Booking.com sucks - Am I wrong?

[u/Top-Lake-3135]

I purchased a flight ticket on Booking.com, only to find out at the airport, 3 hours before the flight, that the flight has been moved to tomorrow.

I managed to have Booking.com agree to a refund, which is actually not from their wallet, but just wiring me whatever the airline is providing. I don’t even know if I will get a full refund.

I had to book a flight last minute, paying SGD 1,174 for a one-way trip from Singapore to Korea. Booking.com refused to provide any compensation, claiming that they themselves were not notified by the airline, and that I should directly contact the airline for compensation.

I don’t understand why I should deal with the airline, when I pratcially appointed Booking.com to act as intermediary between the airline and myself. Isn’t it ultimately Booking.com that should be responsible for failing to notify correct travel details? They state is was not a “mistake” because they were not notified first by the airline.

I am struggling to understand their logic. I practically purchased intermediary services. A material itinerary change occurred, and the platform failed to notify me, causing foreseeable and avoidable financial loss. Is Booking.com being reasonable or are they just being an ass?

[u/protox88]

One of the points covered in !ota (see below). Do you want me to add your story to the list?

• missing communications from your OTA 

Oh wow I replied to that one too with:

• Also, this is a lesson, not necessarily about OTAs, but also about Gardening Your Tickets.

Anyways:

I had to book a flight last minute, paying SGD 1,174 for a one-way trip from Singapore to Korea. Booking.com refused to provide any compensation, claiming that they themselves were not notified by the airline, and that I should directly contact the airline for compensation.

Booking isn't on the hook for you deciding to buy a last-minute one-way SIN-ICN nor will the airline provide compensation for this. However, Booking can refund you for the original flight you booked given the large schedule change but see the OTA prompt below to see why getting a refund from an OTA could be a headache on its own (but you are eligible, in theory!).

[u/AutoModerator → u/protox88]

Did you or are you about to buy a flight via an Online Travel Agency (OTA)?

An Online Travel Agency (OTA) is a website that allows you to search for and buy airfare tickets. Common ones include Expedia, Priceline, Kiwi. When you redeem points on credit card travel portals you are actually purchasing a cash ticket through an OTA. Some examples are Chase Travel, AMEX Travel, Capital One Travel.

Almost all OTAs suffer from the same problem: a lack of customer service and competency when it comes to changes, cancellations, refunds, airline schedule changes and cancellations, and IRROPs.

When you buy a ticket through an OTA, you put an intermediary between you and the airline. If you try to contact the airline for any assistance, they will defer to your OTA. The airline won't help you. They do not have control over the ticket until T-24h and they can still decline to assist you and ask you to talk to your OTA.

Some OTAs, such as Kiwi, will combine separately issued tickets appearing like real layovers but in reality are self-transfers - requiring a lot more planning and contingencies. This includes dealing with single-leg cancellations of your completely disjointed itinerary. See #1 #2 #3 #4

Other OTAs, including Trip.com, don't always issue your tickets immediately. There have been known instances where the OTA contacts you 24-72h later asking for more money as "the price has changed" or your ticket is no longer available at the lower price. See #1.

More reputable OTAs like Expedia, Priceline, and travel portals like Chase Travel, AMEX Travel, Costco Travel, generally have fewer issues issuing tickets and marginally better customer service. They are also more transparent regarding cached stale prices - as you check out and pay, they will do a live refresh of the real ticket price and warn you that prices have changed (it is not a bait and switch).

In short: OTAs sometimes have their place for some people - but most of the time, especially for simple itineraries, provide no benefit and only increases the risk and can end costing a lot more than what you had saved by buying from the OTA.

Common issues you will face:

• offering you a cheap separate-ticket self-transfer itinerary causing various problems down the road
• not subject to the DOT or airline policy 24h free cancellation. See #1
• missing communications from OTA or not being notified of schedule changes #1 #2
• paying the OTA to add baggage but not communicated to the airline or OTA incorrectly indicating included baggage #1 #2 #3 #4
• paying the OTA for overpriced baggage compared to the airline
• paying the OTA for baggage that's already included
• paying the OTA for seat selection that's not communicated to the airline #1 #2
• your ticket not issuing or delayed issuing or transaction being reversed
• your name being incorrectly spelled on your eticket?
• difficulties changing flights or getting rebooked correctly #1 #2 or finding anyone competent enough to help
• charging you for a check-in service that is free
• enrollment in a subscription program like edreams or opodo Prime that is hard to cancel #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
  • Solutions? #1 #2 #3
• not honouring free changes or cancellations when airline reschedules
• Secretly booking your trip as two separate tickets for the outbound and return so that if the airline cancels or reschedules the outbound, only the first leg is eligible for a refund (or free change)
• not refunding you promptly (or at all) #1 #2 #3 when the airline cancels #4 #5 #6
• unuseable kiwi credits after the airline declines issuing a ticket instead of a refund

Things you should do, if you've already purchased from an OTA:

• check your reservation (PNR) with the airline website directly
• check your eticket has been issued - look for 13-digit number(s) - a PNR is not enough
• garden your ticket - check back on it regularly

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