Good work, Clem Bason. Hotwire’s chief executive scored a perfect score on Glassdoor’s new Travel Industry Report Card — one of the few bright spots in an otherwise underperforming industry.
HOTWIRE
It’s been a while since we looked at the pets-in-hotel-rooms controversy. But today I have a cautionary tale about taking your dog on vacation.
Let’s take a break from the seemingly never-ending stories of customer service failure to recognize a few companies who did the right thing without being asked.
When is a deal not a deal? When the “savings” evaporate with a little research.
Ah, the ol’ Mexican car rental scam.
Here’s a phrase you hear a lot in my line of work: You get what you pay for.
What’s this on Sonja Johnson’s hotel bill? A mandatory $25 per day “resort” fee for the use of the spa. But didn’t the rate she booked through Hotwire include everything? No, it didn’t. But that doesn’t mean she’s out of luck.
Most hotels offer less expensive, nonrefundable rates that can’t be changed, no matter what your circumstances. Book them through a site like Hotwire, and they’re extra nonrefundable, because of the site’s strict no-cancel, no-refund, no-change policies. Or are they?
Lisa Deason thought she’d booked a hotel room in New York for four guests through Hotwire. But her confirmation told her otherwise: the room could only accommodate two people, at most.
Before you dismiss this latest story about a hotel ratings dispute as irrelevant, consider this: Changing a hotel’s star rating by just a fraction can translate into millions of dollars of revenue to an online travel company. So every half-point counts. It certainly does to Sugi Harto, who found himself booked at the Fairfield Inn Placentia through Hotwire recently.
When Ed Boston books a two-star hotel in Flint, Mich., he expects a reliable property with minimal amenities — not the dump he ends up in. He asks his online travel agency if he can change hotels, and it says “no.” What now?
If you live in the Midwest, I don’t need to tell you that you’re having a white Christmas. A very white Christmas.
Llouellynde Orahood’s flight from Los Angeles to Dallas has all the makings of a trip from hell, including weather delays, cancellations and almost-missed flights. What could be worse? Having to pay again for the same tickets. Now, neither the airlines nor her online travel agency is willing to help her recover the money she should have never had to spend. Is there any hope for a refund?
Southwest Airlines, according to a new survey by Glassdoor, a company that conducts online salary surveys.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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