BlogHer - hotels - Comments

You Gotta Read the Rules. Every Time.

Pam — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:27:51 -0600

Just to be clear, I'm absolutely not defending Hotels.com. But no matter WHAT service you use, you have to, HAVE TO check the cancellation/refund policies. And if you're so inclined, carry travel insurance to cover you should you get hosed again.

There's a ton of buck passing when you want to fix something. The booking site says it's the hotel, the hotel says it's the booking site, no one steps up. I wouldn't give up. It's a matter of finding someone competent - and there are lots of obstacles to that. Patience and continuing to ask for a supervisor is the way to go, though I've also gone the executive ninja route and gone directly to a company's CEO to file complaints.

Check out Consumerist.com - they have great advice on getting resolution.

Nerd's Eye View

opportunities are eroding

tallgal — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:57:33 -0500

Elana, you are right that cruise lines are more loyal, mostly for 2 reasons. 1. Cruises are more unknown than other types of vacations. Particularly for first time cruisers, thre are a lot of questions that agents can handle through their experience. Most agents take familiarization (fam) trips to get to know the various lines and destinations. 2. Cruise lines are less present on the web. Most cruiseline websites are not mature and people are generally uncomfortable purchasing large-ticket items online. It's an expensive item both in terms of money and emotional investment.

As far as business travel is concerned, true that most of these trips are pretty cut and dried, so it's more or less commodity travel. If you are traveling every month to the same places, then it's easy. If the trip is more complex, then it might make more sense for an agent to handle the booking. Do you really want an exec that you are paying $100 an hour to spend time looking for a trip that's $50 cheaper? A good travel manager will weigh the pros and cons, not just from an ROI perspective, but also corporate culture and other factors.

Online v. real-life travel agent

Miss Thrifty — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:16:40 -0500

Thanks so much for linking to my post!

I've decided that the travel agency is going to be my first port of call from now on - to my surprise it saves time, saves hassle and saves money. Ironically, given the name of my blog, I've been booking everything online for years. Just think how much money I could have saved!

Credit crunch? Pah! For daily money-saving gems, unmissable discount alerts and red hot tips, come visit me at www.miss-thrifty.co.uk.

Both

KatieBeez — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:10:44 -0500

My company allows employees to step in if they need or want a particular hotel or flight (with restrictions of course), but we have a department that handles this full time. Many times the travel changes or is last minute or extended so this makes more sense in our business I guess.

I'm actually on vacation this week and next and our family used a travel agent to book the trip. I think in some cases it makes sense. We are doing a multi-country trip ending with an apartment for 4 days. You can find these kinds of rentals online but it was really convenient and we had the experience of the agency, which at least makes you feel better.

But mostly, if it's a personal trip, I do the booking myself online.

Thank You TallGal

Elana Centor — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:14:58 -0500

A couple of years ago I did a story for the Chicago Tribune about the state of travel agents -- if my memory is right the Cruise Industry is still very loyal to travel agents and actually make it hard for people ot book online ( this information is several years old but that was the case in 2003 or 2004.)

I also know that many corporations now require their employees to do their own booking-through onlie programs. I don't get it. While I enjoy the hunt for the lowest price, it is time consuming and I have a feeling if businesses actually did an ROI on having employees do all their own travel arrangements they would find it's not that big of a savings.

Thoughts?

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

an agent's perspective

tallgal — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:39:47 -0500

I've been in travel for over 20 years. First as a res agent, then in the marketing and operations sice, finally in the information design for online travel.

Independent agents (we call them "mom and pop shops") are getting harder to find because of changes in the industry. In between commission caps, the ecomony, online travel - it's hard for them to make a living.

Generally, agents as travel arrangers can do the same functions as the traveler themselves if they made the travel bookings or own the traveler profile (to Virginia's question). So they can check on credits, etc. but they make little or no money from a Southwest Airlines transaction. Because of that, most agents charge a fee for services. In some cases, they will waive the fee if the transaction gives them a higher commission, such as a cruise.

Regarding hotels, this is the most unregulated part of travel. Online agencies contract wtih hotels to sell off distressed dates. If a hotel has a particularly low occupancy due to something like a cancelled convention, it's not uncommon for them to drop their rates below what they have contracted with agencies, BUT if online agencies find out about it, they can and will cancel a contract - in most cases the hotel guarantees that they will not offer a lower price than what the online agency.

Hotels and other travel vendors will not help you if you have a problem with your travel if you purchased with an agency. Vendors don't want to pay agency commission or deal with the lower contracted prices.

Basically, if you are dealing with a local independent agent and they do a good job for you, by all means tip. It will be appreciated. If your travel plans are complex or for international trips, using an agent makes good economic sense. Agents have wider access to flight inventories and prices in their systems than what is offered in online travel. For hotels, always ask at the front desk if there is a lower price when you check in. If the ansnwer is yes and you booked online, let the agency know - not to punish the hotel, but to keep agencies in line so they offer the lowest prices to all.

Hope this info is helpful.

Timely

Denise — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:19:58 -0500

TW and I recently discussed travel agents - they either seem to be more predominant here or we're just noticing them more because we're in a new place, not sure which.

But that led us to wonder how they actually stay in business. Who uses them? When and why? I can think of five TAs within 10 miles of me, there are probably more. I don't get it. Is it the big trip traveler who is using them? Is it larger corporations who force their employees to go through "their" travel agent? What keeps them in biz?

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Going back to travel agents

Virginia DeBolt — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:54:55 -0500

would be nice. Sort of luxurious.

Like you, I'm a do-it-yourself travel booker. I use Southwest a lot since my most frequent destination is Austin. I find myself booking a flight online and then calling Southwest to talk to a human about it. Partly this is because I buy tickets for my granddaughter who travels as an unaccompanied minor. That requires a phone call after booking. But I also call to do things like get credit balances from canceled flights or check on my account balance. Can a travel agent do that for me? I don't think they can.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

No...it is not expected..

Crunchy Carpets — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:06:52 -0500

used to freak me out too

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com

Do most people tip them?

Elana Centor — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:19:03 -0500

I wasn't sure what to do -- so I didn't. But since my daughter goes to college there, I would like to know whether I am supposed to tip for next time.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

I do both..depending on what I need

Crunchy Carpets — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:10:52 -0500

for straight just flights..online is great..but I am always a bit dubious about the 'deals' when trying to book packages and so on..

I used a travel agent for disney and that was fantastic..all together everything..and I don't think I could have done it cheaper or on the dates I wanted.

And yeah all of Richmond, BC is full serve and the rest of the lower mainland is pay before you pump because of some poor kids getting killed trying to get his money from a guy gassing and running.

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com

Travel Agents

kentuckygal53 — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:58:52 -0500

I think many people are, like me, doing some of their own trip planning and also using a travel agent. I am very comfortable making my own flight arrangements and hotel reservations using online sites but when it comes to planning cruises or major vacations, I like to use my local travel agent.

In the past, I have checked directly with the cruise lines, etc. and they quote the same price she is able to obtain, so I think I am getting the best deal. I have not been brave enough yet to book a $10,000 trip with a stranger online, even though some of the deals look great. I like knowing I can contact her in case of an emergency and she will help me. Or if my travel plans change, she can help me make those plans. She was also the one who called us immediately when a large suite became available on our last cruise because she knew I wanted that cabin but could not afford it until the cruise line offered us a great deal. I don't think an online agent would have done that.

We will be retiring next year and plan to do a lot more travelling, so maybe I will get a little bolder about making more online plans. But, I don't know. I still like some personal service!

Followup report on accessibility guide

Liz Henry — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:15:00 -0500

I'd like to follow up with my actual experience of accessibility of the hotel.

First of all, when I said this about parking:

"In the garage, there are at least 5 van-accessible parking spots, on
level ground right next to the entrance, with a marked crosswalk."

I was wrong. There are marked spots, but they are unused by the hotel as anything other than road. Instead, they have valet parking. The crosswalks are ignored. That caused me a lot of stress as I got in and out of cars. I think that walking people of around 5 or 6 feet off the ground might not feel that stress, but from lower down, it is hard not to have crosswalks. I freaked out at one point when a cab was coming right towards me and the cabbie didn't seem to see me. (I flipped off the driver and yelled, and then was very embarrassed.) I also kept going out the side doors, and completely forgot (!!!) about the entrance on Geary that doesn't go through the parking garage. So, don't forget the way to the sidewalk! Ha! Also, I did not realize that parking was expen$$sive! I ended up parking elsewhere, and taking a cab. That worked well.

The conference was mostly very compact. I had an easy time getting around. The bathrooms were reasonably close to where all the action was. Carpets were (as predicted) somewhat exhausting to wheel around on. As we left i cheered and said goodbye to the horrid thick luxurious carpets with a lot of joy.

Room reservations. I explained on the phone and then when I arrived (before checkin time) that I did not want an ADA room with a roll-in shower and shower bench. I prefer a regular room with a bathtub. My priority is that the room be as close as possible to the elevator. I can manage a bathtub, and I can walk around a room (usually). Unfortunately in between when I talked with the desk and when I actually checked in, my mom checked in. And they confused me with her sort of, and then she said Oh that's my daughter, and they said Oh My Gosh but she does not have a "wheelchair accessible" room, and my mom said Oh, better change it then. They all had the best of intentions, but they erred in not calling me on my cell phone to check. I lucked out in having a nice person (Alex) help me at the desk when I did check in. He listened to me, did not TELL ME what I needed, did not act annoyingly confused when I explained my preference, and then he got me a super great room. He even flirted with me by complimenting my awesome triceps and not in a gross way either. Thanks, Alex!

I will add to the note about room reservations that the hotel has two blocks of rooms and two main areas. One is the Tower. It's on a different side of the hotel than the main lobby. The main part of the hotel is where most of the conference stuff happened. So, I also lucked out in having my room be in that section. Otherwise, it would have been very hard on me to run back to my room and rest, or get things that I'd forgotten. And if I'd been on crutches instead of the chair, it would have been impossible.

There were secret extra elevators, which I used quite a lot!

The room itself was very nice. It was room 825 and had a view of Union Square. I could have fit a power chair into it, with a slightly tight squeeze between bed and chest of drawers but then there was a wide turnaround space. My small manual chair fit into the room just fine.

The room service staff were extremely nice, brought the dinner to my bedside and offered to raise the table height for me if I needed it.

Bathrooms were very good except for the first floor main lobby, which had kind of small stalls but again not impossible for my itty bitty manual chair.

Next year I will coordinate with our conference planner to put up a few "consider using the stairs" signs.

I was bumped, jostled, leaned on, pitied, advised, and asked rude questions about 1 million percent LESS than last year and than all other conferences except WisCon. Thank you, everyone! You were so full of manners! You all got down to my height to talk! I didn't get a crick in my neck (though I ruined all your knees).

Meanwhile, most of my visibly disabled blogherista sisters were hanging out in Second Life. Jennylin and Aleja from GimpGirl ran a session and helped to organize transcriptions of some of the other sessions and keynotes.

-----------------
Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Contributing Editor, World and Latin America

Power Strip Packed

Mistiejourney — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:08:34 -0500

What a great post - I'm a Walkie, but I learned more about the Westin than I ever did staying there!

And if I see sparkly wheels I'll come up and say hi! And you won't know me, but I'll say hi anyway! : D

Have power strip, will travel

mamarant — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:51:27 -0500

Liz, great post. Some of us walkies are limpies due to bad knees. So thanks for the info on stairs and distances.

And I'll be bringing my power strip for sure!