The Orbitz Review

This past summer I had planned a trip using www.orbitz.com for my first time trip to the ocean at Ocean City, Maryland. The trip was going to be a romantic and fun get-a-way, but turned into a scheduling nightmare.

We used Orbitz to reserve our hotel stay for three nights. We had chosen the Comfort Inn Gold Coast right on the Coastal Highway in Ocean City, Maryland. The itinerary stated that we would have a king size bed, non-smoking, a microwave, and a refrigerator for a total of $449.85. On the itinerary it does state that the requests cannot be guaranteed and that Orbitz recommends that you contact the hotel directly to ensure that your request can be accommodated. So I did just that. Comfort Inn Gold Coast did have a king size bed and all the above offered available for the dates planned. We had scheduled this vacation about two months in advance so we could get what we wanted.

Here it was now, 24 hours before our departure and I get an email confirmation of our itinerary that now says: 2 double beds instead of a king size bed. So I call Orbitz about the mix up and they tell me that I have to call the hotel. So I did. And they told me that there is still the king size bed available, however our reservation had suddenly came up in their computer systems as two double beds. I was told that in order to change it, I would have to cancel the reservation, which would be a $149 additional charge (one night room and tax) because we were in the 24 hour time frame prior to arrival. Then I would have to call Orbitz, cancel my order through them in order to get my credit card refunded in eight to ten business days. Then I would have to call the hotel back and set up reservations through them for the selected room and pay a total of $620 instead of my original confirmed price of $449.85.

Obviously my sweetie and I said no and dealt with sleeping apart in the two double beds. But that's not my point.

The representatives at Orbitz seemed to be script bound when speaking with their customers. Unfortunately, and I hate to sound this way, but the agents that I did speak with did not seem to understand English very well and had a very rough time understanding my complaint. I was even told to call back in the morning for a resolution. Now of course, that would have cut the time frame of arrival even closer and may have cost us more money if we would have decided to go with the only option for resolution.

Even though there is a footer stating that the requests cannot be guaranteed, I believe if a scheduling company such as Orbitz is getting customers for airlines, hotels, and car rentals, they should be more in contact with their fellow business associates and make sure that their customers are getting what they are requesting and paying for.

I had emailed Orbitz several times about the situation and in regards to their customer service, but I never received an email back.

I highly recommend choosing an alternative site for booking your trips. I know I will never be trusting Orbitz again.