Warning to women travelers! Watch booking with Orbitz!
 

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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Have you received any kind of response from Orbitz?

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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

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)

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.

Fairhope - She didn't know she had a room on the other side of the city. She's using hyperbole to tell her story, but the point is, as far as she knew, she had no room.

I believe "women" are warned since they would probably be more adversly effected by unexpected roomlessness. I believe she is assuming a woman wandering about at 2:am would be more at risk than a man.

Why does there have to be "more to the story?" She was "done wrong," and wants to tell the world about it. I'd be PO'd too.

Thanks for the warning. The more I hear stories such as yours the more I am hesitant to use any 3rd party booking agent. I am sorry that so many felt the need to criticize your warning. Even as a fairly adventurous woman, I do feel a little more vulnerable in a strange city. It makes it even more difficult when you feel responsible for someone else.

I think this points out that if you make arrangements for lodging, or any travel plans really, with a third party you should confirm your arrangements diectly with the hotel.

If you travel with a medical condition you should always be prepared and a bit more careful to avoid negative results. This may have meant that your mom could have stepped out for food and rest while you took care of arranging for a room.

And ending with a flourish of bing in a foreign country when this happend is diluted because you were in an English speaking country. There was no language barrier. How in the world can that be scary. Was this your first trip out of town? Stuff happens when you travel. Calm down.

But apparently it doesn't happen to men. ;)

<u>Warning to Women Travelers.</u>..don't pay any attention to anything directed at <i>Women Travelers :D</i>

Thank you DREAMER2. Exactly! I wasn't told I had another room to start...I was told I didnt have a room, period. For several hours I thought this... while waiting for the nite duty manager, calling Galliger's Travels (Orbitz's London Agent who supposedly has a 24 hour number) and trying to call Orbitz (however an 8 hour time difference stands between the US &amp;UK!). Then suddenly a fax appears that had been sent that day stating...&quot;Reservation for XXXXX has been moved per Kathleen.&quot; Great! Thanks for telling me!!! By the way, Mom was sitting in the nice reception area while I argued my way through it but, there were not any fast food (joke) restaurants nearby or a restuarant in this &quot;boutique hotel&quot; and it was simply time to lay down and take a load off...if you know what I mean.

Point #1 is: Please respond if you know someone that has had a similiar problelm with Orbitz.
#2 If you know how to get through to someone at Orbitz to help remedy this sitiaotn. All I'm getting is send an email to [email protected] and [email protected].

A another little reminder. This is BRITAIN and the Pound is 2x the Dollar. This hit me hard in the wallet-like $600 worth of errors by Orbitz which is unjust and a little irritating considering they are a trusted website...

I messed up. I am sorry, kari.

aucho53 pointed out that it was another poster that arrived at a hotel at 12 pm when the front desk closed at 11pm.

My sincere apologies. My bad.

I can understand the frustration here, but really, do you expect to get anywhere with a 3rd party online provider? Do you expect to get an apology or a call or anything short of a standard canned reply? This is the problem with using any online third party service, we all want the cheap prices, then we expect to be treated like A1 customers.

Folks, we are a number to these services, if you want service go to a travel agent or book directly through the hotel. I don't mean to direct this at you Kari, just an observation in general. I'm done with Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. I may comparison shop using them, but I go direct from there...

I made online reservations direct on the Inn's personal website, tried twice before completing reservation to double check the room still came up as available, $350.++ for a Queen Suite, reserved and printed. After drive, only one handicap parking offered and it was taken, no overnight parking or even a loading zone to transfer luggage, check-in at dining room seating = stand in line and wait. Then presenting printed confirmed reservation was dryly told, of we are trying to get the internet program to not accept same day reservations. Oh, Sorry, guess that makes it my fault for giving credit card and all information and driving to arrive at an approprite time. If I had done 10 hours from LA, YES, I would have been Livid! We all understand and accept some mistakes will happen, but some errors, if unavoidable, at the very least require notification. I did get and E-mail the next day that there was no room for me the night before, and thanks for that, how ever that was believed to be helpful. The roomless night after the drive had past, so Thanks for nothing. I see the posters point and hope there is a way to protect inns and travelers from this problem, which can cause avoidable danger.....I can not even imagine with little ones and told &quot;no room for you&quot;. How can we help both sides to work together so this need not be a worry?

There are plenty of countries and cities where I, especially if traveling with my mom, would not want to be left out in the cold. Sorry to those of you who don't see her point, but not ALL countries treat women as equal, intelligent, capable single travelers. It is not an &quot;equal rights&quot; world that we live in, and if some of you got around a little more you might realize this...instead of harping on your discontent with the title of this post.

A good reminder, for everyone, to re-check and re-confirm! Hotwire, Priceline, Orbitz, Expedia...we are constantly hearing these stories about non-existent reservations. Call the hotel directly before your trip and verify that everything is in order.

and furthermore....don't pretend we all haven't seen a woman arguing with a desk clerk...demanding some action....and nothing happens. Then when her 6foot 5 husband walks into the lobby and slams his fist onto the desk.....SUDDENLY the shivering desk clerk finds a room available!

IT'S A MAN's WORLD!

Regarding scarey countries and cities - she was in London, not Baghdad.

Every hotel I've ever stayed in, in London, I've been treated very kindly and with respect. It didn't matter that I was female. If I had a problem, they handled it and did it well. As Gail said, Kari92037 was in London, not Baghdad.

I find this information very helpful. Maybe a woman should be more concerned, but I don't care if I can slam my fist on a desk to get something. I don't want to have to do that when I have reservations. I've never used Orbitz, and I'm less likely to use it now.

kari92037, try a little longer to get ahold of Orbitz. If you don't get a response soon, you can contact the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org. Going through them has helped me a lot in the past when I've been trying to resolve an issue and a company is ignoring me.
-Christine

There is nothing wrong with posting a &quot;Warning to Women Travelers&quot;. There are many women who travel alone and should heed warnings. I work in the hotel industry and have seen the emergence of &quot;women's floors&quot;, specifically for women who must travel alone but have some valid fears.

Sorry about your experience, Kari. I have traveled alone with my daughter and would have been very uncomfortable if that had happened to us. I do think, however, that it could happen to anyone - no matter how you book. It sounds like the problem is with the hotel whose reaction to your problem was very poor. Orbitz did send the fax, and the hotel misplaced it.

So, brief update. I found CEO Mitch Truwit's, direct email address, and cc several other Senior Vice Presidents of Cendant (owner of Orbitz). I recieved an email back this morning (still no luck getting through to ANYONE by phone) from someone on his staff. They have offered to refund my room cost after I put him on notice for California Small Claims Action and copied him on the photos of the supposed 4 STAR Hotel room upgrade (yeah, right!). I have sent copies of my transportation costs/reciepts via car between the hotels and to the airport via cab for thier review. I am waiting to hear back on those costs...

I do hope they credit you for all your trouble.