mistake.

After much back and forth, they have booked us into the Royal Palms in Scottsdale. I am afraid, however, that this is a small hotel that does not cater to children and we are traveling with a 5 and a 7 year old who were planning on spending the week at the cool water slides at the Fairmont. I am worried that we will be the folks with rambunctious kids in tow, while guest are hoping to have a romantic break ;0 But, in the end, it was either accept this room / hotel or not go.

Thank you for your kind support - it sure made me feel better.

How interesting. We stayed at the Royal Palms many years ago. It was a charming place that needed a whole lot of work. Somewhere in Europe a few years ago, we started talking with someone and discovered they were friends of the current "owners" of the Royal Palms. They raved about the place. I understand the renovations have made it a top boutique style resort.
I realize people have different tastes, but my guess is, I would personally LOVE this place as opposed to the giant "convention style" Fairmont Princess. As to how the children will be accepted or entertained, I can't say, however.

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful time. I guess the lesson learned from all this is that if you are trusting ANY agency to book things, you need to do some follow up earlier than the night before. You shouldn't have to, but more and more I'm afraid you do.

Hi courtneycwo..
I use Expedia almost exclusively and they have been always so great and this is a terrible situation that they have put you in...
I just stayed at the Fairmont and it is a lovely property and think it would be perfect for your 2 kids and even though I love the Royal Palms, the Princess is suited best for kids..
with that said, Expedia should call the GM of the Princess and see if your family can have access to the pool and property during your stay at the Palms..
I would call Expedia back and talk to another supervisor and demand that they credit your account for a good chunk of change..you spent $6K and that is a lot of money!
(I was credited to my CC the cost of my hotel in Vancouver from a screw up by Expedia)
I wish you all the best and you are going to have a wonderful time!

I'm glad you got this resolved, if not to your total satisfaction, at least so you feel okay to head on out.

However, I have learned to never, ever call to confirm hotels except immediately after the initial booking, as long as I have verified that all the details are in writing.

Why? Because if you call and the hotel is overbooked, out of your room type, etc, they are going to tell you not to come, figuring that YOU (or your agent) will make other arrangements.

If, on the other hand, you arrive at the front desk -with written confirmation in hand!- you are now THEIR problem. Most likely they will find you a room, even if they have to upgrade you. THey might have to walk you to another hotel AFTER you have agreed to this new deal (with $$$ compensation arrangements also agreed upon).

Even fully booked hotels can find you a room. You may have to (politely) jump up and down, and it may mean the next person to arrive will find his room has disappeared, but you have a much better negotiating position when you are physically there.

Hope you have a fun break despite the poor beginning. The idea to have Expedia pay for pool passes at the Fairmont Princess sounds good to me, too.

Ditto to Icuy.....my motto is, "Never ask a question that you don't really want the answer to..." You are absolutely right, IMO, that if one has a confirmation, then it is the hotel, airline, etc. who has the job of making things right, and there is nothing like someone standing right in front of them to jumpstart their motivation.

Sorry guys, but I think the hotel would tell OP the same thing they told her over the phone - contact Expedia as they are the ones who screwed up, not the hotel. It would not be the hotel's responsibility to find accomodations for the OP, it would still be Expedia's problem.

Why would they upgrade an Expedia customer or walk them to another hotel and come up with some monetary compensation when Expedia made the mistake?

The reason behind the wisdom of lcuy's approach is that once you are in the room, the hotel has to find a way to deal with you. Not being a travel lawyer I can't cite and won't speculate about legalities, but the practical fact is that once you are ensconced in your room you have much better leverage to bargain. Fortunately I have had to deal with this type situation only rarely (twice that I remember) in years of travel) but based on my experience here's how I would approach it:
1. Print out and save an electronic copy of the confirmation immediately after receiving it and verifying the details are correct.
2. If you feel compelled to confirm directly with the hotel, just ask if they have a reservation in your name and the arrival date.
3. Show up on the appointed date and check in. If the hotel asks you to sign/initial by the checkout date that is incorrect, decline to do so or cross out and write in the correct date. They may give you grief, but stand your ground.
4. Don't argue with front desk staff. If they cannot fix the problem, say something like "We will check in now and contact (Expedia or whatever agent) to resolve.
5. Ask to speak with the GM or manager on duty. Explain the situation and your plan to contact the agent. Do not agree to any alternate arrangements unless they are at least as good in all respects as your original plan. Get the name and number of he person with whom you speak, and the name and number of an alternate contact.
6. Contact the agent, inform them you have your confirmation, offer to fax or email a copy if they claim they cannot find it or their records are different. Escalate to speak to a supervisor as soon as you encounter the first resistance. Give them the name and number of the hotel manager with whom you spoke and ask that they work with him or her to resolve, and set a specific time when they will contact you with a report of what they will do (so you don't have to sit around waiting for a call).
7. Do not accept alternate arrangements that cost you anything, including taxi, etc. Get written (fax or email) confirmation of the arrangement from the agent and do not move until you have it.
8. Do your best to remain calm and civilized throughout.

I would NOT take Lcuy's advice, as we learned from experience last year. We had arranged for a 5 night stay at the Royal Trofana Hotel (www.trofana.at) in Ischgl. We wanted a luxury spa hotel break with plenty of opportunities to go hiking in the Alps with our dog. When that region was hit by heavy floods in July/August, we checked the hotel's web site (in English) dutifully every day to see if they were affected. No indication that they were. Nor did they email or call us to say they'd been damaged.
While in Baden-Baden, three days before we were to drive down, I called the hotel to find out how long the drive would take realistically (we had the mappy estimates). The woman who answered said, my goodness, we're closed for repairs for the next few weeks! No other even remotely similar hotels in town were open. Apparently, they had missed sending us an email but had put up a small notice on the German language version of their web site (have to say, I think this is very bad behaviour from a 5-star hotel that prides itself on its service).
What on earth would we have done if we had simply showed up (exhausted and hungry) at the end of the day we were scheduled to arrive?

Bottom line, her beef is with Expedia NOT the hotel..
When you book through a third party, it is up to them (Expedia) to resolve any issues and to just "show up" with 2 kids in tow and $6K credit card charge and to stay your ground at the hotel that was directed by Expedia to book only 2 nights instead of 7 nights is absurd..
The hotel is under no obligation to extend their stay, especially since it is sold-out.

I'll admit to being a bit of a wimp as opposed to making a big fuss, but Seamus what you describe sounds like a vacation from Hell. I think I'd rather cut my losses and just go somewhere else than to "fortress" up in a hotel following all those plans not to get kicked out. That doesn't sound like a very enjoyable, care-free "holiday" in any case.

Going to a hotel that is flooded out is a whole different thing than going and finding your reservations read didfferently than that of the hotels computer....

The botton line, is that taking a stance at the front desk rarely will cost you more than about 30 minutes of your time, and from my experience will always get you a better arrangement that just fading into the night.

My best friend is a manager of a big resort, and was the one who taught me this. They don't want to deal with it, they can see what your paperwork says, and they will do their best to get you settled and onto your vacation.

BTW Expedia is a travel agency, not a discounter, so there is no reason that the hotel should treat you any different than if you reserved from any other agency. The hotel knows how many rooms Expedia sells for them, and has an interest in working with expedia to right things.

I really think Expedia owes you exactly what your confirmation said. If they sent you an e-mail that you've paid 7 nights at the Princess, I don't see how they can switch hotels on you. They made a mistake. You shouldn't get less than you bargained for. You paid $6000, you gave Expedia a big chunk of cash, and they should fix it without demoting you. I've always had good luck with Expedia. I'd call back for another supervisor, if I were you. What a mess. Thanks for posting it. Let us know the fiinal deal, ok? I hope you can enjoy your vacation after all.
:)>

lcuy..
You are missing the point of booking with Expedia..you don't make a stance witht the Front Desk, you make a stance with Expedia!
The Hotel/Front Desk is only going by what Expedia has booked for you..
If the hotel wasn't sold-out, I am sure that they would love to work out the details but you really are barking up the wrong tree!
If the hotel was booked direct, then of course you take it up with the hotel.

Yes, the mistake may be Expedias, but if you take your stance at the front desk of the hotel, it's much more likely that they will work together with Expedia.

Hotels, airlines, travel agencies do this all the time- ask each other to help correct an error because of their long time business relationship.

After all, the poster had a reservation for two nights,so they were already paid guests. Since the pools were important to Courtney, at least her family could have enjoyed the pools for two days while alternate arrangements were worked out.

With 2 kids in tow taking a stance at the Front Desk when the hotel is sold-out to demand that they give you the 7 nights vs only the 2 that Expedia screwed up on, is not the way to get things resolved..IF, the hotel was not sold-out, I agree that taking a stance would probably work but not guaranteed..
I use Expedia all the time and they have always owned up to problems and either they have called the hotel direct and upgraded us on their dime and reimbursed me handsomely for the inconvience of it all!
courtneycwo needs to demand a supervisor that will step in and either get her the 7 nights at the Fairmont Princess and also take off a good chunk of her bill!

Well, it's really not worth talking about now -- courtneycwo is probably at Royal Palms with her family. We'll have to wait to see how this turned out.

I agree. I do hope they have a great trip, despite the bad start!

NeoP - my list probably made it look like a lot of work but I agree that I would not want to waste my vacation time quibbling. Bottom line is, whoever screwed up, the hotel is where you are standing at in the best position to get things fixed now. Maybe I should condense my recipe to: Don't get into an argument, state your intention to remain for the full period, get the info up front that you will need to resolve (manage name and number), then let the hotel and Expedia fight it out.
My favorite anecdote about a similar situation involves a hotel in Florence (Firenze). I had changed my arrival by one day (with confirmation telex received) but when I arrive they said "sorry, we gave away your room because you didn't show up yesterday." I showed then the telex and got the classic Italian shrug along with "but we have no rooms". I looked the clerk in the eye and said, "Well you had better prepare to respond to complaints from other guests." "Why?" she asked. I: "Because I will be sleeping right here in the lobby and I snore VERY loudly." Miracoli, they just happened to find a room.
Boy, this makes me sound like a really obnoxious customer, and I really am not at all, but I have learned that a lot of service businesses know that a large proportion of shortchanged people will just walk away grumbling (especially a tourist who may never return) so they withhold the really responsive service for those who demand it (gently if at all possible, of course.)

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious prudence of double checking all arrangements made, especially by a third party, as soon as the trip is booked. I always double check everything again, a week to a few days before departure.

Why is this an "either -or" situation?

She should talk to BOTH Expedia AND the hotel.

If Expedia is a travel agency, then it is under the law of agency. The agent binds the principal, in this case, the hotel. Both are bound. She should seek redress from both.

The hotel cannot benefit from Expedia's other bookings and run away when there is a screwup.

She should have emailed/faxed the hotel a copy of the Expedia confirmation and then shown up at the hotel and DEMANDED her PAID FOR seven nights. It doesn't matter who screwed up, that's between the hotel and Expedia. It's not up to the customer to resolve this issue.

Nuts to Expedia. I never use it. Especially not after this and the Woohoo/woogoo story!

"I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the obvious prudence of double checking all arrangements made, especially by a third party, as soon as the trip is booked."
>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>

I thought I did mention that, perhaps not expressed quite so succinctly.
>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>

"I guess the lesson learned from all this is that if you are trusting ANY agency to book things, you need to do some follow up earlier than the night before. You shouldn't have to, but more and more I'm afraid you do."

Hello! You are all so kind to have written with great advice. I had a minute and thought I would check in and let you know what happened with us.

I ended up - Friday night - after spending nearly 4 1/2 hours on the phone with Expedia (most of the wait was holding to speak to a supervisor) deciding that we would accept a room at the Royal Palms in Phoenix. The hotel seemed lovely - but my concern was that it is not a hotel that caters to young children. We always try to be respectful when traveling with our little ones to stay in "family friendly" resorts and the Royal Palms seemed to me to be more geared to "romantic getaways".

Long story short - went to bed midnight on Friday - slept for 3 hours - got everyone up and caught the ferry to the airport. When we arrived in Phoenix, I asked my husband to try Expedia once again and see if anything had changed while I went to p/u the rental car.

My DH spoke to a different customer service person @ Expedia and after an hour on the phone - and some confusion about our bill (which I'm sure that I will have to deal with when we return) he was able to get us back in to the Fairmont. He said that something had "opened up". We then jumped into our rental car and drove to the Fairmont - where we were met with cool drinks, and friendly faces - not a problem in the world at check in.

I'm not sure of what happened - but in the end - it all worked out to our satisfaction. This property is absolutely lovely - beautiful birds / flowers - wonderful service - and best of all - many swimming pools / water slides and activities geared to children - with wonderful dining and amenities that make my husband and I feel pampered ;)

I will likely not use Expedia again - and have been a loyal customer of theirs for years. Your advice to double check reservations is spot on - I had confirmed flights / seats - but I did not confirm the hotel - my mistake.

Thank you all for your thoughts - they are much appreciated. When I was so stressed on Friday night, I felt lucky to have the support of well traveled Fodorites.

Take care,
Courtney

Outstanding Courtney!
Have a great time and relax!

How great that it worked out. Perseverance does count, doesn't it?

as posted by easytraveler:

<b>If Expedia is a travel agency, then it is under the law of agency. The agent binds the principal, in this case, the hotel. Both are bound. She should seek redress from both.</b>

huh?

When you deal with 3rd party, it's the third party's responsibility to fix things. The hotel was told by EXPEDIA that it needs 2 nights booking for a family of four. They said ok, here it is.

How is the hotel suppose to know that the OP wanted 7 nights? or perhaps according to your theory, keep number of rooms open just because of situations like this?

You are living in some fantasy world if you believe your statement above.

That said, everything worked out so no need to quibble over who was/n't responsible.

I'm so glad this worked out for this family, - but this is why I am reluctant to use anything like Expedia unless I absolutely can not find a better rate elsewhere and it is a must go thing -

Every single time I check rates on Expedia, I get lesser rates directly with the hotel or airline - is this just some miraculous luck of mine or does anyone else find this to be true?

This morning I booked my son a flight from his college state to NYC for a weekend and it was, for the exact same flight #/time/etc almost $20 less than Expedia - not that that is a lot, but it is less.

Every time I book a hotel, I check on Expedia for the heck of it, and I always get a better rate directly from a hotel - this happened the last two times I booked the MIchelangelo in NYC and other hotels for recent reservations in Boston, Miami and Palm Beach - andfor flights recently to NOrth Carolina, South Carolina and Florida - so every so often I check hotels.com/expedia/etc but have never used them for this reason.

Also in the past year or so I have asked various airline or hotel personnel that IF I arrived and didn't like my room/location/something and had booked with X package / discount group - how likely am I to get what I want versus the person that booked directly with the hotel and or airline?

Every time they have said, better off if it is a direct booking with us for any accomodations or complaints -

I even got this answer recently with our Disney vacation from Disney vs. some of the well known and well recommended Disney travel packages from agencies, etc - Disney direct was the same price as two of the packages I considered, and the hotel manager said there is a difference if bbooked directly with them vs. the others if I am wanting something different, changed, unhappy about something-

So, am I the only one who has found this or if not, I just never luck out with these discount places prices finding me a price less than I can booking it myself?

Courtney:

Very glad it worked for you after all. Enjoy your vacation!

escargot, I agree with you. I always get a better deal dealing with the hotel, etc. directly.

Priceline is so far out there you need to pray. How could you pay for a hotel and not know which one is was before hand? Doesn't make sense to me.

I only use Priceline on occasion but it's not as bad as you make it sound. If all I need is a 1 night at an airport location, I pick - airport location, 4 stars (usually a Hilton, Marriott or Sheraton) and it never failed just yet.

Just recently I needed 1 night at the Manchester, UK aairport. Did exactly what I described above and got the Sheraton Airport Hotel for 1/2 the price of their regular rates published on their own website.

OTOH, if you pick a 1 or 2 star hotel, you will get what you will get but for lot less money.

I'm not a big fan of Priceline but there are times it works for me, just like advertised.

I'm not a personal fan of Priceline either, but I don't get that argument &quot;How could you pay for a hotel and not know which one it was before hand?&quot;

This board is filled with people who don't know the hotels in a particular city. They end up booking one -- but blindly -- since they've never been there. When they book they may know the name of the hotel, but they really are taking their chances on whether they like it or not. I really don't see how that's any worse than booking a hotel in a particular location and of a particular star rating without knowing its name. And if it's going for half the price, many will do it feeling it's no greater risk than booking any other hotel that they've never seen or been to anyway. And since they could be unhappy either way, isn't it better to be a little displeased and paying $200 instead of to be displeased and paying $400?

If on the other hand a person goes to a particular city and has a particularly favorite hotel, sure he's taking a huge risk trying to get it on Priceline for half price and possibly getting something else. That's not the point of Priceline, and a person would be crazy to try to use it that way -- to get a specific hotel at a big discount.

I have more issue with the &quot;No refunds, no cancellation&quot; rules of Priceline than anything else. I'd rather pay $100 for a simple Travelodge through their website and be able to cancel or change my plans up to 24-48 hours notice, than to pay $120 for a 4 star hotel and not be able to cancel or change my plans at all.

Courtney- I'm so glad that you gave it one more try! Congratulations on your success! I'm sure all of us here would like to think our sage advice was empowering and led to this happy conclusion!=D&gt;

Did you have a chance to drive by the Royal Palms for a comparison visit? It would be interesting to hear your take on that one!

Escargot- I'm totally in agreement with you, as I've had the same experience time after time. I use Expedia for research, then always end up getting a better deal directly with the hotel or airline.

And yes, it may be only a small savings, but $20 on the air, $20 a night on 5 nights, and soon you've saved enough to splurge on something!

Plus, change and cancellation policies are much more liberal when dealing direct.

Courtneycwo: so glad everything worked out for you! &quot;All's well that ends well&quot;.

AAFrequentFlyer: I usually enjoy your posts very much, but I do respectfully disagree.

&quot;When you deal with a third party, it is the third party's responsibility to fix things.&quot; By third party I am assuming you mean Expedia. Your post then implies that it is ALL Expedia's responsibility and that courtneycwo can't go after the hotel. This is not correct.

I said in my post that I assumed that if Expedia is in an agency relationship with the hotel, then the law of agency applies.

One of the simplest explanations of agency law is given in Wikipedia:

&quot;Agency is an area of Commercial law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual tripartite set of relationships when an Agent is authorized to act on behalf of another (called the Principal) to creat a legal relationship with a Third Party. Succinctly, it may be referred to as the relationship between a principal and an agent whereby the principal, expressly or impliedly, authorizes the agent to work under his control and on his behalf. The agent is, thus, required to negotiate on behalf of the principal or bring him and third parties into contractual relationship. This branch of law separates and regulates the relationships between:
1) Agents and Principals;
2) Agents and the Third Parties with whom they deal on their Principals' behalf; and
3) Principals and the Third Parties when the Agents purport to deal on their behalf.

The common law principle in operation is usually represented in the Latin phrase, qui facit per alium, facit per se, i.e., the one who acts through another, acts in his or her own interests.&quot;

Wikipedia then goes on into explaining 1)Liability of Agent to Third Party
2) Liability of Agent to Principal
3)Liability of Principal to Agent
etc.

In this case, we don't have enough facts to know whom to hold responsible for the mixup. It could be that Expedia DID tell the hotel to book 7 nights, but the hotel put down only 2 nights, or Expedia made the mistake and booked only 2 nights - we simply don't know and probably never will.

However, the fact is that Expedia was acting on behalf of the hotel, that much we know. And generally this is considered an agency relationship. IF there is an agency relationship, then the injured third party (in this case, I mean courtneycwo) can go after both the agent (Expedia) and the Principal (the hotel) until such time when things are clarified and one gets to know exactly whom to blame.

I apologize for such a long post, but I just didn't want to have readers of this thread to think that they could only go after Expedia and not after the hotel. That's simply not true. Until you know who made the mistake, you have to go after both of them to correct the mistake...and you have the legal right to do so.

Put another way, if you were to buy a house and a part of the house collapses the first day you move in, do you go after the real estate agent or the seller? Or both?

My apologies again for such a long post. If you disagree, please do! Nothing like a challenging discussion! :)

easytraveler, in the very beginning of this thread, courtneycwo stated (in item #2) that Expedia admitted to making a mistake. Unless this statement was in error, the hotel made no mistake; the law of agency provides no relief.

Glad to hear that it all worked out.
But I do have a question for the legal beagles - the arguments above are premised on Expedia being an agent of the hotel - is that truly the case? Isn't there all sorts of fine print on the Expedia TOS that spells out that they are a reseller and not an agent?

I totally agree with escargot. I use Expedia as a research tool only. I always get the same or better (usually better) rates on the hotel website and/or the airline website. Why do I need Expedia? I don't understand it. If I make a reservation at a hotel, I can change or cancel the reservations (within their guidelines without penalty). If I want to cancel a reservation with Expedia, I have to
pay a fee. What is the advantage? I don't get it.