How to squeeze a ‘yes’ out of your travel company

This isn’t a political column, but when I heard the next president of the United States, Sarah Palin, announce she belongs to the party of “no” — actually, make that the party of “hell no” — I thought for a moment she was talking about the travel industry.

I’m just kidding about the president thing. But not the “no” part.

Travel companies love telling their customers they can’t help them. Want an upgrade? No. A different room? Sorry. A few more days to use a ticket credit? Forget it. An extra hour on your rental car? Nope.

The travel business hasn’t been about “yes we can” since the airlines were recklessly deregulated in the 1970s. But unbelievably, the industry has taken an even harder line in the last year or so, saying we can take it or leave it at a time when they need us more than ever. Go figure.

(Are there exceptions? Sure. I can think of a few caring travel agents, hotel companies and even an airline or two that stand out. But that’s another topic.)

Since I mediate travel disputes every day, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at the different ways in which travel companies say “no” — and to find out whether these uncrackable cases can be fixed.

Normally by this point, I would have rolled out a few examples of real travelers who had their cases rejected in a spectacularly humiliating way. I’m staying away from anecdotes in this column to protect the privacy of those who have been repeatedly turned down.

Here are the type of “nos” I hear and a few tips on how to handle them:

Sorry, we can’t bend that rule.
One of the most common complaints I get comes from travelers who want their company to bend a rule for them. Topping the list are award mile-exemptions. Customers log into their mileage accounts only to discover they’ve lost 300,000 hard-earned frequent flier miles, and they want their airline to turn back the clock. In the good old days (pre-2008) it wasn’t so hard to find a customer service representative who might help. Today, even an inquiry by yours truly isn’t enough. The answer is still “no.” Your miles are gone.

Tip: Know which rules are bendable. Airlines are trying to unload trillions — literally trillions — of miles of mileage liability, so they have a huge incentive to expire your miles quickly. You’d be better off asking for something that won’t cost them as much, like a better seat assignment on your next flight.

Refund? We don’t give refunds.
Everywhere you turn, the travel industry is putting up “no refunds” signs. Airlines, hotels, cruise lines, even some car rental companies, are telling their customers “no money back — ever.” Do they really mean it? Yes, they do. The problem is especially bad with hotels, which are luring in customers with lower, nonrefundable rates that are often poorly disclosed. When customers try to change their plans — wham! — they’re hit with the bad news. Your money’s gone. Hotel guest are often shocked by how rigid the properties are. There are no exceptions.

Tip: Not so long ago, you could assume that when the terms on your purchase didn’t say “nonrefundable” you could expect a refund when your plans changed. Now, you have to assume something is nonrefundable unless it specifically says otherwise. You can still cancel certain airline tickets and hotel rooms, car rental reservations and cruises, but some important restrictions apply.

Your circumstances aren’t that special.
Everyone has a story. Maybe you need a refund on your tour deposit because of a death in the family or because you’re retired and on a fixed income or because you’re disabled. Trust me, your travel company has heard it all before. They believe you. But the answer is still “no.” These days, you have to die in order to get a refund on a non-refundable airline ticket (no, I mean that literally). Having a hard-luck story fails to impress even the most empathic employees, who couldn’t bend a rule even if they wanted to.

Tip: Short of dying, the only circumstances that qualify as “special” are members of the armed service whose orders change, and have to cancel their trip. But even there, you have to be prepared to show your orders.

But the contract doesn’t address your situation.
Many problems encountered by travelers these days aren’t addressed in the company’s written terms and conditions. For example, when the first leg of a flight is delayed by a mechanical problem, but the second one is canceled because of weather, your rights fall into a twilight zone, a gray area that the contract doesn’t specifically address. Then it’s up to the company to determine what your rights are — and “no” being one of its favorite words — it’s really not surprising where you’ll end up. Are contracts deliberately written vaguely to give travel companies the freedom to have their way with you? What do you think?

Tip: The cruise contract or airline contract of carriage isn’t necessarily the final word. Remember, travel companies must also comply with local, state and federal laws, so you may find some recourse outside the terms and conditions the company is leaning on — or using to shirk its obligations to you.

Don’t flatter yourself — you’re not our best customer.
The travel industry loves to hand out platinum and diamond cards to its customers, leaving us with the impression that we are their best customers. We aren’t. You find out the hard way, when you try to invoke your “preferred” status, only to realize that you’re not so special. I encounter travelers with elite status all the time who ask their travel company for waivers and favors, but end up with nothing. Why not? Because you’re not so special. It’s possible to get a quadruple-platinum status but still spend like a tourist, and frankly, the company isn’t interested in your business. You ask for a favor, and odds are, you’ll be treated like a vacationer.

Tip: True elites — the ones that can legitimately say they’re a company’s best customer — are typically business travelers who buy full-fare airline tickets and pay rack rate for their hotel rooms. They never have to ask for special treatment, because they already get it.

I think we’re all ready for this party of “no” to end. I don’t see it happening any time soon. Until it does, these tips should help you find whatever “yes” remains.

Good luck.

  • Carver

    My experiences differ somewhat from Chris. As recently as today, I asked Starwood for a favor. I accidentally booked a room for today, when I meant next week. As a result, it was past the cancellation deadline. I called the plat desk and they called the hotel and changed the reservation, no issues, no drama. Elite membershup saved me $350.

  • BucksterSF

    I have to disagree with two of the points. Expiring miles and non-refundable purchases. Shame on anyone for not understand a rewards program or claiming ignorance. It take a couple of minutes to read the terms and know how long miles will be good for. The member has to have some responsibility here, the programs can’t be unlimited and have to have some manageable parameters.

    Also almost every time I book a property I am offered one rate for the refundable and another cheaper rate for non-refundable version. There’s no excuse for someone buying the cheaper room (or whatever) and then claiming foul when they can’t change. It was their decision in the first place and if you want flexibility pay for it.

    These two are no-brainers.

  • Joe R

    Ultimately, though, isn’t it the travelers who are to blame? We have the control over whether to use these places and airlines, and regardless of how badly we’re treated, we still stay at the hotel, fly on their planes… nothing is going to change. The travel industry is figuring out just how much abuse we’ll take, and capitalizing on every last bit of it.

    I understand if someone says “but they’re ALL doing it” so there’s “no choice.” Well, if you can’t make a choice NOT to use them, then there’s no incentive for them to ever treat you better. So get used to it. It will only get worse.

  • Phil

    As the poster above mentioned, when you have elite status then things can turn from No to Yes, but unfortuanately most people who travel have no status at all, so No seems the word of the day. Saying this, just wait until the next major downturn in our economy or a tragedy as deep as 9/11 hits, then the airlines, hotels, car rental agencies will be begging us to travel, offerring us whatever they can so that they can make a buck, the old saying, “the worm turns” will happen again, and then the customer will be in the drivers seat, it’s only a matter of time.

  • Lisa S

    Phil, I like your attitude. I think it is the only “hope” travelers have. Aside from security, flying after 9/11 was actually pretty pleasant. I tool a number of nice trips.

    Someone asked me why I didn’t get more outraged at the service provided by most airlines. I replied that I didn’t expect any service. I take the flying bus (actually some buses are more comfortable and I don’t mean to insult buses) because I want to go somewhere. I choose Southwest because they are, in my opinion, the most comfortable airline for the price and don’t pull any nasty surprises. When I fly AA or Delta, I know I have to pay for luggage and god only knows what else (I don’t fly them if I can fly Southwest). I can’t afford business fares–or if I did choose to pay that much money to fly in comfort (because really business class is VERY nice), then I would have to seriously decrease the length of my vacation. I just want the hypocrisy to stop. Tell me you don’t provide service and I will accept that, but if you claim to give a damn about customer service, then I expect service to be provided. Why can’t the airlines or hotels or cruises simply be honest?

  • Grant Ritchie

    Uhhh… what?! I’m sorry. My mind went blank after that “next president of the United States” crack. Say it ain’t so, Chris. Say it ain’t so. :-o

  • Bill

    You know, if I booked a non refundable room and had to make changes – I would ask, but I would expect the answer to be no. Whenever there is the need to “change the rules” then it is difficult or impossible to change a no to a yes.

    But there are rules where elite status does count. These may be smaller things, but they do make a difference. I couldn’t get gas when returning a Hertz car recently, and it turns out that “Gold” members can get the contract changed so that it has the pre-purchase on it even when you return.

    My advice, when you have a situation which is not a good one – is to ask politely “Is there anything you can do?”. then, they will look and see what they CAN do instead of arguing with you about something you want them to do and they can’t.

    I know it isn’t perfect, but they can do some things, and not others. Maybe it’ll still cost some money (the fuel did!) but not as much as it would have otherwise.

  • Dave

    Grant: I take it that you actually endorse what the Democratic Socialist Workers’ Party is doing to our once-great country what with the huge expansion of the government and the non-stop spending going inside the Beltway? PLEASE.

  • David Z

    Why can’t the airlines or hotels or cruises simply be honest?

    Maybe they want to, but they figure people will be outraged anyway?

  • Scott

    Wow, Chris.

    You make a list almost entirely of people asking for unreasonable things and then wonder when “nos” will stop and people will get these exceptions from their travel companies. How ridiculous!

    There is a difference between SERVICE and EXCEPTIONS/BREAKING RULES.

    Most people think that if they do not get what they want — no matter how unreasonable or what the policy is — they they are getting bad service and agents are rude. Check your own attitude first. Thank you.

  • Mary Graham

    I like “Joe R”s response. Most of us certainly CAN boycott the whole industry and take “daycations”. Imagine if as many of us as possible just refused to play along. Left to their own devices, big business will NOT do the right thing by their customers, only to themselves. So unless they’re forced to stop (re new Wall Street regulations), we will keep on funding the execs wonderful lifestyles and believing how broke they are. “Oh, you need air to breath while on this flight? That’ll be $20.00 please!”

  • cjr

    Dave, your comment is neither necessary here, nor is it historically accurate to place all the blame on current government leadership.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    “The travel business hasn’t been about “yes we can” since the airlines were recklessly deregulated in the 1970s.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – — – – -
    Before deregulation, the rich and business people made up most of the passengers for the airlines. For the average person before deregulation, it seems like their first airline flight was in the military (i.e. flying to Europe or Asia; flying from boot camp; etc.). The reality is that fares are lower today than 10, 15 and 20 years ago. If fares have kept up with inflation, it will be a different story today in regards to fees, services, etc. You can’t pay a $ 250 fare to fly across the US; expect a meal to be served on china; have unlimited adult beverages; call an airline call center that is located in the US; can change your tickets 30 times; etc. A full-service airline can’t make money with fares that doesn’t cover the costs for the flight and that is ONE of the reasons why every single legacy airline has filed for bankruptcy at least one time since deregulation.

    “Maybe you need a refund on your tour deposit because of a death in the family or because you’re retired and on a fixed income or because you’re disabled.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – — –
    That is why a traveler needs to purchase a good travel insurance policy that is not purchased from the travel provider (i.e. airline, cruise line, tour operator). Why should the travel provider assume the risks of the traveler? Why should the travel provider be the insurance company? Things to do happen and that is why you buy insurance to manage the risks that comes with traveling.

    “The problem is especially bad with hotels, which are luring in customers with lower, nonrefundable rates that are often poorly disclosed.”
    - – - – - – - – -
    I take exception to this statement. I can’t speak for all hotels but the hotel chains (Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental) that I deal with on a regular basis, it is CLEARLY disclosed. The discount for non-refundable and non-changeable room rates that I have seen at Marriott has been 5% to 10%…not enough of a discount for me to make a reservation with these rates. A lot of the time, my AAA rate is lower than the non-refundable and non-changeable room rates. At the Marriott website, it is cleary disclosed two times before the purchase…the reality is that people don’t read…they see the lowest price and select that without reading or realizing what if they need to make a change in their plans. Also, a person can purchase travel insurance to cover them if they need to cancel or change plans.

    “Customers log into their mileage accounts only to discover they’ve lost 300,000 hard-earned frequent flier miles, and they want their airline to turn back the clock. In the good old days (pre-2008) it wasn’t so hard to find a customer service representative who might help. Today, even an inquiry by yours truly isn’t enough. The answer is still “no.” Your miles are gone.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – -
    In May 2009, I lost over 300,000 miles with Delta. It was my own fault since I entered the wrong date into my computer and my activity that generated Delta miles was posted after my miles expired. I was top level elite FF with Delta throughout the 90′s but my last year of elite status was 2000. I called Delta about reinstating my miles and the CSR told me that for $ 50 plus $ 3.50 in taxes, i could reinstate my 300,000+ miles. I thought that $ 53 was fair since it was my fault.

    The reality is that all airlines allow you to buy back your expired miles. The cost can be costly at some airlines. The problem is that people don’t want to spend the money.

    “But even there, you have to be prepared to show your orders.”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - —
    Why because there are a lot of ‘cheaters’. There are people that ‘purchase’ clothes; leave the stickers on them; go to a party and then return the clothes. It is no difference when it comes to travel. Smokers smoke in smoke-free hotel rooms or smoke-free rental cars. People trashed hotel rooms. People steals items from the hotels. People steal by having more people in the hotel room than what is allowed. The bad apples have spoiled it for the rest of us.

    Chris has written that it is ‘worthless’ to join frequent flyer and frequent guest programs. By joining frequent flyer and frequent guest programs, it has paid dividends for me. My father became ill and US Airways waived the change fee on four tickets. America West\US Airways have made several exceptions for me over the years. One time, I made a reservation at a Hilton brand hotel but I choose the wrong date (two weeks before my actual stay). The hotel called me since I didn’t check in…they didn’t charge me for the room because of the status with Hilton. I could write a book what Marriott has done for me.