I wanted resolution, so I called the hotline number today. The long and short of it – I reconfirmed one of my two reservations, so that one will be honored. I didn’t reconfirm the second, so they’re cancelling it. Is that right? Certainly it’s better than nothing for me, and works out in Expedia’s favor as well.
If you take some time to read the many posts on Flyertalk about the Expedia “deal” on hotels in Japan, it becomes crystal clear how poorly run the company must be. The reps who work for Hilton and Expedia have clearly not been informed of how to respond to the overwhelming number of requests pouring in, nor do they have any idea of what to do or what the official policy is. Expedia’s failure to react initially created a gigantic snowball effect that led the situation to implode.
The latest of note is that Expedia now plans to cancel all reservations outright. Travelers who already completed the arrangements will be screwed. Individuals who had Expedia confirmed their reservations many times over will be told to bug off.
Is any of this right? Taking advantage of the initial deal is a grey area. The deal itself may or may not be legitimate. Had Expedia contacted everyone who booked the rate quickly notifying them of the mistake and indicated that they may not honor the reservations, many people, myself included, would have appreciated the candidness and let the situation go. The confusion because Expedia knowingly confirmed the mistaken rates, and now is trying to figure out how to get out of the situation, leads everyone with hard feelings.
This reminds me of why it is best to make arrangements directly with the service providers. Third parties only add another layer for error, and so far as I can see don’t deliver any significant value. This has become especially true in the age of relatively transparent Internet pricing, where I can quickly compare multiple vendors of the same product with similar service profiles.
In any case, Expedia has yet to contact me about my trip. The longer they wait, the better off I am.
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.
Once I fly back from Phoenix tomorrow, I’ll be home until February January.
The strangest part of the Phoenix area, for a pureblood blue stater such as myself, are the streets named after such luminaries as Goldwater and Cheney. Yet for such a rah-rah conservative place, the more confusing aspect is the overbearing social engineering. For crying out loud, does every single parking lot need a speed bump every 20 feet? This place must have the highest per capita speed bump usage in the world.
Everyone hear is excited about the return of winter. Of the places I visited, some have special winter hours, or winter specials. Of course, it’s easy to understand why when the winter highs are still in the 80s. Who wouldn’t be excited about that, when previously daytime highs would cross 100?
I always thought NJ road signs were bad. They frequently would provide some direction but then end unexpectedly, or not provide enough warning at all. But Hawaii won the race to the bottom on my last day there. When the H1 suddenly split in to three different highways without warning, I was lost, spending the next 30 minutes driving in circles.
Earlier in the day, I drove out along the coast, stopping a few scenic overlooks to catch a view of the ocean. I cut back inland, stopping by Pali Overlook, which provided a fantastic view out over the island. Then it was down to Manoa Falls, a beautiful, breathtaking view of water cascading down in to a small lagoon at the base of the cliff. The hike itself was quiet, with only moderate foot traffic, very likely because of the relatively rough terrain. Then it was back to Waikiki, thanks to the help of two hitchhikers from Seattle I picked up.
And finally, it was time to begin the 18 hour (door to door) process of returning home.
Another day of fun in the sun here in Hawaii, where I picked up a deep red color all over by shoulders, as well as a wonderful sore feeling all over my upper body. Three hours in the water this morning seemed to do me in.
This evening I decided to head down to Chinatown, hoping to see some activity. The bus ride was the most exciting part of the experience, since nearly everything in Chinatown was shut down by around 5:30 – 6 pm.
But my wonderful resort has everything necessary to entertain!
About 5200 miles, according to NW. Hawaii is amazing, and I’ve really not seen anything yet. I was just happy to go swimming in the ocean for the first time in at least nine years today.
Over the next 60 days, Marc is planning to earn 1,000,000 miles on Air Canada.
And I’m crazy for flying to Hawaii for three days?
I usually don’t stay at places like this. I knew it would be an experience when, checking in to the hotel after arriving at the airport, the person greeting me handed me a map of the grounds.
Granted, I do like my fair share of nice hotels, especially those in Asia (great service, reasonable prices). But a resort, full of shops, restaurants, pools, beaches, and something like four or five gigantic towers housing some ridiculous number of people? Who needs to leave the hotel grounds at a place like this? The place nearly reeks of crass commercialism.
The view from the balcony’s not bad, though.