A friend of mine booked a package tour for next month with a major tour operator a few months ago. Last week, his wife had forgotten that airline tickets were already included in the booking. So she went online and, I am guessing, typed one of the airline names she wanted to fly with into an online search. What she ended up with was a toll free number for some company she mistook for the airline. So she went ahead and booked tickets with them and paid, only to discover almost immediately afterwards that she had made a mistake and double booked the flight tickets.

She then contacted back that company that sold her the tickets. I saw the original booking confirmation email they sent her. They have no proper company name, just a toll free number in the US. The agent doesn't even sign the email using his surname. No company logo and a dodgy sounding, non-descriptive internet domain name.

Fast forward, the booking agent immediately refused to cancel the reservation, saying it was already past the 24 hour cancellation window. But the wife was sitting there looking at the original confirmation email they sent her, and it had been sent less than 20 hours earlier. Naturally, she objected and demanded a full refund. It went back and forth a few times, and eventually the booking agent agreed. But now there is a portion the guy claims they are still “trying” to get refunded from the airline, which the travel operator says is not within their control and requires approval from the airline.

I think it is all nonsense and looks like he's still trying to profit from this. If you cancel within 24 hours, it is usually accepted by any major airline. At least, they should be getting about 80 percent of the total money back that they paid, and maybe the rest eventually, but what a pain in the backside.

I also checked on KAYAK what those tickets would have cost if she had just booked them directly, and it would have been about half the price.

So it brings me to the point of this post. Why is the travel industry always such a dodgy hustle? They are often trying to rip people off, constantly charging more than they should. If you book directly with airlines, it is usually fine, but the moment someone inserts themselves in the middle as a "travel agent", you are likely getting taken for a ride. I think it could be partially the airline industry's fault for making flight bookings so highly commission driven.

I still do not know exactly how my friend’s wife ended up contacting this company, but I am guessing these operators target and squat on specific Google keywords so they appear at the top of search results when people search for airlines, making it look like they are the official contact. It is a classic bait and switch setup in the online travel world, and probably goes on in many other industries as well.

But why can't buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel not be as straightforward as anything else? Even with online hotel bookings, you can check half a dozen different sites and all of them will show different prices for the exact same room. If you do not spend time carefully hunting around and comparing, you can easily end up paying far more than you should. At some point, hopefully the industry will evolve and buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel room will become as straightforward as buying a carton of milk.

Seems the problem does not lie with the 'travel industry '.

1 hour ago, BigLek said:

A friend of mine booked a package tour for next month with a major tour operator a few months ago. Last week, his wife had forgotten that airline tickets were already included in the booking. So she went online and, I am guessing, typed one of the airline names she wanted to fly with into an online search. What she ended up with was a toll free number for some company she mistook for the airline. So she went ahead and booked tickets with them and paid, only to discover almost immediately afterwards that she had made a mistake and double booked the flight tickets.

She then contacted back that company that sold her the tickets. I saw the original booking confirmation email they sent her. They have no proper company name, just a toll free number in the US. The agent doesn't even sign the email using his surname. No company logo and a dodgy sounding, non-descriptive internet domain name.

Fast forward, the booking agent immediately refused to cancel the reservation, saying it was already past the 24 hour cancellation window. But the wife was sitting there looking at the original confirmation email they sent her, and it had been sent less than 20 hours earlier. Naturally, she objected and demanded a full refund. It went back and forth a few times, and eventually the booking agent agreed. But now there is a portion the guy claims they are still “trying” to get refunded from the airline, which the travel operator says is not within their control and requires approval from the airline.

I think it is all nonsense and looks like he's still trying to profit from this. If you cancel within 24 hours, it is usually accepted by any major airline. At least, they should be getting about 80 percent of the total money back that they paid, and maybe the rest eventually, but what a pain in the backside.

I also checked on KAYAK what those tickets would have cost if she had just booked them directly, and it would have been about half the price.

So it brings me to the point of this post. Why is the travel industry always such a dodgy hustle? They are often trying to rip people off, constantly charging more than they should. If you book directly with airlines, it is usually fine, but the moment someone inserts themselves in the middle as a "travel agent", you are likely getting taken for a ride. I think it could be partially the airline industry's fault for making flight bookings so highly commission driven.

I still do not know exactly how my friend’s wife ended up contacting this company, but I am guessing these operators target and squat on specific Google keywords so they appear at the top of search results when people search for airlines, making it look like they are the official contact. It is a classic bait and switch setup in the online travel world, and probably goes on in many other industries as well.

But why can't buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel not be as straightforward as anything else? Even with online hotel bookings, you can check half a dozen different sites and all of them will show different prices for the exact same room. If you do not spend time carefully hunting around and comparing, you can easily end up paying far more than you should. At some point, hopefully the industry will evolve and buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel room will become as straightforward as buying a carton of milk.

Seems your friends wife is a do do and your looking hard for excuses.

Not much co-ordination between ''your friend'' and his Mrs.

That is why 1. Do it yourself. 1. Keep her off the internet!

3 hours ago, BigLek said:

But why can't buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel not be as straightforward as anything else?

Well it used to be but now everything seems to be a scam or a hustle. Just last month I wanted to book 2 nights in Sydney and prefer to book direct with the hotels. On their website one had a rate of $198 per night so went to book for my 2 nights. Fine but you needed to change the number of persons from 1 to 2 and when this was done the website changed the dates to 3 months later, which was the $198 price. Fortunately I noticed the change so then put in the box for 2 people then back to the required dates. Price was $363 per night for those dates.

I only ever book direct with the airline.....the last thing I want is some middleman effing things up.

9 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Well it used to be but now everything seems to be a scam or a hustle. Just last month I wanted to book 2 nights in Sydney and prefer to book direct with the hotels. On their website one had a rate of $198 per night so went to book for my 2 nights. Fine but you needed to change the number of persons from 1 to 2 and when this was done the website changed the dates to 3 months later, which was the $198 price. Fortunately I noticed the change so then put in the box for 2 people then back to the required dates. Price was $363 per night for those dates.

Did you not ask TRIVAGO first?

I personally have had no luck with them, always the same prices, even tough the TV ad shows a guy paying $180, and another $282. Load of rubbish. Scam?

Just now, wil iam not said:

Did you not ask TRIVAGO first?

I personally have had no luck with them, always the same prices, even tough the TV ad shows a guy paying $180, and another $282. Load of rubbish. Scam?

It's only cheaper if you are Jurgen Klopp.....he gets "mates rates".

1 minute ago, Keeps said:

It's only cheaper if you are Jurgen Klopp.....he gets "mates rates".

Must ask my mate Pep if he knows any cheap hotels near Wembley for the FA Cup Final

1 minute ago, wil iam not said:

Must ask my mate Pep if he knows any cheap hotels near Wembley for the FA Cup Final

I wouldn't go for the Wembley Travelodge - Port Vale have already booked it for the semis and final.....

4 hours ago, BigLek said:

A friend of mine booked a package tour for next month with a major tour operator a few months ago. Last week, his wife had forgotten that airline tickets were already included in the booking. So she went online and, I am guessing, typed one of the airline names she wanted to fly with into an online search. What she ended up with was a toll free number for some company she mistook for the airline. So she went ahead and booked tickets with them and paid, only to discover almost immediately afterwards that she had made a mistake and double booked the flight tickets.

She then contacted back that company that sold her the tickets. I saw the original booking confirmation email they sent her. They have no proper company name, just a toll free number in the US. The agent doesn't even sign the email using his surname. No company logo and a dodgy sounding, non-descriptive internet domain name.

Fast forward, the booking agent immediately refused to cancel the reservation, saying it was already past the 24 hour cancellation window. But the wife was sitting there looking at the original confirmation email they sent her, and it had been sent less than 20 hours earlier. Naturally, she objected and demanded a full refund. It went back and forth a few times, and eventually the booking agent agreed. But now there is a portion the guy claims they are still “trying” to get refunded from the airline, which the travel operator says is not within their control and requires approval from the airline.

I think it is all nonsense and looks like he's still trying to profit from this. If you cancel within 24 hours, it is usually accepted by any major airline. At least, they should be getting about 80 percent of the total money back that they paid, and maybe the rest eventually, but what a pain in the backside.

I also checked on KAYAK what those tickets would have cost if she had just booked them directly, and it would have been about half the price.

So it brings me to the point of this post. Why is the travel industry always such a dodgy hustle? They are often trying to rip people off, constantly charging more than they should. If you book directly with airlines, it is usually fine, but the moment someone inserts themselves in the middle as a "travel agent", you are likely getting taken for a ride. I think it could be partially the airline industry's fault for making flight bookings so highly commission driven.

I still do not know exactly how my friend’s wife ended up contacting this company, but I am guessing these operators target and squat on specific Google keywords so they appear at the top of search results when people search for airlines, making it look like they are the official contact. It is a classic bait and switch setup in the online travel world, and probably goes on in many other industries as well.

But why can't buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel not be as straightforward as anything else? Even with online hotel bookings, you can check half a dozen different sites and all of them will show different prices for the exact same room. If you do not spend time carefully hunting around and comparing, you can easily end up paying far more than you should. At some point, hopefully the industry will evolve and buying a plane ticket or booking a hotel room will become as straightforward as buying a carton of milk.

So Inspector Clouseau, have you confirmed she paid for valid tickets?

3 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

So Inspector Clouseau, have you confirmed she paid for valid tickets?

With YOUR money?

3 hours ago, Olmate said:

Seems your friends wife is a do do and your looking hard for excuses.

She's elderly and may have memory issues at times. But in all fairness, the booking confirmation itself that they received from the original tour company 4 months ago, when they made the package booking, did not contain the flight information. It was sent separately to them later in January, once the flights were actually confirmed and it seems she didn't receive that flight information for some reason. Sometimes things go wrong.

47 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

So Inspector Clouseau, have you confirmed she paid for valid tickets?

Yes, the tickets all have confirmation codes. So the tickets she booked are real. Just very overpriced and redundant.

2 hours ago, wil iam not said:

Not much co-ordination between ''your friend'' and his Mrs.

That is why 1. Do it yourself. 1. Keep her off the internet!

I agree. There was a bit of communication breakdown between them. But as I said in another response, my friend knew about the flights being included in the package, but they never actually received any of the flight information in January from the tour operator when they should have.

3 hours ago, MIke B Bad said:

I only ever book direct with the airline.....the last thing I want is some middleman effing things up.

I’m the same. I do have one very seasoned and reputable travel agent I work with in Thailand. Sometimes I’ll get a quote from the airline first, then double check the price with her. Occasionally she’s able to offer a better deal than the airline.

One advantage of booking directly with the airline is that I can use one of my credit cards that gives me 2 percent cash back, which is a nice bonus. Most local travel agents prefer payment via bank transfer, and some even charge a fee for credit card payments.

In my friend’s case, she believed she was contacting the airline directly too. I think she got the phone number from a deceptive link that appeared when she searched online. Older people like her are often less aware of the many deceptive tactics used on the internet to spoof people.

Just call your CC company and dispute the charge.

I often search for the cheapest flight then go to the airlines website where I can usually get the same price. If not, I give them a call and tell them the price I found online. I prefer dealing directly with the airline. Much easier if any issues arise.

Any business with middle men making nothing trying to earn money with a pencil will always be a problem.