Today’s New York Times travel section has a good article about online travel agencies and why it is difficult to get refunds from them in the current circumstances. It’s not just stonewalling out of greed, though the author is not justifying the practices of some the purveyors. My take-away is that it is all the more reason to deal directly with airlines, etc.
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7053 posts
Which article..could you post a link? Are you referring to the Expedias and Booking.coms, etc? Flights only or lodging?
There have been so many articles about this in various newspapers that I'm losing track.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4087 posts
A simple Google search found this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/travel/coronavirus-travel-trip-refunds.html
Hope that's what the first post meant.
Posted by
OP
Portland
3641 posts
No, that’s not the article to which I referred. It was in the Sunday (4/12) Travel section, which I have now passed on to my neighbor, so can’t provide a link. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. It deals with flights, lodgings, tours, etc.
Posted by
SF Bay Area
327 posts
Maybe this? but it's from last Friday ... I guess not. But it's an interesting read and I had missed it :-)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/travel/coronavirus-refund-travel-ota.html
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32345 posts
This is exactly why I prefer to book flights directly with the airline or use a local travel agent that I can talk to in person. I don't foresee ever having to use an online agency.
Posted by
8168 posts
Ken, you nailed it, book with your airlines. I always used Kayak.com to check available low prices, but almost always find that direct airline bookings are very competitive with some of the so called deals.
As for greed, profit is what keeps our economy going and I have no problem with profit as long as the product or service that I purchase is not offered with fraudulent means.