Travelocity/Expedia

[kasey1988]

I was just looking at those websites and expeidia has nothing avalable past april 07, and travelocity seems more expensive then actually bookign through disney.do there prices drop as the date becomes closer? I was just wondering what your expeiences have been booking with them. As of right now the price is lower through kingdom konsultants so we will probally end up going with them.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Well we do try!!!! As always airfare is subject to change day to day and in some cases hour to hour however we always try to get our clients the best prices and if a discount comes out for your Disney package, we will rebook you to allow you to take advantage of the savings if at all possible!!! I dont think that Travelocity or Expedia can compete with that level of service. Belle

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Don't do it.

I am not a travel agent, but I have heard FAR too many horror stories about third party brokers like Travelocity and Expedia.

People have had return flight reservations vanish, and had to pay full price to get back home.

People who work at hotels will tell you that someone who books through brokers will NEVER get upgrades, and will probably get a less desirable room.

The theory is that someone who books a room through the Marriott web site is actually interested in a Marriott. Travelocity customers are interested only in price. (In reality this isn't necessarily true. You may still be choosing by price, but booking at the hotel website indicates that you have consciously chosen that hotel)
Furthermore, hotel chains will NOT let Travelocity undercut them. Why would they?

IMHO you are adding a link to the chain, and that is never a good thing.
A real travel agent ^^^like Kingdom Konsultants has relationships with airlines and hotels and a little pull. Professional agents also have a lot more savvy than a telephone answerer at Expedia.

Also be aware that if you are booking a Disney hotel, the price will seem very low on the first page. By the time you get through the booking process, you will find you are looking at a package that requires ticket purchase, then they add on the taxes. I have never found the price to be lower by the time you get to the bottom line.

Just my opinion.
I'm sure many of you have travelled without incident this way, but it simply isn't worth it to me.

 

[isitingood]

Don't do it.

I am not a travel agent, but I have heard FAR too many horror stories about third party brokers like Travelocity and Expedia.

People have had return flight reservations vanish, and had to pay full price to get back home.

People who work at hotels will tell you that someone who books through brokers will NEVER get upgrades, and will probably get a less desirable room.

The theory is that someone who books a room through the Marriott web site is actually interested in a Marriott. Travelocity customers are interested only in price. (In reality this isn't necessarily true. You may still be choosing by price, but booking at the hotel website indicates that you have consciously chosen that hotel)
Furthermore, hotel chains will NOT let Travelocity undercut them. Why would they?

IMHO you are adding a link to the chain, and that is never a good thing.
A real travel agent ^^^like Kingdom Konsultants has relationships with airlines and hotels and a little pull. Professional agents also have a lot more savvy than a telephone answerer at Expedia.

Also be aware that if you are booking a Disney hotel, the price will seem very low on the first page. By the time you get through the booking process, you will find you are looking at a package that requires ticket purchase, then they add on the taxes. I have never found the price to be lower by the time you get to the bottom line.

Just my opinion.
I'm sure many of you have travelled without incident this way, but it simply isn't worth it to me.

That's not always true. I went through Expedia last June and I saved almost $150.00 for three tickets and that was after taxes but I do agree with WannabeBelle and that prices differ day to day so some days Expedia will be more expensive, but I also found that wed. seems cheaper to buy tickets then any other day of the week.

 

[cmatt]

i dont know where some peoples experiences of expedia have come from but ive never been dissapointed!

I never book flights - why bother when you can go with most companies direct online?

I have booked hotels in london and cardiff in the past and have had NO problems - saving money even going to the hotels direct NO bookings lost - and once in london i was offered an upgrade (albeit it was to a 'pressure shower' in a hilton - you know, the ones with nossles coming out at different angle - i still have two minds on whether that was a pleasent experience or not :lol: and the view was most excellent - on the south bank overlooking the river :sohappy:

With regards to 'views' thats a load of crap also, as ive had some real stinker views - especially with the hilton nottingham - looking over the rear of the building with air con underneath SUCKED and you couldnt open the windows I was only there for a night (rammstein - nec - awesome) still, a load of rubbish if you ask me

edit: and i must clarify this was with HILTON DIRECT, at the end of the day its down to the check in receptionist which room you get - and if your willing to pay a premium... ala marriott I politely ask at check in if i can have a room with a view and in an area thats quiet and away from any children and 90% of the time i get that

they are a travel agents at the end of the day - so you will be ok

 

[isitingood]

i dont know where some peoples experiences of expedia have come from but ive never been dissapointed!

I never book flights - why bother when you can go with most companies direct online?

I have booked hotels in london and cardiff in the past and have had NO problems - saving money even going to the hotels direct NO bookings lost - and once in london i was offered an upgrade (albeit it was to a 'pressure shower' in a hilton - you know, the ones with nossles coming out at different angle - i still have two minds on whether that was a pleasent experience or not :lol: and the view was most excellent - on the south bank overlooking the river :sohappy:

With regards to 'views' thats a load of crap also, as ive had some real stinker views - especially with the hilton nottingham - looking over the rear of the building with air con underneath SUCKED and you couldnt open the windows I was only there for a night (rammstein - nec - awesome) still, a load of rubbish if you ask me

they are a travel agents at the end of the day - so you will be ok

I agree never had a problem with Expedia

 

[cmatt]

I agree never had a problem with Expedia

i have more problems with the morons at easy jet when i need to change a flight :lookaroun

 

[forbidden donut]

I have dealt with Expedia only once - on my May 02 trip, it was not a good experience.
I prepaid for the flight and hotel but when I showed up at the hotels front desk they had no idea who I was!
After four hours of calling various customer service people it was discovered that they had made the reservations for my room for four months later and in someone else's name!
Fortunately the hotel still had rooms available.

 

[gingin_82]

I am thankful to say that I have used Travelocity to book my last 4 vacations (granted only one of which was Disney, and offsite) but experienced no issues with any of my reservations. I also used Travelocity to book my upcoming Dec '06 trip to Disney, after comparing both AAA and Disney package prices, and saved over $500 off of Disney's quote and about $300 off of AAA's quote by booking my airfare and hotel (POR) with Travelocity. Travelocity also offers Magical Express with Disney hotel reservations. I purchased my Disney park tickets through DWTickets.com and received the 5th day free when purchasing 4 day Park Hopper tickets.

I have also heard horror stories, but have never experienced any issues myself (knock on wood). I always confirm my reservations, directly with the hotel and airline, a few days before leaving home (regardless of who I book through) and always have my confirmation information with me during check-in, just in case. One disappointment I had with booking through Travelocity is that they are not able to book the Dining Plan for you (they say it can only be booked through Disney or an approved travel agent). However, I felt that the savings I made by booking with them vs. Disney direct was well worth the sacrafice of the Dining Plan option. Also, once you make reservations with Travelocity, they are virtually unchangable. They are not flexiable with hotel or air changes after the intial booking - a price you pay, I guess, for taking advantage of their cost savings.

Hope this helps - happy travels :wave:

 

[carlosjv]

now im nervous , i just buy a travelocity trip for december 29 at the coronado it was a very good deal , until today everything seems ok , but now i have my doubts :veryconfu any suggestion :lookaroun

 

[carlosjv]

I am thankful to say that I have used Travelocity to book my last 4 vacations (granted only one of which was Disney, and offsite) but experienced no issues with any of my reservations. I also used Travelocity to book my upcoming Dec '06 trip to Disney, after comparing both AAA and Disney package prices, and saved over $500 off of Disney's quote and about $300 off of AAA's quote by booking my airfare and hotel (POR) with Travelocity. Travelocity also offers Magical Express with Disney hotel reservations. I purchased my Disney park tickets through DWTickets.com and received the 5th day free when purchasing 4 day Park Hopper tickets.

I have also heard horror stories, but have never experienced any issues myself (knock on wood). I always confirm my reservations, directly with the hotel and airline, a few days before leaving home (regardless of who I book through) and always have my confirmation information with me during check-in, just in case. One disappointment I had with booking through Travelocity is that they are not able to book the Dining Plan for you (they say it can only be booked through Disney or an approved travel agent). However, I felt that the savings I made by booking with them vs. Disney direct was well worth the sacrafice of the Dining Plan option. Also, once you make reservations with Travelocity, they are virtually unchangable. They are not flexiable with hotel or air changes after the intial booking - a price you pay, I guess, for taking advantage of their cost savings.

Hope this helps - happy travels :wave:

feel the same about the dining plan , but the savings are good !

 

[CThaddeus]

now im nervous , i just buy a travelocity trip for december 29 at the coronado it was a very good deal , until today everything seems ok , but now i have my doubts :veryconfu any suggestion :lookaroun

I think gingin said it best - call the places and confirm a few days before you go. I, too, have used a number of different websites to book my vacations, and I have yet to have a horrible experience (I did once get a room that smelled of urine, but the hotel was happy to switch me). I'm a firm believer in the wonders of Priceline, Expedia, and, to a lesser extent Travelocity (I just don't find as many great deals through them). My vacations to Disney World are hundreds of dollars cheaper than they would be if I booked directly with the hotels/airlines...except for maybe Southwest. I've managed $125 round trip tickets on Priceline (LAX to MCO), Sheraton-quality hotels for $22 a night, and rental cars for $10 a day. Now if I could just find a website that sells insanely cheap Disney tickets and hotel rooms!
Above all, don't worry.

 

[Ducky_Love]

I was just looking at those websites and expeidia has nothing avalable past april 07, and travelocity seems more expensive then actually bookign through disney.do there prices drop as the date becomes closer? I was just wondering what your expeiences have been booking with them. As of right now the price is lower through kingdom konsultants so we will probally end up going with them.

They may not have negotiated rates for 07' yet, Disney is always last to submit in my experience. This means they would be pulling full rack rate on their site.. which would explain why they seem more expensive than Disney res center.

And guys, please don't lump Travelocity into Expedia's messy situations. They have a great guarantee in place. The important thing is to *READ* what you are buying and understand that is all you are entitled to. What I mean is that if you book a room that is "One King Bed, Poolside" don't assume that it will be non-smoking. You have to book exactly what you want, because the agents at Travelocity can't call and get you anything besides what you booked. Anything additional is up to the hotel... and we know how that goes sometimes.. :hammer:

Any lost tickets or other stuff are taken care of very quickly. Glitches happen, even the airlines have lost my info before. I use Travelocity for all my travel and have had very few problems. If a reservation isn't there, take a deep breath and call customer care. The Gnome will save you! :lol:

 

[kaitlyn0515]

I actually work at a hotel i would recommend always going through the hotel directly for the reason of when you make it through expedia or etc. its not the hotel that doesn't want to honer your request but whoever you make it through because you can't go change the res. because your prepaying with anouther source and were charging them and really were only getting half of your money ond once we change it sometimes they want pay the hotel because its not what they put into are system

 

[Yellow Shoes]

I actually work at a hotel i would recommend always going through the hotel directly for the reason of when you make it through expedia or etc. its not the hotel that doesn't want to honer your request but whoever you make it through because you can't go change the res. because your prepaying with anouther source and were charging them and really were only getting half of your money ond once we change it sometimes they want pay the hotel because its not what they put into are system

Huh?

I'm sorry to be such a nag, but please read my signature.

This makes no sense as written.

 

[kaitlyn0515]

sorry i'm at work so i really wasn't paying attention how i was writing but more for getting caught on the computer

 

[palmage]

I've never seen Expedia charge anything but Rack rate plus a service charge for Disney resorts.
I always book direct through Disney.