Paul Towse thought he had that trump card when his Expedia UK reservation didn’t turn out as expected. Back in January, he booked a flight between San Francisco and Las Vegas on flights offered by US Airways and operated by United Airlines.
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Question: I recently booked a two-night stay at the Hotel am Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria, through the Accor website. I was supposed to prepay $135 per night, but somehow, I made two reservations. My card was charged twice for one stay.
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Here’s a case that’s been keeping me up at night.
It’s not just because this one’s about errors — one of my favorite topics. It’s also because it raises several difficult questions about ethics, journalism and consumer advocacy.
I’ve spent my career studying errors and have made plenty of my own. But back in September, it was Korean Air’s turn to screw up.
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Gretchen Kenney thought the $232 a night rate at Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club was pretty darned good, considering that Marriott’s own website showed the same two-bedroom unit at $589 a night.
But not too good to be true.
Ah, but it was.
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Annual pass holders are the lifeblood of year-round theme parks. Without these die-hard fans, who often plunk down thousands of dollars for the privilege of visiting the park, Orlando would be a ghost town in September.
So when Hal Flomerfelt had a little problem with his SeaWorld passes, he assumed the park would take care of it right away. After all, both he and his wife had been loyal passholders for nearly a decade.
He assumed wrong.
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Question: I recently booked a vacation package to Disneyland through Southwest Vacations, but I mistakenly entered the wrong date — September instead of December. We were away when the tickets were delivered, and I didn’t notice the error until it was too late. We were considered “no-shows” for our vacation.
This error is extremely unfortunate, since we planned this trip for my husband’s birthday. It was an honest mistake.
I contacted Southwest Vacations, and they said they would be willing to rebook our airline tickets and re-issue our theme park tickets, but that there would be a $500 penalty for the Disney hotel. Southwest asked Disney to waive its rules, but Disney hasn’t responded. I know they are under no obligation to rebook our package, but can you help us? — Pamela Metcalf Kunelis, Fair Oaks, Calif.
Answer: I agree, neither Southwest Vacations nor Disney was under any obligation to refund any portion of your vacation. The fact that Southwest had agreed to re-issue your plane tickets and theme park tickets was more than you — or I — could have asked for.
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Technology can be a helpful tool for the traveler, or it can be the tool of the devil. In Cindy Lammert’s case, it’s definitely the latter. Her recent online booking at the Sofitel Munich Bayerpost through the Accor site got so screwed up that no phone calls or emails could fix it.
“We are now stuck in a communications abyss, with no resolution, no place to stay, and a $550 bill,” she told me.
How did she get drawn into this vortex? Is there any hope for her? And how can you avoid the same thing?
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