So the saga with Expedia over the incredible deal on a hotel room continues. From Sunday through Wednesday, Expedia customer service representatives (CSRs) were indicating there was a mistake and confirming reservations. So it was a curious turn of events yesterday evening when Expedia began cancelling reservations and sending a note telling the holders of reservations that they must rebook at the regular rate. The confusion mounted when Expedia indicated they would honor bookings for November, for those booked as part of a package deal (air+hotel), and for some people who didn’t appear to fit any particular profile but not others.
The concern and anger toward Expedia mounted. The most confusing aspect? How can you unilaterally confirm, then cancel, so many reservations without any sense of consistency. Threats of lawsuits and more confusion around who was forcing the cancellations, Hilton or Expedia, swarmed around the conversations. Reporters became curious about the story for their travel sections. A case study in how to create a PR disaster was looming.
What happens next? I don’t know.