One of the big questions in travel is if you should buy your plane tickets or hotels direct from the provider or if you should use a third party like Expedia or Skyscanner. Well, you can find great deals on third party websites, but there may be issues if things go awry. That is why we typically buy direct from airlines or hotels for that piece of mind.
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I had a problem with Opodo going from London to Sarajevo with wizzair. On Opodo site said everything was booked but when I got to Wizzair check-in desk I found out I wasn't on the system and I had repay for a flight then and there. Massive hassle trying to get the money back from Opodo
Like Wolter said book direct with airline to avoid trouble.
Expedia really did a number on me. Will definitely deal directly with airlines now.
Customer service of a proper 3rd party is often much better than the hotel you're dealing with in case something goes wrong
Direct is always better to go! Better communication, and more flexibility, cut the middle man out!
Airliner $3k+, expida atm $1.1k
Thanks for advice. Getting ready to book and wanted your advice! Thumbs up.
About 15 years ago I booked a flight from Melbourne (Australia) to NYC via Flight Centre. When we got into LA we were told the East Coast was snowed in and we were stuck in LA for a few days. Flight Centre was able to organise a refund from the NYC hotel for days not spent there, so in that respect a third party provider was worthwhile.
Do not use booking sites, they are a rip off. No refunds even if you purchase insurance.
As someone who worked in the hospitality industry for years, it is ALWAYS better to book directly with your hotel. I can’t even tell you how many times we had issues with third party reservations
I would love to recommend Hopper for keeping track of your flights usually give you a good time when to buy and will give you notification when it's cheap and when it's expensive.
Air, hotels and even car rentals all direct for me for all the reasons you mention. There are some airlines that can be jerks and I just try to avoid them. BONUS: When booking your seat on a plane it is a good idea to go to Seat Guru to find out the best and worst seats and why. Not 100% of the seat maps are accurate but pretty close.
Do NOT use this 3rd party agents. I am flying for my wedding and booked with Expedia. I had to change my flight detail, and had to call Expedia to arrange it. So at first while I originally booked it showed me non refundable but fee free change. But they lied and charged me 150 dollar, plus their agents are not helpful at all, infact I felt scammed when I tell them the flight I see I want to change to, which they told me it doesn't matter what flights I found they are the only ones who sees the option that I can get, which leaves you to be scammed of a whole lot of money. The were iffeing me a 3000 price difference and I had to argue my way for them to finally give me 1800 price difference. Why not tell me that deal at first. They also told me they don't know how many conpilimantary checked in baggage I am allowed till 24 hours. So now I have booked the charged flights without knowing the checked baggage information which I am expecting according to their taking advantage behaviour I saw to be charge for checking baggage. N the agents are so unprofessional and dismissal. Save yourself from the worst experiences of your booking experience and directly book with the airline or hotel.
I use Expedia like a MF. Have never had any issues.
Can you do a cheap family vacation video and how to find flights for a family
I’d advise to check with Google Flights, at least that works for me 🙂
I've had bad experiences booking direct but that was with British Airlines, so… maybe it was that. I normally book with expedia. Usually its fine easy and cheap, but I've had a few problems. I've had a car scheduled to pick me up and take me to airline in Tokyo and it ended up scheduled the day before I arrived, which I didn't notice, and ended up taking a Taxi which ripped me off. There has been a few other small problems, but otherwise its been ok. I just booked via expedia a trip to Batumi in the country of Georgia, and it appear to be much cheaper going via expedia, than direct.
I exactly do what you described. I look on 3rd party website to get an idea as to what airline has the better deal/route for my family then I book directly from the airline for as you said peace of mind if anything goes wrong.
does vacation insurance compensate for the 3rd party risk?
I have always booked directly from the airlines.
Not financial advisor, but you can easily sign up for programs linking a frequent flier account so you can start building miles. You cannot do that easily with 3rd parties.
I was wondering would you go through a travel agent to book whole trip if doing multiple city in Europe planning to go to Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) and they to Italy (Rome and Florence). First time traveler to Europe. Thanks.
What I found is when things go wrong, it gets complicated having a middle man involved. Call hotel "You need to talk to Expedia". Call Expedia and they say "Oh you need to call the propety!" Same with rental cars. This comes up a lot when flights are delayed and you show up a day late. Asking for refunds and rescheduling can be huge headache. We got nailed hard by this a week back resulting in hours of phone calls trying to save a vacation.
I always book through a travel agency. Flights and hotel
I had a very bad experience booking with Expedia.
I had a very bad experience booking with Expedia.
I always book directly with my airline
I've always ordered my tickets through Travelocity and never had any problems.
Agree with you BUT in SE Asia things are different, esp. with hotels. When traveling SE Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia) many hotels are three times higher (yikes!) going direct versus 3rd party. That said…your hotel is also going to be just 20 or 30 USD regardless unless you are staying in an exclusive area in Bangkok or some place like that.
Thank you !!!!
I used Expedia to book a trip to Australia four years ago. On the day of my departure, the plane that was supposed to take me to Dallas blew a tire upon landing. The airline (American) couldn't get the tire changed in time for us to catch our connecting flights in Dallas. I was given a toll free number to call AA. I explained the situation to the agent and gave her the itinerary number. Even though the trip was booked through Expedia, the agent was able to push everything back 24 hours so it all worked out.
I have been booking with expedia for ever hotels as well as flight. the customer service is superb i dont even have to call them for changes or refunds. an email or chat makes it work. stress free travel
My first international flight ever was to visit my wife's family in China; we booked a round-trip through Expidia and were screwed when our first flight arrived too late for our connecting flight. Turns out if you have to cancel a connecting flight as part of your ticket package, you cancel the return portion for your round trip.
Airline wouldn't match expedia fare
I Had to pay $1,600 extra because I made a spelling mistakes on two people in my party! Buy directly from the airlines because they do name corrections for free. Boy did I learn an expensive lesson!
I totally agree with booking with direct, but I do look around like you said to find the best deal. Usually I go between direct and chase travel. I had a bad experience with Philippine airlines when the pandemic hit and it took almost a year to get my full refund back of calling back and forth with them. When I dealt with Chase travel and always got my refund back with no problems so far, they even told me upfront it will take this many days and they kept their word so far. I hope they continue to working with people that way because they are my go to if the direct airline is more. I did however had a bad experience with orbitz with a room booked in Venice Italy, still to this day have not got my refund back from them, never got to make the trip due to the pandemic and not able to use the credit therefore that coupon expired also with a hotel in France
I work in a hotel. ALWAYS book direct. It’s easier for both you and me if you have a problem, or want to make a change etc. And don’t get pissy with hotel staff when we can’t help. You made the booking with the third party after all!
Make sure you are on the company web site. We thought we were dealing direct with hotel but we were on a clone of the site and paid a nonrefundable service of $150.00. We are working with the credit card company but it's probably going to be an expensive lesion.
True that re mileage. Google Flights is great for pricing things out, though. Glad you mentioned that they sometimes have deals. Airline pricing is so tricky!! / Video suggestion: what to do with travel emergencies like losing a passport, getting sick, etc. I guess consulates can help in some cases. Happy 2023 Wolter!!
I once booked a hotel on Expedia and I ended up needing to cancel… turns out the hotel had already cancelled the booking on me weeks prior and neither they or Expedia let me know. Good thing I didn’t end up going! For that reason I really avoid 3rd party booking sites as much as possible, I don’t trust them.
Unless there is like a $200+ difference I don't use the 3rd party. If you have a tight schedule and travelling with family, try not to book 3rd party, as they don't give out hotels, meals etc. if you got delayed for some reason. When travelling alone and you don't have a time crunch, you can use the 3rd party (cheap options and save). For example The filight got cancelled and they rebooked the next day flight, however they would not give the hotel, as I did not book directly from the airline. But it only happened once on the international flight out of 20 I took, so it does pay off. Also take a close look at the baggage options – Direct booking can give 2 pices of checking luggage 50lbs each, where as booking with 3rd party could have 1 piece of checked luggage. So you need to weigh out these options.
Travelling alone (no time crunch and plenty of connection time / not carrying much baggage) – you can use the 3rd party
Travelling with Family (older kids and no time crunch) – you can save $$$ by booking thru 3rd party options.
I do exactly as WW recommends – shop around using 3rd parties but always book direct. My prefered Airline is United, and I always try to book a direct non-stop flight when I can. However, one exception – I use Costco to book car rentals. I have NOT found a better site for cars than Costco either in the US or in Europe.
For lodging, I almost exclusively use AirBnB or VRBO vs. hotels. The exception is if I need a room near an airport before my flights.
I had a huge problem with a flight I booked on E Dreams from Santorini to Athens on Aegean Air. Aegean basically told me to go fish and deal with E Dreams which eas an absolute nightmare. Suffice it to say I never got my money back and I has to eat $500 and change on last minute plane tickets on another flight to Athens. Excellent advice Mark.
While I look on flights on google, I always book them via the airline website. Plus it’s easier to change plans if buying from them compare to 3rd party (like Expedia)
For hotels I use Booking but all transportation are always direct from them.
Hey Mark, First time in 30 years had to use a bricks and mortar travel agent, Vietnam Air web site would not accept my credit card to fly PHN to SGN. probably cost me an extra $200 NZD. See you soon cheers M
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