ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- I went to the hotel I had reserved for two nights through Orbitz and it was dirtier than a rent-by-the-hour hotel (I would imagine). I complained, setup another hotel, and left a note to the manager demanding my money back for the first night that they had charged me for. I called a week later and the manager said she would refund ALL charges to Orbitz and that Orbitz would have to refund me.
Hector from the Manila call center, lied to me and said that she refused to refund what Orbitz had paid them. The manager said that Orbitz had called and asked why she was not penalizing me for leaving the hotel shortly after check-in. He offered half of my money back for both days, even though I had only even partially used one day anyway.
When I called and complained to another representative about the Filipino's lies and manipulations, this time I got a North Dakota call center. Only upon threat of legal action and a never ending series of calls to discuss the issue did he agree to refund all of my money.
I paid about $140. Orbitz paid the hotel about $105, and then the hotel had to pay Orbitz a commission on the $105 as well. The trick to getting around the liars at Orbitz is to get the Orbitz price and then call the hotel and have them match it. The hotel gets more money and will usually do it. And your life will be a lot easier, dealing with the hotel directly.
CAIRO -- This is a story of literally getting stranded in the desert by Orbitz. I was outside Cairo when this happened. After booking my travel through Orbitz, I added an extra night with the local hotel directly. They were happy to make the change, and asked me to confirm with Orbitz as there was an administrative hold up on the Orbitz side.
I spent 30 hours trying to contact Orbitz to make the change. Instead of listening to my problem, they asked me to cancel and re-book my entire itinerary. When I tried to do so, their systems showed the hotel as booked when the front desk insisted the hotel was not booked. As a result, I did not have a place to stay during one night of my trip and had to consider unappealing choices such as sleeping in lobbies or other public places. I ended up paying directly in local currency to get a room at the hotel.
I have found Orbitz straightforward for domestic travel. But please do not trust them for international travel, as their local partners did not trust them either in my experience. Orbitz lacks the staff and communications infrastructure to support changes to international itineraries.
I recently made a one night stay hotel reservation through Orbitz "Guaranteed Lowest Price" price. I was charged $140.67, which was paid through my credit card. When I checked out of the hotel I was told that Orbitz hadn't paid but that my price was on $111.40. I thought great, Orbitz DID get me a lower price. I received my credit card bill today, and NO I paid twice and $30.00 more through Orbitz. When I called they took 30 minutes to get me to someone that was supposed to be able to help me and then told me that it was because the hotel kept changing their prices and that the hotel would reimburse me the 111.40 charge.
After several emails I was told that they charge a service charge for airfare, I told them I didn't not book airfare, they said that the $30.00 was the amount that they charge for their service fee. Several different stories from several different people! BAD BUSINESS!!! I am a business owner and I know the difference between legal and ethical. Orbitz should be ASHAMED!!!
Booked a hotel in Rio de Janeiro through Orbitz. When I called the hotel 4 days prior to departure to confirm the reservation and request a non-smoking room (as recommended right on the Orbitz website), I was told by the desk that our reservation had been cancelled by the travel agent. We called Orbitz customer service (in India via their 800 number) and spent several hours on the phone only to be told that, although they would not talk to the hotel, they were sure that the reservation was still good.
The representative was not even aware that you had to dial a different number to contact Orbitz from outside the country (again, information available on the website), and we were told that we could call them if we got there and had no hotel room, but there was really nothing they could do. We cannot book another hotel as Orbitz refuses to release us from our pre-paid room charges. I will never, ever book with Orbitz again--for anything.
I booked a 2 night stay a month in advance. The charge ($227.33) was billed to my credit card when booked. When I arrived at the hotel I said the bill was paid. The hotel said Orbitz doesn't do that and insisted that I pay again. Since I didn't have my credit card bill with me I had to pay again ($173.60).
When I returned home and called Orbitz they informed me that they would refund the hotel charge (which was on another credit card) not their charge of $227.33. Their policy is not a guarantee on the lowest price. When I complained that I felt that this was deceptive, they hung up on me. When I called my credit card company to complain they said no credit was issued since my call to Orbitz 24 hours before.
UNKNOWN -- Needed to correct my name on a motel reservation made through Orbitz. Waited on hold 4 times for a total of about an hour to get this small matter corrected. I will... never... use Orbitz again. Even their introductory announcement said it would be a half hour wait. They don't have enough employees.
Be careful with booking hotel rooms through Orbitz! We booked a room within room Jacuzzi for our 1 year wedding anniversary. Got confirmation by email from Orbitz and less than 24 hours before our reservation they gave us a call that our hotel room with Jacuzzi is not available. We've been on the phone for more than 4 hours with 7 people from Orbitz from all over the world and there is no solution!!! Happy anniversary to us!
Today I was supposed to fly to Puerto Vallarta, I took public transportation and of all days to have delays. I showed up at the airline counter one hour prior to my departure. They had closed the flight. I called customer Support at Orbitz, they said to me that I showed up late and that I had a non-refundable ticket. They would NOT help me at all. I had to purchase a new ticket in order to try to get there tomorrow. I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN!!!