ORBITZ

Case dismissed: Was there really no room at the inn?

by

Ivy Photos/Shutterstock
Ivy Photos/Shutterstock
Ifti Qadir’s case against the Royal San Marco & Suites Hotel and Orbitz seemed like a slam-dunk when it crossed my desk recently. He’d paid $1,307 for two rooms, for a total of three nights.

“When we arrived at the hotel, we were told they don’t have any room available for us,” he says.

Qadir contacted Orbitz, the website through which he booked the rooms, and a representative told him to book another hotel and promised him a refund within five days, he says. But the money never came.

“Finally, we were told that it is not possible, because Orbitz had already paid the hotel,” he says.

Huh? At this point, my blood pressure has gone up by a few points. They can’t just keep Qadir’s money — can they?

Read more

Do I deserve a refund after my destination turned dangerous?

by

Deep blue/Shutterstock
Deep blue/Shutterstock
Diane Austin’s problem isn’t that unusual, which is why I’ve decided to write something about it. In April, she booked a $730 roundtrip ticket in April through Orbitz on American Airlines to fly to Puerto Vallarta.

The purpose of her visit? To volunteer in a school in Tepic, Mexico, for two weeks. In order to cover her fare, Austin’s 80-year-old father used money from her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother’s bank account. After all, it was for a good cause.

But the trip wasn’t meant to be. When her partner arrived in Tepic a few days ahead of her, she says the area turned suddenly unsafe.

Read more

Is this enough compensation? Wrong information leads to a missed flight

by

Christianna Kreiss thought she would be flying to India with her family a few weeks ago.

Instead, she spent hours in Pittsburgh trying to sort out a messy airline reservation that involved Air Canada, Lufthansa and Orbitz.

Kreiss eventually made it to India, but lost two vacation days and had other out-of-pocket expenses. Is she owed anything?

Read more

Ridiculous or not? No credit for your nonrefundable hotel room

by

True, Jorge Sanchez-Salazar booked a nonrefundable room at the Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport through Orbitz. And it’s true, too, that he canceled the trip, and that under the rules, the hotel could keep his money — all of it.

But that doesn’t sit well with him, and on second thought, maybe it doesn’t with other travelers, either.

Even airlines, with the restrictive and often customer-hostile policies, offer customers who cancel their nonrefundable flights the ability to use their flight credit (minus a confiscatory change fee, but let’s not get mired in the details).

Read more

Enterprise will announce tomorrow that it is ending its relationship with Orbitz.com and its sister site CheapTickets.com on April 1.

Enterprise pulls cars from Orbitz after dispute

by

Enterprise Holdings, which owns and operates the largest fleet of rental cars in the world under the Alamo Rent A Car, National Car Rental, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car brands, will announce tomorrow that it is ending its relationship with Orbitz.com and its sister site CheapTickets.com on April 1 after “months of difficult discussions.” I asked Pam Nicholson, the president and chief operating officer of Enterprise Holdings, to explain the decision and what it means to travelers.