Today:
1) I go to book tickets for me and my sister to go to Wisconsin. The two tickets, plus a rental car, are quoted at $1,003. Expedia verifies the price; I say "purchase." I get the message my card was not charged because the price changed, and my new price is $1,923 + 75 for the rental car. No, thanks, I don't think I'll purchase that.
2) I call 1-800-EXPEDIA. I figure this is a better idea than trying to buy a different ticket and getting stung again. The lady finds that if she adds a hotel for 1 night for me, the package price becomes $1,051.84. Right. I add a hotel, and the price drops $950. Who is benefitting from this racket? We review the itinerary - twice - $1,051.84. After I get off the call, I check my itinerary. There are now two. The hotel (for 3 nights) + flight is $1,065; the car rental is $75, or a total of $1138. My second bait-and-switch of the day. Nice job, Expedia.
3) I send an email. They can't do refunds via email; please call.
4) I call after I get home from work. The woman says she can rebook the package for the right price. Then she realizes I have two itineraries, one for the flight/hotel, one for the car. Oh, she says, I can just cancel the hotel reservation for you (since I didn't need it anyway). The airplane fare is fixed, and I will get a $238 refund for the hotel. My total bill - flight + car rental - is now $900. Note: the prior travel agent I talked to said I could not cancel the hotel.
Please explain to me what part out of any of this makes any sense? Is the travel industry really this screwed up now, where they try to gouge me for $950 that I later wind up getting for $150 cheaper than the original quote, because I ADD services? Or is Expedia figuring that if they don't raise the price until you're ready to purchase, you'll go ahead and buy it anyway?
Shopping at Expedia today was like shopping at a used-car lot: you have to watch out for how you're going to get screwed.
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