Orbitz Reviews
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About Orbitz
Orbitz provides travel booking services. It offers options for hotels, flights, car rentals and vacation packages. Since 2001, Orbitz has used a convenient interface and solid search techniques to assist travelers in discovering and booking complete travel plans.
- User-friendly booking platform
- Responsive customer service
- Price comparison features
- Inconsistent customer service quality
- Hidden fees and charges
- Booking errors and miscommunication
Orbitz Reviews
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Reviewed March 30, 2014
Booked through Orbitz.com on Thursday, March 27, 2014. Received Hotel Confirmation, and my credit card was charged in full. Orbitz sent email on March 29, 2014 that "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." Very disappointed in the whole process and Orbitz specifically. Orbitz should honor reservations made on their website. This is just bad business. I have lost faith in Orbitz, and will advise others not to use Orbitz, as they don't honor their reservations.
Reviewed March 30, 2014
I reserved 2 days this summer at Davids Dead Sea hotel through orbitz.com. The reservation was confirmed and the following day orbitz sent out an email saying that due to a technical error, the rate quoted was not going to be honored and they are canceling my reservation. The reservation was confirmed and paid for.. Do I have any recourse?
Reviewed March 30, 2014
Very disappointed by Orbitz. Booked two hotel rooms with Orbitz.com on Thursday March 28 and I got a confirmation email & charged my credit card in advance. 2 days later I get an email that says, "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." Orbitz is not honoring its commitment and doesn't care that I made plans around these hotel reservations! Orbitz should be held responsible for their advertising & if they post a room at a certain rate they need to honor & they can take it up with the hotel if need be. This is not a way to treat customers!
Reviewed March 30, 2014
I booked a hotel room with Orbitz.com on Thursday March 28 and I got a confirmation email & charged my credit card in advance. 2 days later I get an email that says, "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." Orbitz should be held responsible for their advertising & if they post a room at a certain rate they need to honor & they can take it up with the hotel if need be. I want the merchandise (hotel room) that I paid for and if Orbitz cannot get the room at that price they should fill in the remainder for me. That is the fair and honest way to do business.
Reviewed March 30, 2014
I booked on March 27th on Orbitz.com a hotel stay at the David Hotel and Spa by the Dead Sea for April 1st. To my surprise I get an email 2 days later that the hotel made a price mistake and won't honor my reservation! When making a reservation so close in time I had already made all my plans with school and a car rental. When I called the hotel they said it was Orbitz.com's mistake though in their email they claim otherwise!!! I can't know who's at fault but as an upstanding business I would expect them to honor their reservations!! Just a word of warning to the public, "be careful when they advertise cheap deals they might just cancel at a moment's notice."
Reviewed March 30, 2014
I booked a hotel room with Orbitz.com on Thursday March 28. Got a confirmation email & charged my credit card in advance. 2 days later I get an email that says, "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." Orbitz should be held responsible for their advertising & if they post a room at a certain rate they need to honor & they can take it up with the hotel if need be. I want the merchandise (hotel room) that I paid for and if Orbitz cannot get the room at that price they should fill in the remainder for me. That is the fair and honest way to do business.
Reviewed March 30, 2014
Booked through Orbitz.com on Thursday, March 27, 2014. Hotel Confirmation - David Dead Sea Resort & Spa - Ein Bokek Trip cost. Orbitz sent email on March 29, 2014 that "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." What technical glitch? The amount advertised is the amount that they must honor! Disgusting way to do business. Both the David Dead Sea Resort and Spa Hotel and Orbitz should be ashamed of themselves. I highly suggest that everyone who was burned by this deal join forces against Orbitz and the hotel. I want what I paid for. I also had to pay in full in advance. Furthermore, I have YET to be refunded by Orbitz!!! Orbitz is blaming the hotel, the hotel is blaming Orbitz. This is just bad business.
Reviewed March 30, 2014
I booked two nights at David's Dead Sea Resort. The next day, I received an email saying that due to a technical error, my order was cancelled. Horrible!
Reviewed March 29, 2014
Booked through Orbitz.com on Fri, March 28, 2014. Hotel Confirmation - David Dead Sea resort & spa - Ein Bokek Hotel (2 nights) 2 guests; Total due at booking $81.56 (Promo code applied -$17.28). Paid in full in advance I might add. Orbitz sent email on March 29, 2014 that, "Due to a technical error, the rate quoted for your reservation was not correct and will not be honored by the hotel. As a result, we have been instructed by the hotel to cancel your reservation." What technical glitch? A promo code of less than $9 a day discount? This they cancel a booking for? Disgusting way to do business. Should be ashamed of themselves.
I highly suggest you be careful when doing business with shady online companies that don't value customers and aren't held to any standards. I want what I paid for or otherwise since due to a technical error as they say, the rate quoted for my reservation was not correct, then in fact I want a refund equal to the so-called real amount of that room so I may purchase that room for the value they say it really goes for. That would be a middle of the road fair settlement.
Reviewed March 20, 2014
I booked flights at one time from FLL to SFO and then SFO to SEATAC with Orbitz weeks in advance. The flights were days apart. The second leg had to be delayed by one day. Normal pre-pay from SFO to SEATAC is $79. Changes within a week are booked at $199. I made a change a week in advance. Orbitz re-rated the two flights as one and charged $400 to change a $79 ticket. I should have been informed that the less expensive would be to book a new flight at $199 and saved $200. If Orbitz was an ethical company, they would have credited the $79 against the cost of the new $199 ticket. Instead, they re-rated the whole package and charged an additional $400. When traveling for business (as I did) or pleasure, I will use Orbitz for research, then book directly with the airlines as separate flights. This way, when disruption to flight schedules occur, you will only pay change charges on the single leg, not on the entire package.
Reviewed March 16, 2014
We booked a hotel through Orbitz, it was the Casa Condado Hotel In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Phone Number 787-200-8482, email info@casacondadohotel.com. This hotel did not have an elevator or a bus boy to move luggage. It didn't have any phones in the rooms. The rooms were like small boxes and the plumbing did not work very well. The TV didn't work and we had to go down 2 flights of stairs to tell the desk clerk. She never got anyone so we went down again and told her that she needed to get our TV repaired and we were not going to climb the stairs again to tell her. She was the only one there and she finally came to check on us and did get it working. Leading up to our room there was strong urine smell that made you want to throw up. When we climbed down the 2 flights of stairs to tell someone, there was no one around to tell at the desk.
When we arrived at the hotel with our luggage at 6:30 AM the door to the hotel was locked and we could not get in. No one was around so we sat out side on the door step until the person finally got there to let us in 10 minutes later. This hotel we paid 113.50 for the room and if we could have got our money back we would have gone somewhere else. They spoke broken English and was hard to communicate with them. Luckily we were only staying there one night to catch our cruise ship the next morning. This is not acceptable and Orbitz told us that this was a good hotel. I will not be booking through Orbitz again. The record locator number was **. WE WERE BOOKED IN ON Sat. 2-15-14.
Reviewed March 14, 2014
My daughter and her husband booked the vacation package through Orbitz well in advance. When they arrived to the hotel - Viva Wyndham, in Dominican - they found out that the hotel doesn't have any rooms available. The hotel sent them to the other hotel without even providing the transportation. And the room in the other hotel - Live in Canoa - was horrible. I called Orbitz, complaint about the situation, but was told that nothing can be done. Viva Wyndham practice this all the time: I found approximately 10 people who were going through the same situation with Viva Wyndham. Orbitz must have known about that and still they book people to Viva Wyndham, they don't check with the hotel about reservations and they offer nothing to people who found themselves in this horrible situation. They even were not able to upgrade my daughter's room. STAY AWAY FROM ORBITZ! They are vacation ruiners!
Reviewed March 6, 2014
To my surprise, when the transaction went through my credit card I was charged $ 781.08. When I called them, they covered themselves that there is a disclaimer on the purchased ticket, and yes in very small light print it is indicated: Prices listed are in USD unless noted. It seems like they are used to this type of complaint as they did not even want to accommodate me. Obviously, the complaints are insufficient to change their ways as they turn out big profits from this... Will proceed with reporting this to "The Canadian Consumer Protection Agency" as Canadians we need to protect ourselves.
Reviewed March 4, 2014
Orbitz cancelled my reservation. We booked Key West for Feb 2014 (reservation was booked Aug 2013, that means Orbitz had payment in full since Aug 2013) with friends and our friend had to cancel. My friend called Orbitz, cancelled her reservation Dec 2013. What happened is they cancelled both reservations. I have documentation that they cancelled the hotel. They refuse to take responsibility. I had to book another hotel, pay the higher rate.
While in Key West I went to The Orchid Key and my original and asked for the email showing that the reservation was cancelled by Orbitz. They gave me a copy. I just spoke to Orbitz and they still will not take responsibility. I would like this investigated and full compensation made, for my hotel, additional fee I had to pay including the resort fee that was not on my Expedia receipt, breakfast and cocktail hour. I do not think this is too much to ask.
This is really a unbelievable story. I called to confirm my reservation with my hotel 5 days before I left for Key West, Fri Feb 21, 2014 and was made aware that room had been cancelled. We had to scramble to find another room. Key West books up during high season. We had 3 choices and we chose The Southernmost Hotel. I am so glad I listened to my inner self and called to confirm or we would have arrived with NO WHERE TO STAY. ORBITZ COULD CARE LESS. I have spend 15-20 hours now dealing with this problem and it is still not resolved. Trying to upload documents, for some reason I cannot send them. I can email them to you upon request.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2014
I found flights to Do indicate and back that I wanted to book, spent a lot of it figuring out the details and tried to book online. Went through the whole process. I hit accept and it times me out - was it booked or not? I don't know. Go back and try again - everything is correct but nothing works when I hit accept. Did this a number of times. It seems that nothing has been booked as I haven't gotten an email so I called. The woman looks up the same flights and it is $10 more now, which is fine, I'll take it. She takes all my info but it doesn't work again. After ONE HOUR on hold, they tell me that it is some airline's fault and not theirs, the flight will be an additional $400 which is 50% of the ticket price. I then look it up on their website and they are still advertising the price at $400 cheaper which I tell them, which they claim isn't their fault. How is it not your fault if you have a completely incorrect price advertised? In a retail store it is typically illegal to advertise one price and then charge another. The customer service was slow and they wasted 4 hours of my time reviewing flights, figuring out logistics, filling out web forms, being on hold. My experience could not have been more awful and it's now past midnight.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2014
Advertised fares for flights with stopovers were $685 - the stopover happened to be approx 3.5 hrs, so I opted for the $785 fare with a 2-hour layover as I had flown this leg before & chose not to put my daughter traveling alone on such an arduous journey. SOMEHOW - we were given the 3.5-hr layover at the the higher price. Orbitz refused to stand behind the advertised prices and explicitly said there was NO GLITCH in the system... Well, the glitch is there - and I am being charged for flights I am now being told never existed - so why would I spend the extra $100??? This was my 2nd and LAST negative experience with Orbitz. There are plenty of other travel sites and apps or engines that can do a much better job...
Reviewed Feb. 17, 2014
On Sept. 1st, 2013, I purchased 5 airline tickets using Orbitz online services. The total fare was $4500 and the flight was for Sept. 21. Before I completed my order, I opened the fare rules page to check the cancellation policy. I read that the tickets were refundable with $100 cancellation fee per adult ticket and less for a child ticket. On Sept. 5 our plans were changed and I had to cancel the tickets. When I called customer service I was told that the tickets are nonrefundable. They said that this was the airline policy and they cannot change it (American Airlines). They explained that on the fare rules page there were few fare rules and the most restricted one applies. They did not accept my complaint that the page was misleading and it was difficult to realize that there was more than one fare rule. An email to customer service did not help as well.
The issue is that when the fare rules page opens, it does not present all the rules in bullets. It only expends the first rule (which is not the most restricted one), while the user needs to scroll down to realize that there are more rules preceding the first one. When I called American Airlines to ask about the refund they told me that they cannot refund me, but Orbitz can. I do not know who holds my money, Orbitz or American Airlines, but I do know that it was a deliberate deception.
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2014
Booked thru Orbitz for 1 night at a Quality Inn in Ky for rate of $79. Desk clerk was kind enough to advise me that I could have had the room for $63 if I'd called the hotel direct. Quoted rate was also the same $79 on the Choice website. So you think Orbitz/Expedia and the other websites are giving you bargains? Think again, and call direct next time. You might be surprised at the real deals available.
Reviewed Jan. 20, 2014
I booked a room at the Showboat Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City on 1/17 for the following night through Orbitz. I arrived for check-in at 9pm... did not have keys in my hand until 10:55pm. Orbitz neglected to process my reservation and the hotel had no records of my reservation, after being treated like a nuisance by hotel staff I was given a post it note with a fax number on it and was told to try and have Orbitz fax over the confirmation....but regardless the hotel was sold out - no rooms. After several disconnects and miscommunication with the Orbitz foreign call center I was assured the fax was sent. I was standing by the fax machine the entire time... plenty of faxes came through, not mine.
I finally was able to convince the supervisor on duty that I did have a reservation, after waiting for almost two hours she reluctantly but luckily found an open room. She held my credit card for the full amount until they straighten the issue with Orbitz, $383.90. Quite honestly my night had already been ruined. What you expect to be a fun and entertaining evening was nothing more than an expensive and extremely frustrating waste of my very limited time off. Both the Showboat and Orbitz demonstrated how little they appreciate your business. In such fiercely competitive industries as gaming and travel, customer service is priority one, PERIOD. I'll never use Orbitz or a Harrah’s property again, I was genuinely treated like garbage, and I will be spreading the word up the ladder.
Reviewed Jan. 15, 2014
I had used Orbitz a number of times for flights, cars, and hotels with acceptable results. My wife and I booked airfare too and a car rental in San Francisco through Orbitz. The rental ended up being with Dollar. When we arrived at the rental center, I was stunned at the length of the line at the Dollar counter. I timed my total wait in the line: it was two hours and 14 minutes (you read that correctly). During my time in line, I phoned Orbitz twice. The first time I was on hold nearly 15 minutes and then the call dropped. The second time I waited about 13 minutes before having the call answered. Orbitz was absolutely no help and the Orbitz agent's attitude was more or less "tough luck".
At the rental counter, I asked the agent if this was a really bad day. Her answer was, "this is a LITTLE worse than normal". So Orbitz had to know that waiting time was usually a disaster at Dollar in San Francisco. Orbitz could have at least posted a warning that in return for Dollar's low cost, you would pay a big time premium. Of course, with the delay, we got caught in rush hour traffic and missed an event that was important to us. When we got home from the trip, I emailed Orbitz about my problem. I'm still waiting for a response. I've decided that I now like all the other travel websites a lot more than Orbitz.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2014
BEWARE: When you book air, hotel and car... The RENTAL CAR has a separate billing. It appears that the price is for everything, when in fact the car is charged separately. Also, make sure you check out the hotel. Orbitz book a hotel for me in Atlanta and the hotel was under MAJOR renovations. They put me in a room with holes in the wall, dirty bathtub and an unsightly environment. I was at a breaking point because for the last three years I have endure major construction on my block and then to have to go away and endure major construction made me feel as though I was in jail because there were no other hotels to transfer to.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2014
I recently booked a hotel through Orbitz.com. Their site indicated that it had a ZERO dollar cancellation fee. (No charges for cancellations). Well, unfortunately, I had to reschedule my stay at this hotel. So I called Orbitz a few days before to reschedule. Here is a breakdown of my frustration:
2) I tried to fill out a contact form on Orbitz.com (None to be found).
3) I looked all over the site for online chat with a representative (None to be found).
4) I called the Hyatt Hotel to explain to them my situation. They said they couldn't do anything because it was booked through Orbitz.com and informed me that they would NOT charge the room any cost.
5) I went back to the Orbitz site to manage my "trip" as they call it and found that if I cancelled I would still be charge full price for the room; if I rescheduled my stay, I would still be charged the full price and would have to make another reservation. (What a scam that is) Hotel doesn't charge a thing yet Orbitz hits me with a full charge for the room even after they clearly advertised on the site that the hotel/Orbitz has zero cancellation fees.
I filed a report with the Chicago Better Business Bureau and will escalate this until I get answers. I have used other sites like Travelocity and others and all of them answer their phones and come to a resolution that met my needs and expectations. Orbitz, you just lost a regular great customer. You have left a very bad taste in my mouth and a very poor impression of your company's standards. I will also let others know on my social media sites of your lack of customer support. In this day of modern communication through chat, email and social networking surely Orbitz can find a way for customers to communicate with them if there is a problem with their reservations. The reason they don't is because they don't want to hear from them, period. The good news is that my credit card company has agreed to reimburse me the charges that Orbitz was trying to steal from me. Buyers beware of Orbitz. Look at other sites before making a decision to book.
Reviewed Dec. 27, 2013
To begin with, I asked him to please write down my telephone number so that he could call me back in case we got disconnected (I just didn't want to wait thru another 45 min. on hold again, and then have to go thru the whole identification and problem explanation process again if the call got dropped). He reluctantly wrote down my call back number after telling me that "he was not supposed to do that".
I then asked him to please go to the (British Airways) site and ascertain for himself that the flight in question has indeed been cancelled. After another 15 minutes on hold, he gets back on the line and agrees that, indeed, the flight had been cancelled, and that he needed to talk to a supervisor to arrange any kind of re-booking on another flight. I asked him to please do that. He then placed me on hold a second time, and within 5 seconds, the call was disconnected, and of course, I was never called back (or contacted in any other way)! I was a very frequent customer of Orbitz and they have all my contact info on file.
I was able to book another flight (at my expense...) on a SWISS flight that allowed me to make my connecting flight (LHR to SFO), but certainly with no help or advise from Orbitz's customer service dept.! Orbitz' "Luigi" was totally un-invested in my problem, failed to provide any assistance or guidance (and I'm pretty certain that he just didn't feel like doing his job and decided to just disconnect the call). There are plenty of other, more customer-friendly companies with which to book economical flights, and I will never use Orbitz.com again!
Reviewed Dec. 16, 2013
I am from Toronto Canada. My son booked an Air Canada ticket to London England for Christmas day. The price quoted on Orbitz is $1367. Visa was charged $1491. Really? We couldn't figure out what went wrong. We checked the website from top to bottom - nothing to explain the price change. I call. They tell me it's in American funds?? I am in shock but there is nothing that can be done. I think it's ridiculous that they can mislead consumers the way that they are doing. There has to be a law to protect against this. I explained that all other website, Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia all indicate what funds they are charging with. I think it's fraudulent. Will never book with them again. There is no one in that company that takes responsibility. Consumer beware..... Unfortunately, they keep it a really quiet secret that they are American....
Reviewed Nov. 26, 2013
This is the second time this company does the same. They advertise airfares and when one tries to purchase the ticket, they turn around and say no longer available. This is okay once, but not twice. Now the biggest problem is that they put a hold on my card that last10 days, preventing me from getting ANY tickets at all until the hold is lifted. I've tried talking to them, both times, back in June and just today. However, they probably think it's a big joke to play with people's time and money. I doubt very much that I'm the only person Orbitz is doing this to.
Reviewed Nov. 18, 2013
I booked a hotel in Charleston (Vendue Inn) for my parents' weekend getaway through Orbitz. Orbitz had this hotel as great hotel with different amenities. It never mentioned anything about it was under constructions or that amenities will not be available. I booked this hotel because it had a rooftop bar and restaurants that seemed very romantic for my parents. I was informed by my parents when they checked in that the hotel is under construction and rooftop bar and restaurants are not available till spring. My parents basically said that they would never stay at that hotel again. I contacted Orbitz to informed them of their false advertisement. But they didn't do anything to fix or better the situation. I could have spent the money I used to book this hotel under construction for a hotel that had everything I was looking for. I sent emails and call Orbitz but they basically said it's not their fault even though I trusted their website to book the hotel. I really think they should take responsibility of booking hotels under construction without informing the customer of the situation. This is fraud in my opinion.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2013
I have used Orbitz for airline reservations in the past without problems and this was the first site I turned to a couple of days ago to book a flight for two people from Rome to Dubai, Dec. 20 to Jan. 3. They advertised a flight on Qatar that met my specifications and I selected it - nope, the fare had gone up considerably. Tried another flight on a different airline with the same result. In short, I spent about two hours looking at everything Orbitz offered for this route, only to find that either the price had gone way up or it was already booked (despite the assurance "Act fast! Only 2 tickets left at this price!"). Disgusted with their bait and switch tactics, I went to Kayak and booked the flight.
I realize fares do go up suddenly, but this is ridiculous. Obviously Orbitz knows what the flights actually cost, but prefers to lie. To infuriate me further, I've been receiving emails from them for two days advertising the same mythical low prices. This morning's: Qatar flight Rome-Dubai for $671.20. I followed the links and clicked to select it. The message, in red letters across the top of the screen: "We're sorry, the fare for that itinerary is no longer available. The fare for that trip is now $1,255.20." Orbitz just lost a customer.
Reviewed Nov. 1, 2013
On 11/1/13, my wife checked into the Biltmore Hotel in High Point, NC. This was a hotel that was recommended by Orbitz. The place was a pit. Cockroaches, holes in the wall, and the room smelled like urine. I tried to call customer service and spent over 3 hours dealing with this. Automated phone lines disconnected me. Then chatted online with a rep who then transferred me to someone who transferred me to someone who transferred me to someone. Offered a $50 voucher on a future trip which I refused. I wanted this problem taken care immediately, I didn't care about a voucher that I was never going to use. I would never use ORBITZ again. 3 hours wasted trying to solve a problem.
Reviewed Oct. 30, 2013
We purchased airline tickets with travel insurance. Just before the flight, we had a medical emergency and had to change the departure date. All this went well; we booked a different date and were asked if we wanted travel insurance again. We said yes. We received an electronic ticket that said that we had travel insurance. During the trip, we then had another emergency. When we went to make the second claim, Orbitz said that we did not have travel insurance. We sent all documentation, including the electronic ticket that says we have travel insurance and the credit card bill showing it was paid for. Orbitz insists that we do not have travel insurance and that there is no recourse.
Interestingly, the travel insurance company, Allianz, says that Orbitz billed us for something that is exactly the amount of travel insurance and appears to be travel insurance but is some other charge, not travel insurance. Orbitz does not acknowledge that we were charged for it, even though all documentation shows that we were. SO, not only are we unable to make a claim but they get to keep the $90.90 that is not travel insurance but that we were charged. The Orbitz manager we spoke with said that there was no need for her to read our email or listen to the explanation, that we needed to listen to her and she would tell us the facts of the case.
The consequences are that we are out about $1000 and realize the name Orbitz refers to the circles they send you in.
Reviewed Sept. 30, 2013
I ask for hotels in two cities - one in Napa and the suggestion are 13 miles far away, and the other was in Yosemite and the Orbitz suggestion was 33 miles away. I spend more time in the road than I expected.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2013
I used to be a very frequent Orbitz customer until I had two awful experiences concerning lost hotel reservations. The first time it happened, Orbitz was very apologetic and offered me $50 rebate in Orbitz bucks towards any future bookings. I thought that it would be a one-time occurrence. However, when I decided to use the Orbitz bucks on 2 rooms in Lompoc and experienced the same exact thing. I assumed that Orbitz would be incredibly apologetic once more but to my surprise, they were not.
Not only did they lose two reservations that were already paid for, they also blamed it on the hotel and said there was nothing they could do and I would get my money back within 5-7 days. I was traveling with two toddlers and had been driving for 8 hours. It was 8:30 when I arrived at our hotel and 9:00 when they finished speaking to Orbitz and confirmed that we had no rooms.
Reviewed Sept. 24, 2013
I have never had a worse experience with a travel agency before. I am still working on a resolution as my concerns brought up in multiple phone calls to Orbitz have yet to be rectified. My travel companion and I each attempted to contact Orbitz several times and were put on hold for long periods of time (some up to and over an hour) for errors that ORBITZ made the night before we were scheduled to leave as well as scheduling errors made on our return date. During these phone calls, we were continuously transferred to different people, disconnected repeatedly, told that it was the airline’s and not Orbitz's fault and never had any of our questions fully or acceptably answered.
The problem that arose the night before we left for our trip - my friend was completely dropped from two of the three flights we were supposed to be leaving for in mere hours - was never resolved through Orbitz and we resorted to calling American Airlines to resolve the issue due to the lack of help from Orbitz. How someone can be completely dropped from a flight and have to contact the airline for a resolution because Orbitz cannot fix the issue (twice we were put on hold for over an hour or told that we would be called back by Orbitz and never were) is beyond my understanding.
What was supposed to be an exciting adventure vacation ended up as the traveler's trip from hell because Orbitz failed to inform my traveling companion and I about changes in flights (two of which, my companion was completely dropped from!), had us ILLEGALLY booked for a connecting flight on our return (which caused us to miss a flight and spend an unplanned night in Miami) and refused to pay for a hotel room the night we were stuck in Miami and instead, placing the blame on US Airways instead of taking full ownership of the mistake. In addition to all of that, we had to deal with lost baggage in a foreign country because the bags did not make it onto our flight into Quito, Ecuador due to very little time to get to our connecting flight which was caused by a delayed flight and yet again, poor planning on Orbitz part. We did not have our baggage until 30 hours after our arrival in Ecuador.
How does a "professional" travel agency book an illegal connecting flight? We were expected to make it from an international arriving flight, go through customs and all checkpoints, run completely to the opposite side of the airport, re-check our bags, go through security and make it to our connecting flight all in under an hour?! We were informed by a US Airways representative that there was a change made to our flight in early September and that they had contacted Orbitz about the change on September 4, 2013 (9 whole days before we were scheduled to leave) which gave them plenty of time to make the appropriate schedule changes to our itinerary in order to give us ample time between connecting flights. There is record of this notification in US Airways and Orbitz systems.
When I contacted Orbitz about this Illegal Booking, I was told by a representative that they did in fact see this mistake and would work on getting us a flight home that same day if possible, and if not, at least put us up in a hotel room. This representative then told me he would call me back "as soon as possible". Two hours later, I received a call back from a supervisor stating that it was not the fault of Orbitz and that the airline was responsible for the mistake and refused to help us. He was very unprofessional and flat out denied that any other representative might have admitted to the mistake in which I heard with my own ears hours before. I could honestly go on for a novel's worth of how disappointed I am in Orbitz but for the time being, I will be spreading the word of this awful travel experience. This is absolutely unacceptable service and I am extremely baffled by the lack of ownership on Orbitz part.
Description of Settlement I am seeking: I am seeking a full refund for the total cost of both my traveling companion's and my own flights, hotel room that we needed to stay in because of the illegal booking and loss of wages we suffered from missing a day of work. I would also like an apology for the stress that was caused by these mistakes made by Orbitz and for the unprofessional conduct that we experienced through their phone service. I am so disappointed in Orbitz total lack of ownership in this matter and will not rest until I see some form of resolution for the stress, missed work, loss of wages and overall complete ruin of what was supposed to be an amazing vacation for myself AND my travel companion. Spread the word to everyone you know about Orbitz and help to keep this from happening again. Class action lawsuit anyone?
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed Sept. 17, 2013
I was booking a flight and rental car for my wife to go to Denver to visit her family. The total price Quoted by Orbitz was $440 for the 2 day visit. Honestly it took several minutes to enter in the credit card information, but it was properly entered and after hitting submit it stated the price we were charged was $536. I immediately called the Orbitz support line and Alex stated the there must have been a price increase while I was entering the information. I stated I understand that this may happen, but I should have been notified about the price change before I was to hit the submit button.
I was under the impression that the fair was $440, now my fare/car was 20% higher to what I agreed. She said I could cancel for $31 or she could give me a $50 towards my next transactions with Orbitz. I was down $96 and was only offered half back. When asked to speak to a supervisor she said she would pass this on the support technicians and it would take about 7-10 days to review... I am NOT a happier Traveler with ORBITZ!
Reviewed Sept. 8, 2013
Orbitz emailed me a promotion code good for 15% off any hotel stay I book before September 30th. The email indicated the only restriction on the code was that you had to book for 1 night or more and that it couldn't be used in connection with another promotion. I tried to use the code today for a Marriott Residence Inn. I was unable to use it. I got an error message saying that it couldn't be used with another promotion but I am not using another promotion. The stay is price at exactly the same rate as I have for the same booking directly through Marriott's website. I called. The agent in new Delhi, Natalaie **, tells me, contrary to the reason given by the website, that the promotion coupon cannot be used at the hotel I selected. The cost to me of Orbitz lying and misleading me and violating truth in advertising is $112,50 (2 nights at $249/night before tax). I trust you will make Orbitz make good on their promise.
Reviewed Sept. 2, 2013
I booked through Orbitz and was quoted a "Total Hotel Cost" of $279 which included a breakdown of the cost, listing taxes and fees as $0. The hotel charged $124 in fees and taxes totaling $403, nearly 50% more than the quoted price! After 5 days and hours on the phone, the issue culminated today with a man first telling me that "total hotel cost" does not mean the "final hotel cost". After much back and forth, he began to repeat "no refund" in response to anything I said. He then placed me on an indefinite hold and eventually the line was disconnected. I have written documentation regarding the $279.00 price, which I forwarded to Orbitz, but they would not directly acknowledge why taxes and fees were listed as $0.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2013
When an island hopper cancelled their service, Orbitz miscommunicated with the other airlines and our entire trip home was cancelled. We had to repurchase tickets, and Orbitz claimed our fares had already been refunded (that's why we had to repurchase tickets). It has been two months, and we have no refund. Orbitz is dragging their feet and fails to acknowledge their error. I have contacted authorities. If you feel like Orbitz has not honored their contract or cost you additional funds, please contact this government agent: Kimberly **, Aviation Industry Analyst, Aviation Consumer Protection Division, United States Department of Transportation. If they find enough wrongdoing, they may pursue legal proceedings against Orbitz.
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2013
On Monday, August 12, 2013 I was shopping for airfare. I had tried Orbitz, but the site did not recognize my billing address for whatever reason. So, ended up purchasing with a friend's credit card through another site. Just a moment ago, I checked my online banking records and noticed four (FOUR!) $2 charges from Orbitz. For what I do not know. Insofar as I know, I was not advised that there was a fee for just attempting to use Orbitz. Very angry. I swear I will never use Orbitz again.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2013
I booked an international flight with Orbitz and needed to reschedule it. After hours on hold on phone over multiple days, I just could not reach their virtually nonexistent international travel department. I ended up not being able to take the flight and losing all of my ticket money. It is sad to read all of the complaints here regarding Orbitz and knowing not much will happen and that they will continue to fleece other unsuspecting customers.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed July 23, 2013
I lost $2089.68 to Orbitz who denied a transaction was completed so, I booked another ticket with them to same location and dates. I was Billed for Both Tickets. Orbitz Response to BBB Complaint: They Agree that a REFUND Is DUE yet unable to complete. They just blame the airline. After 5 hours on the phone listening to lies, I filed the following complaints: Emirates NY Ref: ** FAX +121275834434 Orbitz Locator ** BBB Complaint Case # ** Emirates Ticket# ** BBB Complaint ** US Dept of Transportation Case # **. Orbitz' first response to my complaint was received 72 days later. 6-months later yep, refund due yet no indication it is forthcoming. The unexpected theft of $2089. has devastated my family. Chicago mobster business practices. BEWARE ORBITZ Orbits RIPOFF NEVER ORBITZ.
Reviewed July 22, 2013
I prepaid an apartment in Rome through Orbitz online for a 3-night stay. The facility was not the "luxury" residence that was "recently refurbished" as advertised on the apartment's own website. Upon arrival, my family adamantly did not want to stay at the place due to its run-down state. I made repeated attempts to get a refund from the apartment management as well as Orbitz to no avail. I repeatedly requested to speak with Orbitz supervisors and managers, was put on hold for long periods of time, and was told that I could only receive a refund if the apartment management issued it. I was also told by one Orbitz supervisor that she was the highest level of escalation only to find out from another supervisor that I could speak with a manager above her, although the manager did not provide any significant assistance either.
Orbitz offered me a $100 voucher, which does not begin to compensate for the inconvenience and trauma of finding another place to stay at the last minute in Rome during the high season or the loss of almost $900 in prepaid fees. Orbitz only attempted to get the apartment management to refund my payment; they repeatedly told me they could not issue me a refund any other way. The charge on my credit card is from Orbitz, but the company did not take responsibility for the reservation. Please learn from my experience, and do not prepay any hotels/apartments through Orbitz.
Reviewed July 12, 2013
I attempted to purchase two round trip tickets from Washington, DC to Cancun, Mexico. But before the online transaction was completed, I received the following message: "We're sorry. That flight is no longer available." I immediately booked another flight that nearly matched my first attempted purchase, except for the last leg which terminated in Baltimore instead of Washington, DC. I was charged for both flights. I called Orbitz customer service and was told that I could get a credit for one of the flights, but not a full refund. The explanation was that the flights had to be exactly the same before Orbitz would consider the issue a website issue. I asked to speak to the complaint department and the rep told me that she was going to put me through to her supervisor. I was left on hold for 40 minutes and then the call was dropped.
Reviewed June 23, 2013
I booked a trip for two business class to China with Orbitz, and we had to cancel. They took a cancellation fee and said I had one year to rebook. Within the year, I called Orbitz. After 5 times on hold for more than 50 minutes each time, I sent them an email explaining precisely what I did, what I needed and that I must speak with someone. Here is the brain surgeon's response. P.S. They had $9,100.00 of my money for almost a year and I would LOSE this if I did not rebook in time. A terrible company. No reason to ever book with them. I will dig to China before I ever book with them.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. I am sorry for the disservice from Orbitz. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed June 20, 2013
Eight months ago, I bought two tickets to fly to Colombia. I was not able to go so I had to cancel the trip. So Orbitz charged me for this and told me that I had a $985 credit. I called yesterday to book a trip to Hawaii with such credit. The woman who answered told me she couldn't help me because the original ticket was for an international trip and she dealt with national trips only. So she transferred me unannounced to another person. This man told me then that he couldn't help me because he was international trips and I was flying nationally. I tried to explain him what occurred before him, but to no avail. He transferred me unannounced again. I listened to your stupid music and commercial for 15 minutes before I fell asleep. I didn't want to hang up because I was afraid to lose my place on line. I woke up 45 minutes later (!!!) and the recorder was still going.
I hung up the phone and called again. The new representative told me the same thing as the first one. I explained to her what had happened and refused to be transferred again. She asked for permission from the supervisor to be able to help me. When her supvr declined, I asked to speak to her. I waited a good ten minutes and the rep told me she was still waiting for her supvr. I waited another 5 minutes and finally hung up. Two minutes later, I received a call from a supvr named Nadia, who to my surprise told me that out of the $985 credit that I have, the airline will charge me $255 per ticket to rebook, plus I can't remember how much from Orbitz for their great customer service. So after all of this aggravation, out of the original $1,100, I'll end up with less than $500.
Boy, you people really have a great scam going. But rest assured that after this experience is over, you'll never see a penny out of my pocket again. And I'm saving this email so that I can post it in the internet to let future travelers to be more careful when handing over their hard-earned money to shady companies that only live in the Netherlands.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. I am sorry for the disservice from Orbitz. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed June 19, 2013
Orbitz has been known to put cookies on your computer that allow it to know how many times you visited its website. It also raises its prices depending on the number of times a person visits Orbitz.com. Anyways, my dilemma is that every time I do a new search for an international ticket and allow flexible days, there is always a date in which the price is several hundred dollars lower ($1,400 vs. the normal $1,800-$2,000).
I select the $1,400 date and have a few different flight options. No matter which one I click, I get stuck in a loading screen and when I back out and re-enter the info, the $1,400 date still shows. However, once I click on it, the price rises to $2,000+. I delete my cache and select different dates and once again I get a $1,450 ticket. I select it and selected the airline option within a few seconds and was given a loading screen. I waited for 35 minutes before it gave me an ERROR 303 (Orbitz servers disconnecting). However, Orbitz is always ready to upsell me a $2,000+ ticket. ** YOU ORBITZ!
Reviewed June 17, 2013
Long story short, cancelled the reservation after a long hold (while in a foreign country racking up roaming charges) to cancel a reservation. They said okay and agreed to cancel without charge. Days later, I was billed for the full amount.
Hi Nyavk,
My name is Lynne, I‘m a member of the Orbitz Customer Relations Team. Sorry to hear you’ve had such difficulty. If you’d please email us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com, and include the Orbitz Confirmation#, I’ll be able to investigate this issue for you.
Thanks for reaching out, and I look forward to receiving your info.
Sincerely,
LynneOrbitz Customer Relations
Chicago, IL
Reviewed June 13, 2013
I booked a flight through Orbitz in 2012 to New York, NY for my son to visit a college. My son got sick and wasn't able to make the trip. I cancelled the trip, paid the airline penalty of $300 ($150 each ticket), and Orbitz waived their cancellation fee due to my son's illness. This left me with $255.00 credit. I have tried on three separate occasions to use the credit on the same airline, as is Orbitz rules. The result has been "you have no credits", "you have a credit, but you can't use it," and "you have a credit, but you are calling the wrong people." Screw the credit, just never using this business again.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed June 11, 2013
I am usually an understanding person and quite patient, but I will never use Orbitz again, nor will I ever recommend them to anyone. I called trying to change an international flight, and was told to contact the international department. I called that number and waited and waited. No answer. I called back the domestic line, only to be told they could not help me. They even tried to connect with their international department and did not get through. I was told to try again, or try the airline directly. I tried again, no answer. I tried the airline, but they were unable to make any change without authorization from Orbitz.
So I called the Orbitz domestic line again (since the International was a dead-end) and asked to speak to a supervisor. After about half an hour, I was able to speak with someone who started helping me, but I had to call the airline again, and this rep said he would call me back in 15 minutes to continue. It has now been an hour and he has not called back. I am currently on the phone with Orbitz again, and waiting for someone who knows what they are doing to help me. It is a huge inconvenience and very disappointing. I have been waiting for about 40 minutes already. I have asked to speak to a supervisor, and was told to hold for an international rep.
I truly hope that no one else has such a bad experience with this company. I could not even find a place on their website to lodge a complaint. Like I said in the beginning, never again. Orbitz = BAD SERVICE. NEVER AGAIN.
Reviewed June 8, 2013
I booked a flight from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale last weekend only to find out the next day that the flight had been cancelled after checking my bank account and seeing that I had been charged. I did not receive a confirmation email nor did I receive any form of notification from Orbitz that the flight itself had been cancelled. I proceeded to call the company to see what was going on and arranged to rebook my flight. The phone service was terrible. I was on the phone for close to an hour (on hold for the majority) and was not given a legitimate answer as to why my airline ticket had been cancelled. The online website was still offering the ticket I had booked, so it made no sense as to why my ticket had been cancelled.
I proceeded to book a second ticket with Orbitz (on the same flight) only to find out the night before, after calling the company, that my second ticket had also been cancelled. Again, I received no notification from the company and this was after repeating my email address repeatedly to the woman I was speaking to on the phone. I am still waiting to receive reimbursements for both my tickets and was told to book my flight directly from the Air Trans website. Meanwhile, the same flight is still being offered on Orbitz. Not impressed and when asked to speak to a supervisor, my request was denied.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed May 30, 2013
I have been holding for 30 minutes on the phone to connect to customer service and change my flight. I reached someone, but after she learned that it is an international flight, she put me through another line. I am waiting on the phone now for another half an hour... This is not the first time... I called them earlier to change my flight and I had to wait on the phone and finally I gave up. They don't want to deal with customers. They put them hold for forever. Finally the customer gives up!!! I will never ever buy any ticket from Orbitz or any other company related to Orbitz.
Reviewed May 28, 2013
My fiance and I booked our honeymoon hotel through Orbitz last night. We checked our bank account straight after making the reservation and it showed that Orbitz had taken the money immediately. However, we never received a booking confirmation email. We called them 24 hours later to make sure there was a booking (since they'd taken over $800 from our account), only to be told that the reservation didn't exist. The customer service rep was rude and dismissive of our concerns regarding the fact that Orbitz used the credit card details we'd inserted to go into our account and take the money, but didn't reserve anything for us. How can a system acknowledge the payment details, but not the reservation we're actually paying for?
We called our bank to check whether they'd stopped the payment from going through (they hadn't). Now Orbitz has told us that we need to wait 3-5 days to see if they refund the money??? We still have no hotel reservations and now the money is missing from our account. Disgraceful.
Reviewed May 27, 2013
In short, I booked a hotel through Orbitz. Upon arrival, hotel services/amenities did not accurately reflect what was advertised. Spoke with hotel desk clerk, but she couldn't do anything about it because it was a third party booking. I filed a dispute with my credit card company and won. Got official notice of that from the credit card company as it was resolved on 5/17. Later, I received a piece of mail from a collection agency dated 5/17 on behalf of Orbitz for that amount. In an attempt to resolve this, I am sending a copy of the dispute resolution to the collection agency (also requesting to cease and desist contact), Orbitz and to the three credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Also, I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Beware of Orbitz. Sour grapes.
Reviewed May 26, 2013
My wife booked airfare tickets for travel beginning April 30, 2013 on Delta Airlines. Nowhere was it disclosed by Orbitz that these tickets DID NOT cover one bag per ticket! It was a three legged trip: LAX to Yeager, WV; Yeager, WV to Orlando, FL; Orlando, FL to LAX. We were charged $25 per bag per leg. $150.00 extra expense. Definitely not the good rate that we thought we were getting. We will not be using Orbitz again!
Reviewed May 22, 2013
I have written to both Delta and Orbitz regarding the below complaint and both responded with explanations that had nothing to do with my question. Why am I being charged for airfare and taxes as this charge is no longer being charged to current ticket purchases?
Total at booking was $3,167.28. On May 8th, 2013 I went out to Orbitz.com to check current prices and found my exact flight to Moscow for $1,960.88 but no airfare taxes and fees were being charged. I checked again on May 10, 2013 and found that no airfare taxes were being charged.
My concern is I'm being charged $1,247.28 for airfare taxes and fees for booking early and this charge is no longer being applied to current ticket purchases. I'm not complaining about a small variance in the pricing of your tickets; I'm talking about $1,247 - no small sum and actually this represents 65% of the current cost of two round trip tickets.
My wife and I are two retirees in our mid-70s who have planned this trip in celebration of reaching our 50th wedding anniversary. We live on a fixed income but have saved and borrowed to go on this trip. I don't mind paying a fair price for our activities but being taken advantage of by over $1,200 for a charge that is no longer being applied to current ticket purchases, to me, is unreasonable, especially, given that as of today, my flight is still over 3 months away. I request that a refund of $1,247.28 be applied to my credit card. Thank you.
Reviewed May 18, 2013
I spent hours on phone with customer service. I bought 3 tickets for flights; one was higher than the others. I was told that I would finally receive $50 credit on next reservation for the difference in ticket prices and would receive an e-mail to confirm. I never got the email. I called back to follow up with record locator and was basically told by another "supervisor" that I would not be receiving the credit because I bought the tickets in the same account and the first ticket price was the lower one.
Reviewed May 16, 2013
We booked a cruise less than a month ago. When we tried to cancel, they charged us $216 for all kinds of fees that they never told us about. Kindly look into this for me.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed May 16, 2013
Every time I select a flight, following message appears: “As flight availability can change rapidly based on traveller demand, the flight that you have selected is no longer available. Please make another selection.” BUT this is not just it as one might think it happens all the time as flight tickets get unavailable all the time. The problem is that the next screen gives another option to book for the SAME flight for more FARE!!! Next message is the same as the previous one and I continue to receive options to book for more expensive fare, keeping in mind that the flight is the same. Next interesting thing is if I give up and come back after removing COOKIES, I can have a De Ja Vous (I think I spelled it right)! ORBITZ does not have any option to contact them, as they direct customers to Q & A pages. I think ORBITZ cheats customers by luring them into looking at cheaper airlines first and then forcing to opt for expensive flights!
Reviewed May 15, 2013
What is this $2 charge for? I have no idea what it is for. I just made an airline reservation and today, I see a $2 charge to my account. I did not see anything on the Orbitz website about this. How do I get it removed? I am not happy. This is the first time I've used Orbitz in quite a while. I don't ever remember seeing a charge from them.
Reviewed May 2, 2013
I made a trip planned out online perfectly. The next day I found out I won an award from the company and had to go to Las Vegas to receive the award. I called Orbitz to reschedule my flight for 1 day earlier and to land in Vegas instead of LAX. During my original trip, I find out via our corporate travel agent that although Orbitz's flight info shows me coming back the day I requested, the actual information from the flight tracking software, Asiana Airlines, and the app Flight Tracker show I would be arriving 1 day later than my confirmation showed. So I ended up paying around $1000 in fees and new airline tickets via Orbitz to arrive the same exact day that it was originally scheduled for... I was pissed! So I bought new tickets via South West (last minute) and got to Vegas a little late but still the day I requested.
I ended up paying I believe $600 for the 2 tickets, so I basically wasted $1600. I basically missed 1 day of paid work, 1 day of a paid for hotel room, the meet and greet with our companies execs, and 20 hours or so of standby time, and I still couldn't get Orbitz to help me out. I spoke to our in-house travel agent who told the story to our in-house counsel and they recommended small claims to settle the matter. So I went through all the steps and filed a claim after about a month and a half of Orbitz giving me the runaround. I was told with the documentation and confirmations that I had, Orbitz had less than a 10% chance of winning the case and that all errors were on their end and that my documentation of the problems and communication were pristine.
A few days later, I received a call from the courthouse I submitted the claim to and was told that since Orbitz does business out of Chicago, I would have to go there and sue. The tickets, travel time, and time away from work would be more than the $2500 or so that Orbitz cost me all in all (not to mention the original $2500 I paid for all the travel arrangements). In the long run, I hate the fact that Orbitz can get away with this, not respond to most of my calls or emails. If I take a vacation to Chicago before my statute of limitations runs out, I would stop by the courthouse in a second and file again. I know if I were to make a deal in writing with someone, a service in exchange for money, and then I totally messed up that service, I would be held liable. I wish Orbitz had the decency to compensate me for at least my costs, not to mention my headache. I've told everyone I can not to use Orbitz and I will continue to do so. Shame on you!
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed May 2, 2013
You pay what you get. Even though their prices are slightly lower than other places, it's definitely not worth it. I booked a trip 4 months in advance, went to the airport and found out that they had cancelled my flight without notifying me. I was able to get on my flight and go through standby but it was such an unpleasant situation since I'm flying international. I sent numerous emails and received no responses. I made numerous phone calls, only to find out that Orbitz relinquish my ticket to Eva airlines and they can do whatever they want with it. They didn't need to obtain my consent or inform me of any changes. This is a horrible company that takes no responsibility after they take your money. I say it's fraud!
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed May 1, 2013
I booked and paid for my trip on 12/18/12. Trip was to Charlotte, NC leaving on 4/25/13 and returning on 4/29/13. Flight out was canceled. I had to pay for a hotel so I could be at the airport at 4:00 am for the next flight (ruined my plans for Friday, 4/25). Also, I only needed the car rental for my trip on Friday (couldn't cancel as they already took the non-refundable payment). Flight back was on time and changed to earlier (ruined family plans for the day). The flight changed back to later time after check in at airport. This was $1500 for a trip plus $300 for airport hotel when flight was canceled plus the extra ripoff by the car rental. I'm out over $1800 due to Orbitz.com
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed April 25, 2013
To find out that you were charged more than double the day your trip starts is disheartening! We flew into Tampa, FL, arrived at Payless Car Rental to have our Orbitz quote go from $245 to $554. Yes, the small print says there may be additional fees on pickup. We bought nothing extra and with the taxes and airport fees, our bill was $309 more than what was listed on our itinerary. More than double and all we got from Orbitz is "We are sorry, but the car rental place will not explain it to us. You will have to call them. Hold on my trip was based on the information and quote that I paid for 6 months ago." That was the outcome of my 45-minute phone conversation with Orbitz. BBB, here I come!
Reviewed April 13, 2013
I made air reservations to Europe with Orbitz. Next day I found the spelling of my last name in error (lacked 1 letter) and was advised by Orbitz and the airlines involved that it might result in trouble at the 5 airports involved. I asked Orbitz to correct (the airlines said it had to be them as they were the agency ordering the tickets) multiple times, by phone, email, and letter - all to no avail. I ended up losing sleep and decided it would be easier for my health to cancel, accept the huge cancellation penalty, and make similar reservations elsewhere - costly and frustrating.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. I am sorry for the disservice from Orbitz. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed March 30, 2013
On January 27, 2013, I paid for two tickets via Orbitz on Iberia flight 5374 departing Barcelona to Naples on May 27, 2103. On February 24, Orbitz called to say Iberia had cancelled my tickets because my son and I share the same name, but for $25/seat they would try to reinstate the seats. Now 33 days later, Orbitz will not confirm the seats nor refund my money. I have spoken to three Orbitz supervisors (Indians with fake Anglo names) to no avail. Please help me get the seat I paid for.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. I am sorry for the disservice from Orbitz. Please forward the Orbitz Record Locator to us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed March 18, 2013
Right now, I am not a fan of Orbitz. I am here to advise Orbitz customers on how to avoid outrageous and unnecessary charge(s) by Orbitz. I called Orbitz to upgrade our hotel room to a club level. When quoted my rate, I thought it was the total of my previous hotel charge plus the upgrade rate. I said okay to the charge. What my husband pointed out to me on our credit card statement was that Orbitz charged us twice, once for the original booking and a second time for the upgraded booking. The Orbitz employee cancelled my first reservation; thus, we incurred a 100% cancellation fee, then rebooked us and charged us a fee to handle our change. Never once did the employee say anything about a cancellation fee or Orbitz fee. Was this a mistake done by an inexperienced employee, or is this a money maker for Orbitz? Needless to say, I have lost confidence in using Orbitz ever again.
Reviewed March 15, 2013
We (one adult and 3 small children under 10) booked our international tickets to Israel for Easter holidays flying from Denver, CO. We did this months in advance. I booked our seating together via Orbitz website. Today, I learned that all our seats are scattered! When I asked Orbitz to help out, the woman after 20 minutes hung up on me and never called back. Well, thanks a lot Orbitz for nothing. This is definitely the last time I use Orbitz.
This is Robert, and I am part of the Orbitz Customer Relations team. We want to learn more about your experience so that we can address the issue. Please email us at socialnetwork@orbitz.com. Please use my name in the subject line, so that I can investigate further.
Thank you for your patience, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Robert Woyach
Orbitz Customer Relations
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2013
After already having booked an airline through Orbitz, I decided to go ahead and book my hotel through them as well since I had received an email promotion from them for a 15% hotel discount and the hotel I had decided on was a participating hotel, according to the website. After multiple failed attempts to book the reservation online (and a hold being placed on my checking account because although they had failed to actually make the booking, they continued to put charges through for the full amount of doing so - approximately $1300 each time - along with multiple $2 charges to verify my credit card on each one), I thought it might be better to try calling into their customer service.
After multiple, unreasonably lengthy hold times dealing with a customer service agent who could not understand me or my problem and apparently had no power or ability to do absolutely anything different than what I was doing myself via the website, I also endured multiple transfers (each staying on the line through the next), two phone calls to my bank to try to straighten out the situation of the charges from their end and ultimately, about 2.5-3 hours lost from my day. And all of that said and done, still no hotel booking. Another thing I did find shady was that even when I tried again later that night and the next morning, I still continued to have the same problem with them putting through the pending charge although there was no reservation.
And each and every single time as I was trying to book, the price would go up from what the site quoted while I was in the middle of the checkout process. I ended up placing my reservation directly with the hotel chain which did end up being a few hundred dollars more for a 4-night stay than I supposedly would have through Orbitz. While that doesn't make me very happy, it had come to the point where it was worth it just to be done with the incredible hassle. I will absolutely never use Orbitz to book any part of any trip, ever again.
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2013
Be wary of Orbitz. I actually suggest not using them. What appear to be deals come with a price, namely that you will lose your money in the event that, say, weather (or some other problem) gets in the way of travel. Non-refund windows (when no money is returned) can be very large, but the Orbitz website makes it appear that refunds are given within 24-hour periods. The website also claims that Orbitz does not charge any fees but the hotel might. In my case, the non-refund window started essentially the day after I made the reservation. This may be hotel policy but it is pretty devious of both parties if it is (the hotel policy is 24-hour cancellation, full refund - throwing Orbitz into the mix is costly). Avoid Orbitz.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2013
In October 2012, I booked a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, on Delta through Orbitz and, months later, the same trip was more than $300 less on their own website. I quickly contacted them to get their "price assurance guarantee."
Well, even though all the information was not on their website regarding the price assurance, when they responded, they said that in order to be reimbursed for the difference in the trip cost (with an Orbitz voucher!) someone else had to: 1) purchase a ticket through them, 2) for the same number of people, 3) in the same airline, 4) on the same day, 5) at the same time, 6) on the same flight. What a scam! Price guarantees generally require proof that the same flight is available cheaper. They had the same exact trip advertised for $300 less, but now someone had to buy a ticket through them to make their guarantee good.
Their customer service is useless! They only repeated their policy in their responses without any intention to achieve a fair and reasonable resolution or customer satisfaction. Lesson learned! Never again!
Reviewed Dec. 26, 2012
I made a package reservation on 12/3/12 to travel to Costa Rica in February 2013 through Orbitz. My friends bought exactly the same package through another company on the same date, but they also have free airport shuttle. I called Orbitz back to inquire on their price guarantee and airport shuttle. Orbitz used different excuses to avoid honoring their price guarantee. They would not refund me, even though I just purchased the package and there was no notes on the email confirmation with regard to non-refundable policy. Besides, the supervisor was very rude. Terrible website to book your travel plan. I will not use them again.
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2012
This company sucks! I booked a round trip and it changed my schedule four times. For the third time, it even changed the date of my flights because the tickets on my date were so much more expensive than the date that they moved me to. Then recently, I found out that they separated my ticket. My original one was GRR-CLE-ROC, then Oribitz separated it into two tickets and the layover became much longer! Also, the customer service was awful. I called for the first time after a 30-minute wait and they said United changed it. I called United and they said Oribitz changed it. Then I called Orbitz back and they agreed to change the date back until I told them what United said. I will never use this website again.
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2012
I booked a flight through Orbitz in May to South America. However, our tour company for the trip went bankrupt. My party requested refunds on our flights in October and they were approved. Two of the refunds have been processed; however, a third is still outstanding. My communication with both Orbitz and the airline LAN has been unsatisfactory, frustrating and time-consuming - with each company claiming the other is now responsible for the last refund. I have attempted to initiate a charge back on my credit card for the ticket price; however, since the purchase was made more than 90 days ago, I was not able to do so. I feel that I have exhausted my options and that pledges, promises and information coming from both companies have proved to be false. I just don't know what do to anymore.
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2012
I just had my card charged two $2 fees and I did not research a trip or use Orbitz in years. This is unacceptable and fraud.
Reviewed Dec. 2, 2012
Orbitz got me a new ticket with Spirit Airlines and they asked me if I had any bags. I said, "No, but I had a carry-on and a purse." They said okay. But when I went to get on the plane, the lady said that I have to go back to the counter and pay $100 to get the carry-on bag onto the plane. I said, "No way, you can have it." So she gave me a plastic trash bag to put my stuff in after leaving much of my clothes with her. So I only had a medium amount of stuff to carry on the plane. It was so awful I felt like crying. I am Rita **, a very small person, 67 years old with heart problems, and I did not need this happening to me.
Had I known when I got the ticket, I could have put my stuff in my small tote bag which I left at my son's house - thinking I wouldn't need it. The lady at the counter told me I need to inform your people of this and tell your people that you had better do a better job of training your people. I did make it home okay with the trash bag, after some items fell out when taking it down from the overhead compartment, and I did get a bunch of funny looks on the train ride getting to the terminal. It was a bad ending to an otherwise nice Thanksgiving holiday.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2012
I understand that I have a sensitive computer and somehow it accepted the price change without me realizing what a huge increase had happened. There is no way to make sure or take back an accident. They have no way to help people, just charge them.
The tiny print and a screen popping up at the last second is sneaky and lame. It was a pure accident that I would pay that much for a flight with a layover with that airline! I feel so duped! I never would have chosen that on purpose. The fact that there is no way to go back when that happened or that someone won't help is really lame. They have plenty of time to sell those tickets before the date. I am so bummed and although this is not the first time Orbitz has treated me like my time and money are unimportant, it will be the last.
Reviewed Oct. 29, 2012
My girlfriend and I went to Maui, Hawaii for a week, leaving Sacramento, CA airport on Monday the 22nd of October, with a scheduled return on Monday the 29th of October. My itinerary showed, as well as confirmation, that my return to Sacramento was Monday, October 29th. My flight was an overnighter leaving Maui to Los Angeles, then Los Angeles to Sacramento. Okay fine. But on Sunday, October 28th, when I was checking in, my flight was showing 10:35pm, for Monday! That would mean, I would return on Tuesday, the 30th!
I called Orbitz several times, all calls were put on hold for over 30 minutes, two calls lasting over an hour, being placed on 20 - 30 minute holds when I asked to speak with a supervisor, only for them to refuse to help and tell me that it's my fault that I booked the flight that way! I only booked on the options given me! When booking and asked a return date, I entered Sacramento for Monday, October 29th, 2012. If it was an overnighter, they should have put me on a plane Sunday, October 28th, 2012 to return on the 29th. But they didn't, and they refused to help me, placed me on extensive holds when I asked to speak to a supervisor (in what I believe was their attempt to get me to grow ever so impatient and give up/hang up), and continue to fault me.
This error cost me a day's leave and pay, possible repercussions, and 30-day restriction from OT costing me up to $2000 in that 30-day period! I've never had a problem like this before, nor have I had such incompetent, unprofessional representatives so unwilling to help. And they want to charge me $150 per ticket for adjustment! Is this how they treat their consumers? I really hope not! I've booked an overnighter from Sacramento to Oahu, and from Oahu to Maui and everything was just as scheduled.
I don't know how they expect me to return to Sacramento on the 29th at 9:19am when they scheduled my flight for the 29th leaving Maui at 10:35pm! How does that make sense? How stupid are they, really? I will never recommend anyone use Orbitz! They are completely unprofessional, incompetent, show little care for their customers or their customers’ satisfaction, show little care for their service or their name, and in my opinion, complete **!
Reviewed Oct. 26, 2012
I'm from Australia and I want my complaint to be added and recognized along with the hundreds, or maybe thousands, of disgruntled Orbitz customers out there. I bought a ticket from Maldives to Kuala Lumpur from Orbitz.com online. I keyed my name in with all three names, but only two came out. My passport has all three names on it. Now, if you are flying in or out of the US, this may not be a problem because the TSA/SSR database is accessed to check your traveler details. But as I explained to Orbitz.com, when I emailed them, I was not flying in or out of the US and that I needed all three names on my ticket.
Orbitz.com said I would have to pay to reprint the ticket. I was horrified because I keyed it in correctly in the first place, so why should I pay? I did nothing wrong. Anyway, after 6 days and 25 emails later, they are just ignoring me. At first they just kept apologizing, but did nothing about it. Then, they escalated it to a manager, but I never heard from a single manager. My latest emails, like many others, explained to Orbitz.com that I could be refused passage and the ticket is useless in this part of the world unless it matches your passport. But they don't care if I can't board my flight or not. They just know that I have to lump it as it is or pay a fee for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
They are a disgusting bunch of people. Their customer service people just read lines from a handbook and have no power and/or inclination to do anything for their unhappy customers other than to say sorry and do absolutely none to help you. Well, I can tell you that I will never ever, under any circumstances, book with Orbitz.com again if, for nothing else, solely on principal because they never did anything to help me and had the audacity to ignore me. Is this how they run their company? Orbitz.com has just lost me now completely and forever. I will be telling all my friends and anyone who'll listen to stay well and truly away from Orbitz.com. They are a bunch of rip-off artists who want you to pay for their computer errors.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2012
I was just about to order an air ticket from Orbitz.com. But after calling the customer service Shawn, who is based in Manila, Philippines, I was absolutely horrified by the replies and answers I was told. I have then let the representative Shawn know that I was recording the call, which the person agreed because I want to have proof of the conversation. Shawn also told me her phone was also being recorded. I called to ask about the policy on changing the ticket and if there was a fee. According to Shawn, she said that Orbitz cannot let the customers know the policies before buying the ticket and has to just order online. I then asked if the customer buys a ticket without knowing the policy but then later finds out that the policy of changing their ticket is not what they expected, such as penalties to change the date, can the customer get a full refund. To my surprise, Shawn said that the customer will have to pay a service fee.
I had repeatedly asked Shawn about this issue and Shawn said this is how Orbitz does business. She said she worked with Orbitz for over a year already and is very sure about Orbitz's policies. But I kept asking how can customers buy a ticket without knowing the policy and Shawn said that it's Orbitz's policy. And she also said some customers were surprised but have to pay the fees. In addition, I asked Shawn if I could be transferred to another customer service representative and she said no. But earlier I was transferred to her from another customer service earlier. Earlier the customer service staff actually gave me the penalty fee for changing a ticket, but since the representative said it depended on the dates, she forwarded the call to Shawn.
I asked Shawn how could someone transfer the call to her but she cannot transfer the call to another representative. Shawn said she can't. I then asked Shawn if I can be transferred to the supervisor and she refused. She said there's no phone for the supervisor and I have to call the customer service number. I then asked if I call the customer service number, how do I reach the supervisor. She said I can't reach the supervisor, which defeats her suggestion of calling the customer service number again.
Is this how Orbitz does business? It seems very crooked. How can customers be expected to buy air tickets without knowing the policies of their ticket? Then if they need to cancel because they purchased a wrong ticket, they get charged a service fee from Orbitz. Doesn't this sound like fraud? This is the first time I used Orbitz and am surprised how unprofessional the customer service staff acted. I am prepared to write blogs about this if I do not get any answer about these matters. Please contact me about this.
Call date: October 17, 2012Time: 12:40am (Philippine time)
Reviewed Oct. 14, 2012
When checking in at airlines to get home, we found that Orbitz had cancelled our return tickets (booked and paid 2 months prior) with no notice, leaving us stranded. No flights available. Five hours were spent at airport on phone, mostly on hold, with Orbitz. Absolutely offered no help or solution. Airline, after watching us for 5 hours trying to get some assistance from Orbitz, took pity and found a re-routed flight with two extra stops, adding a day, hotel expense, car storage expense, and meal expense, approximately $200.
Reviewed Oct. 12, 2012
All consumers, please beware of purchasing your travel through Orbitz. You really need to read the fine print if you purchase insurance. I purchased a flight, cancelled and repurchased a flight all within 12 hours and I was then charged for both flights even though I purchased insurance (only for listed major events is it good). Also pops up that you have time to change or cancel your flight that you won't be charged? You won't be charged a booking fee. I am then told it will take 45 days to get my refund because that's the airline's policy. I called the airlines and it is only 7 to 14 days. It's still a long time. You are best to go straight to the airlines! I won't use Orbitz again.
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2012
A long planned trip from Missouri to Nevada coincided with a death in the family in California. The plane tickets from STL to Las Vegas and back were purchased through Orbitz. As the outgoing flight had a connection in Denver, I called Orbitz to get the second leg of the outbound trip changed to fly to San Francisco instead of Las Vegas. I was told that there was no price difference for the flight and only had to pay $80 to change the ticket. The funeral was in two days, and I didn't have a mint to drop on a full price ticket, so this was a relief. Once that was completed, I purchased another ticket direct from Southwest (nice and cheap) departing in the early evening the day of the funeral so that I could attend the ceremony and still go forward with the previously planned trip.
An ambiguous voice mail was left around 5:00 PM central, the night of the initial call was made to change the trip, informing me that the requested change didn't go through and can't go through. No details, no phone number to call back. I called the main customer service line and was told that the system was down and was asked to call back in 45 minutes. I called back in 45 minutes to be kept on hold another thirty by a very rude individual. The phone disconnected; I called back to be placed on hold for a long period of time once again and further told that I would have to pay $80 more, plus a fee to change the flight. Ludicrous. Bottom line, don't do business with Orbitz. The people in their call center are in India. They are very far away from American culture, and I feel that they really, truly do not care about me or my business.
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2012
I tried to get a hotel through Orbitz. I had forgotten the name of the other company (Priceline) who I had used before with success. I entered my info and hit the submit button. A message came back "Unable to complete booking." But Orbitz went ahead and charged my credit card the full amount. After multiple attempts to talk with Orbitz's joke of customer service to have this fixed (where one of their reps told me that I needed to fax them! As if anyone uses fax machines anymore). The reps also then fed me to managers who in reality were not anyone who could help me but other sales people. I called my bank. A huge inconvenience to cancel that credit card but at this point I feel like that's the safest option. Orbitz is a rotten company. Do not use them. They should be shutdown by the FTC.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2012
Back in July, I purchased through Orbitz a ticket for $420 from Santiago de Chile to Montevideo departing on 10/11/12 and returning on 10/14/12. (I was going to attend a baptism on 10/14 at 10:00 am.) Unfortunately, I had to cancel due to work. I was told to rebook the flight (Orbitz would not give me credit with them) by 10/11 with the airline. On 10/02, I got a notification from the airline that the return flight (on 10/14) was changed from 04:50 pm to 11:50, which will have killed the purpose of my trip (if I did not previously cancel it, anyway).
Today, I called the airline to rebook the flight for March, and I was told that they do not handle that, that Orbitz should be contacted. I called Orbitz and I told them I wanted to change my flight for a date in March. The cost of the flight, same route, posted on their website was $337. I was told that I could not change it at that price (even though they were the exact flights, including numbers as before), that they need to "find" me a flight price close to the $420 that I originally paid. The representative, after a 20-minute wait, said that she found one at $431 (there were no flights at that price on those dates on their website), and on top of that, I have to pay reissuing fees of $30 to Orbitz and $80 to Lan Chile. It was the most ridiculous experience. Of course, I lost the $420, but Orbitz not only lost a family of six that travels often, but many more people, since we will make sure to notify anyone that is making traveling plans to forget about Orbitz.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012
Orbitz has the worst customer service. First, they canceled a trip scheduled to Portugal, but the worst part is that they never even bother to send email nor called. We noticed it because we had a credit in our card. We called; Orbitz blamed the airline and the airline blamed Orbitz. But the worst part is their customer service. First, you have to stay on the phone on hold for more than 20 minutes, and when you finally got to a person and stopped pressing buttons, you get disconnected. I try at least 4 times, and after all this calling and spending about 3 hours, not even the supervisor had a good answer nor was able to fix this issue. Now, a week later after all this mess, they finally decided to send email advising trip was canceled - kind of late! I don't even know with this type of service how they are still in business.
Reviewed Sept. 30, 2012
Never book your travel through Orbitz to save you trouble. There is a huge fee to cancel you reservation. Actually, it cannot be cancelled. You will have to use it and pay the nonsense huge charge and it cannot be used, under your name only, which is also nonsense.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2012
I am writing to you to express my deepest frustration about how your customer representatives Elvira and Gaby wasted more than 3 hours of our time over the phone towards handling vacation packages of 3 families to Cancun. Your representative gave us a quote for the 3 reservations. Since the quote was similar to the quote we saw online in the internet, we told her that we can go ahead and do the reservation online. But when your rep told us that she will be able to get the booking for all of us in the nearby rooms and also confirmed that she will get these reservations done as per the rates quoted by her, we decided to get the booking done through her.
By the time she did the first reservation for the family, both the other quotes went up by $200 to $300. The flights also became unavailable. The representative told us she is helpless. And then what happened was a musical chair event. Two of your self-claimed supervisors, Elvira and Gaby spoke to us, carefully listened to our concerns and informed us that they cannot do anything with the price or the incident. This entire discussion took more than 3 hours and all of us now are with no travel reservations. We have decided to not try our luck with Orbitz anymore and will be getting our travel reservation done through Expedia.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2012
In May, I booked a flight from JFK to Florence. Orbitz informed me of the flight guarantee under which they would refund a lower price on a ticket offered for the same flight at a later date. The flight was scheduled for October, and in August, the ticket was offered for $200 less. When I pointed this out to Orbitz, they said it was a different listing. I checked, and while it had a different flight number, it was on the same aircraft, on the same date, with the same departure and landing times, i.e., it was an identical flight except for the flight number. They said this would invalidate any claim I might make under their policy. What kind of a "price guarantee" is this? Someday, somebody will start a class action suit against them for this situation.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2012
Booking from an ad sent the same day - I received an ad offering 50% off if booked within 38 hours for members only. I could not find the price online so called an Orbitz rep, and said had to check in the next morning to get the rate and was only a 1st come 1st served basis. But the rep tried to sell me a room that was 3 times as much. I called and talked to 3 reps and somehow kept getting "disconnected" when they could not answer my questions. I did not book a room and will not ever book a room, or flight, or car. Too bad for them because I love to travel!
Reviewed Sept. 4, 2012
I paid more than the total Orbitz quoted me!: I booked a hotel in Anchorage through Orbitz. I was given a total price I should pay when arriving at the hotel, only to find out this wasn't the total price. Tax was not added. The word total means everything, all inclusive! This is a very deceptive practice by Orbitz. The word "total" should not be used, and on my email, it should state: "$--- plus tax." Then you would be able to calculate the true total! This misleads one to book a hotel that may not be the best value! I won't use Orbitz again at least for a very long while or until they quote prices properly!
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2012
I booked a trip using Orbitz.com. For one reason or another, the initial booking ended up with only the airfare being taken on my debit card. I called Orbitz and was informed I would have to book the hotel and transportation again. Not once was I informed the booking was completed and no funds taken from my account, with the exception of 3 airline tickets. I rebooked and ended up paying almost $200.00 more for the same room and transportation. The charges cleared my account. We took our trip and now a month later, guess what? The initial charges that never went through show up and wreak havoc on my checking account - returned payments to other folks, bank fees and charges - over drafting my account by nearly $1,000.
I contacted Orbitz and was provided a letter to take to the bank stating the charges were no good and the booking was not even in their system and had in fact been cancelled. When I got to the bank with the fax from Orbitz, they informed me no, that Orbitz had in fact ran the charges through and they got paid. When the bank called Orbitz, we sat on the phone for 2 hours only to be told they will not refund the full amount and would keep a night’s room charge, since I did not cancel the reservation although I was unaware the reservation was made. When I checked in, surely the hotel would have told me I had 2 reservations, but they didn't. So now Orbitz wants me to pay for 2 bookings for the same trip, a month after we completed travel. I will never use Orbitz for anything more than print a screen print to use as toilet paper to wipe my butt with.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2012
I reserved a hotel (Red Carpet Inn) through the website. I was traveling with my 2 children (3 and 7 years old). We arrived to the hotel. I kid you not that we were not there longer than 15 minutes. When we went in the room, the first thing I needed to do was change the baby’s diaper since we've been out traveling all morning. I laid him on and before I could get his diaper off, I saw a small tiny bug. I’m not sure what it was. Once I finished changing the diaper, I ripped the covers off the bed to find a nasty pee stain in the sheets and small blood stains. I pulled the sheets off and saw a few more of those tiny bugs on the seams of the mattress. I told KJ to go use the bathroom because we needed to go talk to the manager.
I went in the bathroom right after him to wash my hands. The bathtub was disgusting and there was blue stuff on the toilet paper. I was horrified. I called Orbitz’ customer service from outside not wanting to sit on the nasty furniture. After waiting 32 minutes, I finally got a representative on the phone. She then told me there's nothing she could do now. She couldn't rebook me somewhere else and told me to take a picture of the conditions of the room and in 10 business days they would refund my money.
I had no extra money. If I did, I wouldn't have tried to book through Orbitz to save money. I and my 2 small children then went to the airport to wait for our flight, which was 19 hours away (Sunday, 7:30am). It was miserable trying to keep my children calm all that time and then sleep over-night, afraid of not being safe and being awakened by cameras in our face while they did a report of homeless people sneaking in the airport to sleep. How embarrassing! Orbitz should be put out of business.
Reviewed Aug. 24, 2012
I booked a reservation with a real human Orbitz rep for the W hotel in Union Square, New York, two rooms for $1580 each. The rep never once said I would not receive a refund for cancelation. I’m a first time Orbitz customer and had no idea about this policy. I called and cancelled within 12 hours and tried to speak to a customer rep - no chance! I had to do it online. I just received my credit card bill and was charged $3160.00. I thought it was a mistake. No, it was not. I called American Express and am praying they can stop this madness. Let’s see.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2012
Orbitz, as a vendor, is absolutely useless. Do not use Orbitz! The international flight from US to Manila was US$1500 round trip. The Visa for my wife expires September. I tried to change flight from December to September to prevent immigration violation. 5 agents, 5 calls and US$127 later, no assistance. I was told that Korean Airlines change would be US$1,000 for the move. Are you kidding me? They blamed it on Korean Airlines; not professional.
First of all, Orbitz is my vendor not Korean Airlines, I paid Orbitz! Second, customer service OMG; Charles (the first international US$27 call), Jasmine (the second US$15 call), Sedy (the third US$12 call) and Emmy (the final US$42 call) were of no help whatsoever. Please, any US national thinking or contemplating on using them, don't or suffer the consequences. Buyers beware. They are terrible. Bottom line, I should have learned from the first time I used them. I ended up buying a one way back to US. Unfortunately, I will be doing the same again to get my wife home.
Reviewed Aug. 21, 2012
I booked/reserved seats on US Air through Orbitz with a confirmation code 2 months in advance. I went online to print the boarding pass 24 hours before the flight and seats were changed; mine was at the center of place, not near my husband's seat! I called US Air, and they said it was Orbitz's fault, even though I had a confirmation code from US Air! By the way, this took over 2 hours of phone problems. In the end, US Air did give us seats similar to the ones we booked. Orbitz did nothing but said they reserved seats which means they are lying! Their agent, Jay, said they get the seats they request 90% of the time. When we booked 2 months ago, Orbitz said the seats were reserved and gave us a confirmation code with our seats printed! I hope this doesn't happen to you. Thanks for listening.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2012
On 8/9/2012, I called 1-800 to change a return flight reservation, was 10 minutes on hold (for the first agent ) and transferred to 2 different agents to be told that changing my flight destination from Seattle to Denver would cost $600 additional per ticket and a change fee of $180! That was more than the entire round trip package. They couldn't remedy as the operator to whom I was speaking disconnected? Total time spent on the a.m. call was 42 minutes. It's now 7 pm and I have been on hold for the 2nd time for over 35 minutes (as I write). The first operator, Ruth, could not assist because her screen did not allow access and I'm waiting for another operator? I am still waiting.
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2012
The hotel in Clintonville, a very small town in WI, was not given my reservation. Seeing I was desperate, they gave me an "off market" room, which didn't have many of the listed amenities like a refrigerator and much worse, lacked a toilet. After the trip, I got an Orbitz email asking me to rate the experience. I recited the above and got an error message saying "Your title contains inappropriate language. Your review text contains inappropriate language." What was inappropriate? My use of the word Orbitz. The hotel was fine, Orbitz - not.
Reviewed July 22, 2012
We are long-term unemployed due to the financial crisis in US so my sister paid for our tickets to come see her new granddaughter. The 2 adult tickets cost $439.20, round trip including airline taxes and fees. The airline was United Airlines. My union sheet metal husband unexpectedly received a call for job in NJ so he could not go. We tried substituting his paid flight with my daughter's name. She arranged to take time off with her boss. The airline and Orbitz would not have lost any money and there were plenty of available seats on the plane according to their own website. We expected a reasonable fee to make the name change ($50-$100), after all, all Orbitz or United Airlines (whichever) had to do was type a few buttons to make the switch. So when I called and explained the situation, I was very upset to hear that I could not switch the flight to her name and the e- tickets were non-refundable. I would get a credit plus a $150.00 change fee for future use. If the future flight was more the original, flight price would be applied. Okay, I thought, so he has a year to take another flight. Then I asked if I could book the flight in my daughter's name on the same flight which had empty seats available. This would be a win for the airline because the seat would still be filled and they would not lose any money.
The cost of the seat/ticket on the very same flight was a whopping $470.00 plus airline fees. I was devastated and explained the unemployment situation, how my sister paid for the tickets because we were financially stressed (again due to the banking crisis and no fault of our own), how we have not seen my only sister in more than 10 years and how we do not travel much and probably not use the future credit. We asked to speak with a supervisor who said there was nothing he could do about it. We asked if United Airlines could make the change. He said we could try. We called United Airlines who would not make the name switch either. We asked if this was due to the September 11 attack but the supervisor said it has been like that for 20 years before these discount travel sites were in existence. I don't think so. No one cared about our unfortunate circumstances, neither Orbitz nor United.
We would be paying over approximately $700.00 for the original $219.60 round trip ticket. Our best option is for my husband to not just take the flight and lose the $219.60 which was the cost for that one ticket - half of the $439.20 total cost for the two adult tickets we already paid. Here is the kicker: the Orbitz customer service call center was located in Manila, Philippines and the Orbitz supervisor was located in Santiago, Chile. Who knows where the customer service center for United was located? This business of outsourcing has contributed to the loss of jobs in the US. There is no such thing as an American company who treats their customers with respect or caring. They are just greedy corporations who just want more tax breaks and lower tax rates while gouging the American consumer. Some discount...buyers beware! If you have an unforeseen circumstance, it will cost you big time. I’m a disappointed and saddened American consumer!
Reviewed July 20, 2012
I had trouble finding a hotel in San Jose during the week of 7/14/12. I booked a hotel on Orbitz. When I arrived, the hotel was under a different name and the hotel was being renovated. There were construction crews everywhere when I arrived. The manager told me not to book on Orbitz because they do not normally know what is going on a local hotels. I called customer service at Orbitz and was told that I would not get a refund for at least 10 days. This was their company policy. I am a business traveler who stays in hotels at least 100 nights per year. Business travelers, beware. Stay away.
Reviewed July 17, 2012
My daughter canceled her flight tickets, $495 through Orbitz's agency a week ago. This morning, she booked another flight via Orbitz and she had to call 1-866-540-7057 to book her flight tickets according to the cancel policy, in order to get her refund. The agent told my daughter the only choice for her is to pay an extra $244 (flight tickets is $560.19), no other choice. In fact, there are lots of flight tickets $325-$345 available on the website (same as US Airlines) when my daughter called. The agent told her she has no other choice. She had to say yes and pay the extra $244 for the flight tickets.
When I called customer service and complained to them, they said they will waive a $30 fee. I do not agree with them, they put my phone on hold and not let me talk to their manager for hours. At last, Achley, Senior Manager, told me that it was my daughter’s fault and because she said yes to this agent. She had to agree with them otherwise, she could not use her money, $315 ($495-$180), for the next travel tickets according the Orbitz website, which allowed a traveler to use their money for their next trip. The manager did not offer me any help and gave me her company address no phone number. The agent took his/her advantage to offer the expensive tickets $ 560.19 not $345 (same as United Airlines) for those customers who have to change their tickets or cancel their flight tickets.
Reviewed July 13, 2012
I planned a trip through Orbitz on 8/11. I checked the fares on 8/13 and the fare had dropped $415.00. I called Orbitz and asked if the change could be applied to my ticket. They were very sorry, but unless someone purchased the same ticket at the lower price, I would not be able to get a refund. Better odds in Vegas for that to happen. I could cancel and rebook at the lower rate, but I would have to pay the $250 cancellation fee. If I change the flight times to get a lower rate, I would have to pay a $250 cancellation fee. Don't ever book with Ortibz, not a pro-consumer business and their lowest rate, come on, is phony.
Reviewed July 6, 2012
Orbitz Trip Protection is absolutely worthless. I booked a flight but had to cancel due to a work conference being canceled. I called customer support. They were the least helpful, didn't really care about me or my satisfaction. To cancel or change the flight meant I would get credit and be charged a $150 re-booking fare plus other costs. Trip protection is a scam. Orbitz is a waste of your time. I will never book on Orbitz again. This is the reason I fly Southwest. No change fees, awesome customer support. End of story.
Reviewed July 4, 2012
When I purchased tickets for my wife and I from RDU to STL and return, we selected aisle seats for your flight code **. Today, Delta says our seats are unassigned and that Orbitz did not send the information to them. What are you going to do to fix the problem? We are elderly people and will have difficulty. We are stressed about the seating mix up. Help!
Reviewed June 30, 2012
Customer Service - conflicting figures based on changing flights: My Orbitz locator number is **. I called into Orbitz today to inquire about changing the flight time from Charlotte (CLT) to Punta Cana (PUJ) from flight number 1967 leaving 11:55 am and arriving Punta Cana at 3:35 pm to an earlier flight. I spoke with Lorie who stated that flight number 1965 leaving CLT at 10 was available. She stated that the overall flight total is $1081 for the 10 am flight, which is $111 cheaper per person than what I paid for per person. Lorie stated that this credit would be applied to the change fees and that she would have to get me to someone in customer service.
I thought that I had called into customer service. The hold time was greater than 45 minutes. When I spoke with the customer service representative, he explained to me about the changeover fees for US Air and Orbitz but did not listen to me about what the first representative told me about the credit. Within a few minutes of speaking with him, he told me that changing flights (moving up to the 10 am flight) would cost me an additional $5720. He did not place me on hold, did not speak to US Air. He just stated that figure. That would have brought my total flight package to $13,781.
I ended the call and spoke with my wife. She demanded that I call back into Orbitz which I did. I spoke with Barbie and took 5 minutes to explain my question about changing my flight time and the information that I received. She told me that I was in the wrong department and transferred me. After being on hold for 30 plus minutes, I spoke with Amber. Amber was the most knowledgeable out of the employees that I spoke with but failed to show sympathy in what I was going through. She placed me on hold and came back to inform me that it would cost me only $1110 which is $150 plus $30 per passenger. There was no rate increase as what was communicated to me from the second representative. I told her that I would keep the same time but wanted to communicate my issues with a manager.
I then spoke with Alex who listened to my issues. He also placed me on hold and then came back to me to tell me that the first representative that quoted me the $1081 rate was for an actual seat downgrade. He gave me the same pricing information as Amber - just the change fees. He stated that there was nothing he could offer me in terms of what Julie had offered me/communicated with me. He never offered any credit towards the Orbitz fees which are $5 more than US Air and/or any future credits towards any other travel plans that my family and I might take.
This is the first time I have used Orbitz and I find that your customer service team does not care about the customer. The majority of the people (at least the ones that I spoke with) do not understand their jobs/no product knowledge, no sympathy to the customers. After being told three different prices, the manager failed me as well. As a manager, I would have thought that he would have been more sympathetic as well. It appears it is just business to them with very little to no compassion towards others. I will not use Orbitz ever again and will tell others about my story and my 2 plus hours being on hold, being told various stories, etc.
As a business owner, I am thankful to know that my employees place our customers above everyone. I would have honored what was communicated to me in terms of the credit. Again, it is just business to Orbitz. I hope this complaint is fed to others within the company for I will attempt to move it to the highest of all members of the organization so they get a feel of what one customer, a new one, has experienced. It is my first one and will be my last.
Reviewed June 24, 2012
I reserved four air tickets for my family from Honolulu to Kathmandu four months ahead of my travel date through Orbitz.com, which I paid fully and got confirmation for. Two days before departure, Orbitz informed me that my connecting flight was cancelled and we had four days layover in one of the Chinese cities. We neither had Chinese visa nor had time to apply for it and it was impossible for us to accept this change.
In spite of my hours of discussion with customer service representatives, we were not offered any good alternative and we were forced to cancel our flight. We had no option but to buy high priced ticket in another airline which we could have purchased much cheaper had we known that we would have problems with tickets booked through Orbitz. Moreover, it has been over a month after this cancellation and we have yet to get our money back.
Is this how Orbitz serve its customers? If we had cancelled those tickets, Orbitz would not have given us a penny and if we had asked for change, there were hefty penalties associated with it. Now Orbitz/airline changed flight. They have no responsibility and even do not bother to refund sooner. It has been almost a month and we have yet to receive our refund. What a customer service, Orbitz! I am really disappointed and I will never ever book anything through Orbitz.
Reviewed June 14, 2012
My traveling companion and I booked a multi-city trip with Orbitz. Orbitz made a spelling error on my last name adding an extra "e", changing it from ** to **. I called an Orbitz supervisor the day before departure and was told to just go to the airport and work things out. When I arrived at the airport the morning of departure, I was refused boarding because of the spelling error. I called another Orbitz supervisor, who told me that Orbitz cannot make any changes within 4 hours of a departure. I was forced to pay an additional $4,680.00 to continue the trip.
I have been dealing with Orbitz customer service for several months now. The initial offer was $200.00. The latest offer was increased to $1,000.00. I discovered that the Orbitz supervisor I spoke to the day before departure could have rebooked the same itinerary for almost the same initial cost ($1,717.00). Also, the supervisor should have told me about the 4-hour window for changes. I would have gone to the airport several hours early to make the changes. Orbitz admits partial responsibility for their errors, but states that it was my responsibility to discover their spelling error within 24 hours of the initial booking. Orbitz has since refunded my initial cost of $1,717.00, but I am still out $2,963.00. I am a senior citizen on a fixed retirement income and would appreciate any assistance.
Reviewed June 7, 2012
I had to cancel a trip due to death in the family. I canceled the trip and agreed to the cancellation charge. I was told that the remaining money from the cancellation would be in the form of a credit from Delta (which the carrier originally booked). I went to rebook the flight. Delta had no record of the tickets since I had only an Orbitz code. I called up Orbitz and they were of no help. Basically, the money can go into Orbitz, but not out of Orbitz. At this point, I have no replacement ticket and a $700 charge with no chance of rebooking.
I disputed the charge with American Express. American express asked all parties to provide documentation. Orbitz did not reply! The charge was reversed. I booked my replacement flight directly with Jetblue. Out of nowhere, a collections agency or Orbitz called me with an email and demanded the payment in full on the basis that Delta is trying to collect money from them for goods/services never rendered to me. I told them that the problem between Orbitz and Delta is not my concern and that the issue was covered by the dispute process at American Express. Evidently, Orbitz does this all the time. There must be millions of dollars of money in tickets that can never be recovered due to the process described above. Money seems to go in, but it never comes out to facilitate refunds or partial refunds, per the terms of the ticketing agreements.
Reviewed June 4, 2012
I booked a round-trip flight from Houston to Copenhagen with a connecting flight in London Heathrow Airport. The flight leaving Houston was 5 hours late (thanks, United), and of course we missed our connecting flight in London. When we were told by the London ticket agent that there were no more available flight out of London, I tried to call Orbitz and was put on hold for 30 minutes! Since it was long distance and I finally realized they were not going to help me, I hung up and was on my own to get to Copenhagen.
As soon as we got to Copenhagen, I started getting emails that there had been a significant change in my airline reservations and to call them immediately. I sat in my hotel room and spent over 1.5 hours on the phone with them; but even though they sent me the email telling me to contact them, no one at Orbitz could tell me what the problem was. Finally, I asked to talk to a supervisor and after about 30 minutes with her, she told me that the SAS flight out of Copenhagen had been canceled. She put me through to SAS to get it changed (she said she could not do it) and then disconnected me! I finally called SAS myself and they rebooked me. When I was at the airport to take my return trip home, I got an email telling me that my original flight was "on time". In other words, it had not been canceled. Never will I use Orbitz again. They are worthless.
Reviewed June 1, 2012
I booked with Orbitz for a flight from San Diego to Philadelphia connecting to Europe. When US Airways changed the flight, Orbitz did not notify me. When I found that the new flight will arrive Philadelphia 20 minutes after my connecting flight left, Orbitz could do absolutely nothing to rectify the problem with the US Airways.
Reviewed May 16, 2012
I am working on resolving an airline ticket refund for my mother who was diagnosed with cancer last September. We had to cancel her flight for surgery and chemo and her doctor said it would be impossible for her to fly. Since that time I've been back and forth with Orbitz mostly, but also Virgin Air. I've sent all the medical documents they asked for. I’ve been told twice by Orbitz that the refund had been issued and to wait 70 days. The last time was at the beginning of March. When I haven't heard anything in May, I called and talked to a supervisor. I have now received an email that the info had been sent back to Virgin to be authorized! I was told by Virgin months ago that they authorized it on their end. Orbitz now says I should wait another 45 days! Is there anything you can do to help?
Reviewed May 9, 2012
I booked a flight for my daughters and me. Our last name had a misspelling, and after hours on the phone and days later, I am still waiting and my account has had over $200 put on hold. Their customer service is beyond horrible. They used my credit account without telling me. I believe this to be a scam and possibly criminal. Do not do business with them. I tried to talk to a Daphne, a rep, and Claudiam, the manager. Both were beyond bad. My mission is to tell anyone how bad they are.
Reviewed May 7, 2012
I was going over the details of my flight, and I noticed that Monterey was spelled funny. I then realized that it was departing from Monterrey, Mexico and not Monterey, CA. I called the Orbitz number and tried to fix this. I was then told that I couldn't change this. I explained what happened, and I was told that the best I could hope for was cancelling the flight and using it at a later time, that I could not get a partial refund. I have no intention of ever having to leave from Monterrey, Mexico. I have been a long time customer of Orbitz and every time I have a trip, I book with you guys. I am very upset as this was supposed to be my honeymoon trip.
Reviewed May 2, 2012
I am writing to complain about your flight change alert system. I booked a flight in January, leaving April 12, 2012 from Boston at 7:10PM to JFK for a connecting flight out at 9:45PM to Dublin. I logged into my Orbitz account today to see if I could check in within 24 hours of the flight, only to find that the flight has been changed to 10:25AM tomorrow morning. After chatting with an online rep, as well as a telephone rep and finally, an "Advance Change Specialist" (Eric, #**), I was told that I had been sent one email on March 19th, notifying me of the change in my itinerary. I never received the email.
It is completely outrageous and very poor business practice to send one email regarding a nine hour change in the take-off time. There should absolutely be written notification mailed as well as a phone call placed in order to properly notify a customer about a 9-hour change in their flight plans. Had I not happened to have tried to check in online, we would have arrived at Logan airport only to find that we had no way of getting to NYC in time to meet our connecting flight. Now, my children will be missing an additional day of school and my husband and I will each be missing a day of work and your "Advance Change Specialist" was useless in rectifying the situation.
You sent one email. It was never received. Your flight change notification policy is extremely poor and completely unacceptable. Your customer service did absolutely nothing to rectify the problem. I am disappointed in both your notification system and your customer service, and because of both of these issues, I will not be using Orbitz again.
Reviewed April 26, 2012
I bought a ticket on a flight from Denver to Sheridan, WY on Great Lakes Airlines from Orbitz. I had no choice but to accept paper tickets and paid over $20 extra to have them mailed to me early so I could try to get a seat assignment. No deal. Not possible. I went to the airport 3 hours early and checked in. No problem. I was the only person bumped from the flight because so many others had electronic tickets and checked in the day before. Never again, Orbitz. Never again.
Reviewed April 21, 2012
I booked a flight out for my boyfriend because I got hurt at work and can barely move and need assistance getting around. My cousin and I booked online for the date of 4/20/2012. We booked online on 4/19/2012. The next evening at 7:52PM, we finally got a confirmation and it had a wrong date. I called Orbitz and told them of this mistake and the answer we got was if we cancel, we would pay $125 for a cancellation fee and they would not help us with anything. I have no one to watch over me because of this mistake. They stated that their system never makes a mistake and that there is nothing they could do even in an emergency situation. We felt baited and switched online because at first, the ticket was below $100 then it switched prices on us and not to mention, changed dates. If there is a lawyer working on this, please add me to the list. People should not have to resort to ignorance and shady business tactics.
Reviewed April 17, 2012
Twice I tried to purchase tickets with Orbitz and the Orbitz website denied the purchase, but charged my credit card both times. Now I have to wait for the charges to pend and drop on my credit card for a second time. The tickets already went up a $100 from the first time. Now I have to wait for a second time. The worst part is that Orbitz has no clue on why it is isn't working. Orbitz says it's my bank. My bank says it's Orbitz, yet my card is being charged. I have no tickets still by the way!
Reviewed April 8, 2012
Do not use Orbitz, especially for overseas travel. We booked airline travel from Boston to Seville, Spain. They in turn used British Air as main carrier and Iberia as codeshare. As another poster mentioned, Orbitz does not allow you to reserve a seat even for a seven-hour flight! You find this out, only after you have confirmed, and paid for your flights. We certainly would never have booked had we known this. Orbitz just said there was nothing they could do, and we would have to wait until we were at the airport to reserve the seat. Everyone who books directly with the airlines does have the ability to confirm a seat at the time of their booking, so Orbitz customers are at a huge disadvantage.
But, as bad as that is, that wasn’t the worst part of our experience. While we were in Spain, we received an email from Orbitz asking us to call them. When we did they said that the Iberia flight for one leg of our trip home had been cancelled. So, naturally, I asked them to rebook us on another flight. They said they couldn’t do anything until 6:00pm Eastern Time, 10 hours from then, because British Air isn’t open until then - what? I called back several times, after being cut off twice, spoke with different reps and a supervisor, who said they couldn’t do anything for another 10 hours. I then asked that since the flight had been cancelled, could I just get a refund of the flight cost and then book my own transportation to Madrid.
The Orbitz rep had no idea how that would work. I said OK, can you book us on a train to Madrid, and the Orbitz rep said she didn’t know if they booked with Amtrak (Amtrak, we are in Europe!) and had no clue how that would be done. I spent over an hour and a half pleading with various Orbitz reps to help us get to Madrid, explaining that we would be touring for the next several days and would be unable to contact them at 6pm ET, and we were afraid any flight would get fully booked within the next several hours with folks trying to rebook from the cancelled flight. No dice, they simply would not help us.
So I called British Air myself. I was concerned that British Air would refuse to change booking and would just refer me back to Orbitz, especially since it was the Iberia leg of the flight that had been cancelled. Nope, British Air was very accommodating and in about 10 minutes or less, had rebooked us on another flight, and emailed the confirmation to us. Why couldn’t Orbitz have done this? And, why did they claim British Air was closed? Hello, why would an airline that operates flights literally around the world be closed at 9 in the morning (British time)?
So had I not called British Air myself, Orbitz would have simply left us stranded in Spain with no way home. By the time they claimed British Air was open, all seats would have been taken. I will never use them again. Oh, and every time I called, they wanted to hit me for another fee - fee to change booking even though the flight booked through them was cancelled, additional fee because we were using 2 different airlines, and a third fee for booking via phone vs website! Never ever again.
Reviewed April 7, 2012
I was contacted by an agent named Paula regarding a dispute of an unauthorized charge on my credit card back in October 2011 for a ticket that was bought under my credit card on Orbitz’ website file. After I explained to her that I had no idea who that passenger was until the day I received a letter of collection from Orbitz.com. She stated that I have to file a claim with the police department against the passenger that bought the ticket under my credit card in order for me to dispute this charge; if not, I would have to be fully responsible for that charge! She also stated that Orbitz.com is a highly secured website and more likely will not have any fraud that I mentioned. I was very frustrated with the way Orbitz.com handled this situation.
If it is a highly secured system, then a fraudulent charge should not happen on my credit card. If it is a highly secured system, then it should be an easy way for you to investigate after I disputed the charge before sending out a collection letter to me! After I had to spent my time to file a claim with the police department and provided police report number, officer's name, police department number to Paula, she requested a hard copy of a police report to make sure that I had filed a claim with the right passenger! Really, Paula? It's time for you to get off your comfort chair and do what you get paid to do instead of calling and harassing your victim (consumer) for your own conveniences! Don't forget, fraudulent charge came from your "highly secured" website! I am nice enough to have cooperated with you to go to the police department to file the claim and provide the information you needed. I would like you to resolve this issue without any further harassing me!
Reviewed April 6, 2012
We went online to determine where to go for an Aruba trip. Once we decided, we went online and looked at Orbitz (first mistake). We looked at a couple of all-inclusive place and decided to do an all-inclusive with Renaissance in Aruba. No problem (we thought). We looked at the hotel and picked the package Island King All-inclusive Adult Side. Then an Orbitz chat popped up; “Would you like help with order?” We clicked yes.
It took us 45 minutes to book the package with the Orbitz operator being pushy. Every 3 minutes, she would ask do you need help. During that time, we were checking out the packages and excursions she was offering to make sure it was what we want. So after 45 minutes went, the operator processed our order (dying to get the credit card) and we confirmed the airport parking, shuttle to and from airport, scuba cruise, dinner cruise and the all-inclusive. The deal was done and email was sent with confirmation #. The confirmation number consisted of airline, hotel and the packages we got, airport parking, shuttle and snorkel but no mention of all-inclusive.
We did not think anything of it until we were getting ready to leave. So we double checked our stuff; passports, printouts of snorkel, parking and transportation. So out of curiosity, I called Orbitz to confirm hotel and flight and they said flight is good and reservation is good. I then asked about the all-inclusive and they said the hotel did not have an all-inclusive. Well, I popped a gasket and went off on the overseas rep that told me that I was on the phone with them for 2 hours explaining what transpired and they said it was not their responsibility that the wrong package was gotten. I explained to them that yes it was because for the whole time we were working with their (Orbitz) rep, it was all-inclusive and now it is not.
So to save an upset wife, I asked what do I need to do to make this an all inclusive. They told me that they could cancel my reservation for hotel and book a different one without flight to make it right (about an $800 difference). I said ok (my wife was really upset as we splitting this trip for her 40th birthday and our 14 year anniversary). So they came back after 20 minutes stating that the room was cancelled and that I needed to pay $2,300 for the hotel. I freaking lost it (bad judgment call) because they said since I have flight there, I would have to book it as a Hotel Only (way more than a package deal). Long story short, please do not use Orbitz for international trip. They do what they can to scam you! Be very aware! Use Expedia or another one. Stay away!
Reviewed April 5, 2012
Orbitz travel booking - They kept us on the phone for over one hour and 45 minutes and no result came of it. I was transferred from one person to another and put on hold for over an hour. The worst customer service in the world and I will never use them.
Reviewed March 31, 2012
I was contacted Friday evening and told that my reservation, which was scheduled to start Sunday, was cancelled due to over-booking. They offered to put me into another resort at no additional cost to me. Upon investigation, the new resort was not ocean front, the room was not non-smoking, offered two double beds instead of two queen size beds, and the new hotel was advertised for more than $15/day cheaper than the one I had booked. I tried to get a simple refund and a guarantee of a non-smoking room. I was told nope, take it or leave it. I've yet to see the promised refund to my credit account and they've basically ruined our vacation. It is now the day before our departure and Orbitz won't even respond to emails.
Reviewed March 23, 2012
No vacation, thanks to Orbitz - I booked one flight through Orbitz. I made a mistake by booking the last search I did which was for the following day instead of the last saved search. I called customer service immediately who informed me that he could simply offer me a courtesy cancellation which would be back on my card within 5 days. During our discussion, I was talking to him about the flights that I had actually intended to book, which I didn't even think he was paying attention to. I get off the phone with him and proceed to quickly make the reservations I had originally intended. The flight home I didn't even book through Orbitz. I booked it straight through the airline.
I tried to book my hotel but they're telling me that my card isn't working. I checked my bank and I have six, yes six, pending transactions: the $663 that would be eventually courtesy cancelled; $319, which appears to be the flight that I decided to book straight through the airline but Orbitz booked it; another for $318.40, plus three random $2 transactions. Now the flights I booked through the airline have already posted, not pending but posted. So those are all linked to Orbitz. I only had one transaction with them and they charged me four times plus their $2 fees. They keep telling me to wait 5 days but my kids and I are leaving in three days and I can't reserve a hotel until all these pending transactions fall off!
After calling four different times to figure these charges out (which was another nightmare because they all gave me different information and kept blaming the airline and reviewing others' problems), I seriously doubt that the charges will fall off like regular pending charges. I'm betting they'll just end up as a posted charge and I'll never get any money back. So if it's not in there by the time our flight is supposed to take off, I have to reschedule our vacation since we don't have anywhere to stay, which of course means that I will have to cancel another flight with them. Super. I was so looking forward to spending some time with the kids. Another agent I spoke with asked why he didn't just give me a credit that I could use to book my correct flights with (at least, I think that's what she said. I could hardly understand her). And I'm telling everyone I know what has happened to my family vacation. I can't change my scheduled work vacation days at this point so now they're wasted. If I ever do get any of that money back, I won't be able to take the kids anywhere. Thanks a lot, Orbitz.
Reviewed March 19, 2012
I booked tickets on 8/20/2011 from O’Hare to Orlando for 4/6/2012 and return on 4/12/2012. Specifically, I needed a non-stop as I was traveling with a 3 and 6-year old. On 3/19/2012, I logged onto US Airways to check baggage restrictions and I was told my reservations had been changed. The return flight was a nightmare as there was an hour or more of layover in Charlotte. I spent Saturday and Sunday trying to resolve the problem.
No one would take responsibility for not contacting me. I found out the change occurred in December 2011. Orbitz was the agent. They did nothing. US Airways did nothing. United Airlines did nothing. I found out there was a flight returning from Orlando leaving at the same time as my original reservations and I could be booked on it if I wished to pay $4,500. The reservation is a contract. They broke the contract by not notifying me. No one is accepting responsibility. They have had my money for seven months. Doesn't the consumer have any recourse? Or is it only the airlines/agents that can make demands and expect compliance?
Reviewed March 19, 2012
I hope you can advise or direct me with this issue. On Jan. 8, 2012, I booked a flight/hotel package through Orbitz for the Saguaro hotel in Palm Springs for 5 adults. I checked 1 room/5 adults, it was accepted by Orbitz with no messages back and I was given a confirmation number from Orbitz and the hotel and have since paid MasterCard. My husband phoned the hotel on Friday just to make sure all was in order. They said they have a booking for 4 people, 2 queen beds and California law doesn't allow a cot.
I have talked to the Saguaro Hotel manager and she said it was Orbitz's fault as the reservation shouldn't have gone through. Today, I spent 6 hours (continuous), eventually talking to a senior manager that would in no way accept responsibility and said the room can accommodate 5 people and said 3 adults could go in one queen bed or one on the floor. He also said if I thought there was a concern, I should have phoned their customer service to check on the booking for 5 before I actually confirmed and paid.
I said, "Why would I be concerned? I assumed there would be a cot and there was not a notification to tell me on phone". He also said they could give me a deal from the hotel to pay $1250.00 more to get a room for the 5th person. This is no deal as I had phoned the hotel to ask them and that is the regular rate. As I booked Jan. 8th through Orbitz, those seats of $750.00 per person are no longer available. So senior manager Sebastian is saying that 3 adults can sleep in one queen bed and is offering no help in spite of the fact that I booked 5 people in one room and both Orbitz and the hotel sent a confirmation number. At Orbitz, they maintain none of them have phone numbers or full names to contact them, but to send an email. I hope you can help me out as we leave this Friday, March 23rd.
Reviewed March 18, 2012
My daughter tried to change her ticket to an earlier date. The website told her she had to cancel her ticket. When she tried to rebook, the website showed no credit for her original ticket. After calling their 'help' line and waiting for over an hour to talk with someone and then spending another 45 minutes on the phone with them, I was told the only option was to buy a new ticket for twice the original fare or talk to the airline. Orbitz refused to honor the original ticket price or refund our money. I will never do business with them again.
Reviewed March 9, 2012
I had originally purchased my flight through Orbitz. I made a reservation for a round trip flight from Erie, PA to Los Angeles, CA with total airfare: $390.49 (including taxes). Mind you, both trips back and forth required layovers. So my first trip, I was flying through Delta Airlines and had no trouble whatsoever. The horror was the returning trip via Continental/United Airlines. I am a college student traveling back and forth from school and I have gone on quite a bit of flights recently but never had I had so much trouble before. As I was departing home from LAX, my boarding pass flashed red, meaning there was some trouble with my ticket. I was told to go on.
I began my trip and had a layover in Houston International Airport. When I was getting ready to board again, I had the same problem with my flight and once again, I was told "You're fine, go on." I am settled in and getting comfortable and as the plane is but a minute or two from departing, my name was called and I am told to get off the plane because my ticket did not go through. I was not explained anything, simply that my issue would be resolved at the boarding gate and was rushed off. (Only later would I find that I had left behind my personal iPod because I did not have time to gather my things and was told last minute as the flight is about to leave!) Not only was this agent from United very rude, he passed me on to the PNR and said "I'm sorry, I can't do anything for you, I've tried calling the company and they told me to call Delta and Delta said they won't do anything about it so you're going to have to call. Oh, but this lady here will continue to help you out while I go on my lunch break." How ridiculous is that?!
Anyway, after almost an hour and a half of arguing that I had paid for a flight and being mistreated for not receiving the service that I paid for, she finally told me "I wish someone would have called me in earlier, I could have done something to fix your problem so you wouldn't have had to miss your flight. It turns out that Delta won't release your ticket to us."
Apparently, when you book through Orbitz and pay for your reservation, all the money goes to the first airline through which you fly and so you're screwed if your remaining flights are through another airline, even though on your confirmation and itinerary it clearly states you are being charged for both trips. I told her that this wasn't my fault because obviously, I had been charged for the flight. Her response was simply "I'm sorry but it's not our fault either. This is a business transaction you simply got caught in the middle of it. I will reserve another flight for you but keep in mind that we are not getting paid for your trip with us. This is a liability for us."
I paid the fact that they did not receive this because of some fault with Orbitz and Delta basically robbing me and not distributing the money properly should be taken up with them. I shouldn't have had to go through such trouble because of their mistakes. I also don't understand why United did not stop me before I even boarded the plane back in LAX if my ticket was being flagged. In that case, United was responsible there. Why would you let someone board if you weren't sure you were getting paid!
Yes, they would have had to reschedule me on some other flights but at least I would be home waiting not stuck overnight in some airport with alone with no place to sleep or no one to contact for help. Not only that but it was the start of a new term and as a college student, I don't have the luxury of missing the first day of classes, especially after paying thousands of dollars for them. Never book through Orbitz, if you can avoid all these complications please book directly through other companies or the airlines themselves. Save yourselves the trouble!
Reviewed March 8, 2012
I book a flight online with Orbitz and included trip insurance for the flight that they advertised on their site. Orbitz is partnered with Access America. They sent me a confirmation email with the trip insurance policy number. Apparently, I cancelled the flight. Now when I called to file a claim, the policy number that was given is not existing.
Reviewed March 6, 2012
I booked a flight on Orbitz for April 14-18, 2012 from Newark to Miami for $424.00. I now see the same flight is $254.60. Orbitz will not credit me the $169.40 because I booked a nonrefundable flight. I asked the representative about the price assurance policy then and she said it's only if someone else books the same flight. She then gave me a list of options that I have that in the end, will cost me more money than the refund I am asking for. I don't understand the point of their service since I am the one who found the cheaper flight. This is a tough economy and all I want is a mini-vacation with my husband. The $169.40 that I would get back would be a great help to having a nice vacation.
Reviewed March 2, 2012
Beware booking international flights with Orbitz. A month after I had booked a round trip flight from San Francisco to Bangkok on China Airlines, I just found out that the seats I selected (as part of the booking process on Orbitz) could not be confirmed until the day of the flight. I discovered this when I checked on my flight only to see that my ticket was designated "no seat preference" even though I selected seats prior to booking my ticket and paying for my flight.
After hours of exasperating phone calls with numerous "managers" at Orbitz, the bottom line was that because it was a promo fare (I had no idea), that seats for this "L" designated block of seats could be "selected" (as in I hope to get this seat) but not confirmed. I booked almost 2 months in advance to make sure I would not be sitting in the middle seat in the back of the plane. Orbitz refuses to return my money so that I can buy a ticket (directly from the airlines) that allows me to confirm a seat.
The best this company could do is give me a credit to be used at another time I book with them. As if I ever would. Had I known, I would never had purchased this seat in the first place, nor would anyone else facing a long flight. That's why they don't mention the seat assignment restriction when you're booking. Also, by the way, this class of ticket also does not allow you to earn mileage. Orbitz's position is that I should know the difference between "selecting a seat" and “confirming a seat”.
Just to underscore how absurd this is, I even had a three-way conversation with Orbitz and the ticketing agent at China Airlines who was very sympathetic to me and tried to shame Orbitz into giving me my money back, saying the company was treating customers unfairly and alienating their future customers as well.
No movement at all from Orbitz. Beware of this shoddy, smoke-and-mirrors practice from this online ticketing company. I'm either forced to pay another $1,200 for a ticket with an assigned seat, or roll the dice on the day of my flight that no one else requested a window seat at the middle of the plane. See you at the back of the airplane.
Reviewed March 2, 2012
I bought $2,050 flight from NY to Seoul. It said on the website that the flight would be 100% refunded! So I canceled the ticket because I wanted to buy another ticket from Orbitz that was offered. I cancelled it, thinking that it would be refunded and bought another ticket from Orbitz that cost about $2,000. I did not get a refund, and I bought two tickets leaving on the same day for the total cost of $4,050. I called Orbitz, was put on hold for a ridiculous amount of time, and was told the ticket was in fact not refundable. I told them what it said on the site, and they said "Sorry ma'am but that policy does not apply to your ticket." So instead of a refund, I was able to rebook for future use.
I wasn't planning to go to Korea on December, but I thought why not? Better than wasting $2,000. I called (3 hrs) and asked to rebook the flight for another date that costs $2,000 which I saw on the site. The person said the cost is not actually $2,000 but $2,800. Huh? I told the person that it says it is $2,000 on the site. Again, the person said that, that discount does not apply to my ticket because I cancelled it before.
So I asked, "Could I get a cheaper flight from another airline?", "No", "But why can't I get the price as stated on the website?", "It's the policy, sorry.", "You shouldn't state wrong prices on the website then.", "We're sorry about that." It went like that for hours, so in the end I lost about $980 ($800 + $180 (change fee)) and phone bill.
If Orbitz wants to earn money, they should do so in an ethical way. They seem to be making up policies every second to their advantage. I had no choice but to buy that ridiculously overpriced ticket for winter, and gave me no choice but to buy that airline K's ticket. Ludicrous.
Needs better service system. Needs to provide customers with information needed. Don't just say it's part of the policy, or is part of the terms and conditions when it clearly isn't. Employ more people, stop putting customers on hold for hours! Listen to what the customers have to say! Look at the amount of complaints about Orbitz!
Reviewed Feb. 29, 2012
I’m biking in Hungary with friends in June. To get to our trip, I booked round-trip tickets to Bucharest from Paris on Orbitz (booked 1/4/12). While completing this transaction, Orbitz asked me if I wanted trip insurance. Since there is a little uncertainty about an airline that I’ve never heard of (Malevthe, official airline of Hungary), I decided to spend the $60.68 for the trip insurance. Last week, Malev Airlines filed for bankruptcy and suspended all operations (week of 2/19/12). I tried to contact the airline to no avail. So I contacted Orbitz. They told me I’m on my own to get a refund from the airline. They neglected to point out to me that I had purchased trip insurance from them for $50.68.
Now I know why. The policy that they sold me does not include this airline. I had no receipt for this transaction from Orbitz. Probably because the policy that they sold me does not include this airline. But American Express pointed it out to me when I called to get a refund on the Orbitz transaction. The policy holder Alliance Global Assistance is willing to reassign the insurance policy for me when I get new travel plans made. They were pleasant to deal with and quite forthcoming. Unlike Orbitz, who charged me for the tickets and the insurance. My receipt from Orbitz does not show the charge for the travel insurance. So, I got scammed by Orbitz on travel insurance and I got ** by Orbitz on travel. I spent $1000 on plane tickets, and I’m on my own to get refunded by the airline.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2012
Holiday for 14 people booked incorrectly: We called Orbitz and spoke to an agent on Nov 16/11 to book a family vacation for 14 people. From this, a group of 8 was booked as 8 adults for the airline, 4 adults 2 seniors and 2 children for the resort and 5 adults, 2 seniors and 1 child for a cruise. In reality there are 2 adults, 2 seniors and 4 children for this portion. Orbits also over charged us by about $4,000.00. One group of 2 adults was charged $2,585.17 USD or $751.50/person. The group of 4 was charged $7,116.30 or $1,779.08/person and the group of 8 was charged $1,4973.84 or $1,871.73/person.
When asked why would there be such a variance in costs when all were booked at the same time, we were told that the more people you book the more expensive it is! When asked about the other errors, we were told that Orbits had no record of our trip being booked by an agent, therefore we must have booked it ourselves online even though it is impossible to book a group of this many people online at one time.
They say the first contact their agents had with us is when we responded to an email from Orbitz on Nov 30th regarding a “serious change to our flight”. Orbitz has concocted stories to suit their needs and refuse to admit that someone made some serious errors on their part.
As we do not leave from Seattle until the 12th of March, 2012, I will not know if their errors with the airline will affect our trip. I am hoping the Continental will still allow the children on even though their tickets were booked as adults. Orbitz has so graciously put a note on our reservation saying that children were booked as adults. How nice. Not!
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2012
Checked with Kayak regarding October flights to South Africa. Kayak quoted prices of less than $1,500 and asked me to choose Orbitz or Cheap Tickets to proceed. I checked both websites and both showed the same price as Kayak... that is until I selected one of the flights. Then a note popped up, saying that fare is no longer available and the flight is now ~$600 more. I selected several more of the same price flights ($1,500) but got the same note each time I hit the select button. I tried this multiple times on both sites. Maybe they think people will buy at the higher price but I refuse and I hope everyone else does.
Many times the airlines will have comparable, or even better, prices and I prefer to do business with them. I don't appreciate the bait and switch tactics from any business so I will be sure to tell my friends. I hope this "free" advertising severely impacts their business. Personally, I wish this type of thing could be prosecuted. From the list of complaints I've seen on this site, these ticket discounters have a huge problem. Things will not change unless we continue to complain and complain and complain.
Reviewed Feb. 15, 2012
On July 25, I bought a holiday package at Orbitz.com comprising flight and hotel reservations, and activities. The total amount of the package is USD 5494.39. In the offer is written that the hotel room costs entitle me for the all-inclusive plan called the Gourmet Inclusive Plan with breakfast, lunch and dinner in hotel restaurants, domestic drinks including selected liquors, beers, water, soda and house wine, 24 hours room service (restricted menu), and use of gym.
On August 1, I called the hotel over the telephone to confirm the booking. The receptionist informed me that I was not entitled for the all-inclusive package. On the same day, I called the Orbitz customer service hot line and I have informed that I bought an all-inclusive package of the hotel, Le Meridien Cancun Resort & Spa. Orbitz customer service told me that I did not buy an all-inclusive package. Then I asked to check the website and to read the offer about the package I bought.
For some unknown reason, the Orbits employee was not even capable to retrieve the information from their own website. At that point, I have realized the fraudulent behavior of Orbitz and I have asked to cancel the trip and to get full refund of the amount for USD5494.39. I have cancelled the trip, but I have never received a written message about the amount that will be refunded as well as any cancellation fee. In the meantime, I have been only partially refunded. I am still waiting to get my refund for USD 909.13.

Reviewed Feb. 12, 2012
Yesterday, I spent about 20 minutes filling in all the info for five, $274.00, round-trip tickets from Dallas, Texas to Orlando, Florida. We were to leave Dallas about 7:05 am on May 15, 2011 and return from Orlando about 3:00 pm on May 22, 2011. I pressed the button for the final payment and got some message saying Orbitz.com was not going to do the transaction not going to sell me the tickets for $274.00 each. I spoke with a supervisor, no better luck.
I called customer service and was told the price changed?! Come on. I was told a ticket was $274. The customer service guy would be glad to sell me the same tickets for about $385.00 each, really?! No thanks.
I then went to Travelocity.com and bought tickets for $319.00, not as good as $274.00, but much better than their $385.00 offer. This is called bait and switch and is illegal. Of course, I will never use Orbitz.com again.
Reviewed Feb. 9, 2012
I spent 4 hours trying to book a flight where they charged me 4 times for a flight they did not book. In the meantime, the price went up. I had to go to another site to finally book the ticket. And their Guatemala call center supervisor Julios was so rude to me after all that. No empathy or assistance. Orbitz is the worst! They have gone way down over the years.
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2012
Orbitz sucks! I purchased a round trip ticket to Aruba, but had to cancel the trip the day after I booked the flight. I still had three weeks before the flight. I called Orbitz, and canceled the trip via phone. They told me I could not get my money back, but said to call customer service when i want to re-book my trip, to use my credit. After three months, I called Orbitz to use my credit for a new flight, and Orbitz now claims I never canceled the ticket, and I need to write a letter to American, to see if they will re-open the ticket, and allow me to get a credit towards a new flight. This is a lie. I spoke with a supervisor, and she told me the same thing. Now, I have to write a letter to American, when it was Orbitz that I was doing business with, in the fist place? They also say if American allows me to reopen the flight, i will need to pay $100 cancellation as fee, and $100 as re-booking fee. I will never use Orbitz again. The person on the phone was rude, to top it all off.
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2012
We had to change our return flights (total 4). When calling for return seating, we were advised Orbitz had cancelled our return flights--the wrong ones! Two of us phone Orbitz in neighboring hotel rooms--got different information from agents. My agent said: "Sorry, no more seats!” (We live in small town, not many flights). The whole experience took much of our time and lots of money just to get home! It was maddening! They lied to us, took up all our leisure time dealing with this. I had to engage American Express late night concierge service as Orbitz wore us out and beat us up royally! Yes, on several occasions, they told us stories that were flat out lies! I don't even have this kind of time, but I'm filing a complaint. This is not a professional company, they have no integrity. There were fees and fees and more fees.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2012
Orbits $250 Bahamas instant promotion code is a scam.
I looked at several places to book online and have accounts with both Orbitz and Expedia. For the trip I was booking to Nassau, Bahamas January 23 - 27 2012, and I was booking it on 12/24/11, Orbitz was offering a $250 Bahamas Instant Promotion Code discount on air/hotel packages. I selected air through Delta and Comfort Inn Suites in Nassau (Paradise Island). The package came to $1472 for my wife and I less the $250 Instant Promotion Code that it said this package qualified for. Upon purchasing, I was prompted to enter the "promotion code" and when I entered each of two codes provided, neither worked. So I called Orbitz customer service right then and told them of the problem I was having with the codes and they said it must be a computer problem and they would look into it and get to me. I told them that since I had purchased the "last two air tickets with Delta" and at a very good price, I didn't have the luxury of waiting till they figured it out. They said they would get back with me and I purchased the package believing they would figure it out and make good on the problem I was experiencing.
Boy, was I wrong. We just got back from the trip and I called customer service today and was escalated a few times finally to a supervisor named James and this supervisor gave me three different stories, all bogus, and was not willing to provide any documentation for his statements. First, he said that "Instant Discount codes were for a future Bahamas trip I need to book and use". Then I argued with him and he said, "Your $250 discount was already taken off your total package". I then proceeded to request a copy of the details showing me $250 taken off my hotel portion or the package and he said he couldn't show it to me but it was there". I called him a liar when he said he couldn't or wouldn't provide the details and third, he told me that "the $250 was taken off when Orbitz and Comfort Inn Suites negotiated a special price between them and the $250 was taken off before I saw the $1472 total price". I told him, "then why do I get a promotion code when I go to pay?"
This supervisor and the culture of everyone I spoke with is incompetent and not only that, willing to insult my intelligence with stories that make no reasonable sense. I asked James if he is willing to have Orbitz lose me as a customer for $250 and he said, "Do what you have to do, we respect that." I told him I hope Orbitz fires him.. He's a liar. He gave me three different stories, and either he is to blame or Orbitz is to blame for creating a culture of lying to the public, first with the deceptive ads and then with customer service that is told to tell the customer whatever they want to get them to go away.
I have rarely been so mad in my whole life. I have been self-employed for more than 25 years and cannot understand how a company can stay in business with these kinds of practices. I welcome a competent Orbitz representative providing proof of the $250 discount given in a line item receipt or giving me the $250 they owe me and compensation for future travel for the hassle and half day wasted with their customer service personnel and my having to file these complaints.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2012
Angry and dissatisfied. I was on hold and had to repeat my travel reservations multiple times before booking was complete. I even transferred and worked with floor supervisor. It took more than 40 minutes for a simple flight. When I received the confirmation I also had an Orbitz $25 fee applied that I was never told about!
Reviewed Jan. 9, 2012
I bought 2 tickets from Orbitz to fly with my wife from Chile to the UK for the 6th of December returning the 14 of February 2012. I had to fly to UK before this date. I had to buy another ticket, also from Orbitz. My wife called Orbitz the 24th of October to ask if I could use the return part of the ticket, because I was not going to use the ticket to UK, as I was already there. They said yes, so, as far as I was concerned, the flight of the 6th of December was cancelled.
Today, I phoned Orbitz to check if our return tickets were okay and they told me that my return ticket was cancelled because nobody let them know that I was not going to fly the 6th of December and I had to buy another ticket. After an hour on the phone with them, they denied that we cancelled the flight and that was the reason that they cancelled the whole ticket as a policy.
I phoned British Airways and they told me that they had registered a call on the 24th of October asking if my ticket could be made one way. They said yes to them, but they did not receive a reply back from Orbitz. This proved that my wife told them and it was their error. Apart of this big mistake they have done others that was related to the money they charge. They charged over 500 pounds too much as a paid for the tickets with Visa Barclaycard , they are looking into this problem.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2012
On 5th January, I bought a flight ticket for round trip to Amsterdam from Seoul at orbitz.com. Yesterday, I called the customer service of Orbitz because I wanted to get a refund of it. First, I asked about their cancellation policy because I didn't think that I would get a refund if it is non-refundable. The agent said that if I cancel my flight, I will get the credit which is same amount of money I paid for, and I can use that credit within one year.
Because of their mistake, I had to lose almost 1,000 dollars and also my flight tickets. However, they kept saying, 'I do apologize ma'am, but we can't still do anything for you. All we can do is just try to negotiate with the airlines on this Monday but we can't give you a guarantee.'
I totally understood what they said but can't still understand why Orbitz doesn't do anything for me, because that company and the agent made a mistake. It was their fault and now they say they can't do anything. In this situation, what can I ask them to do? Should Orbitz and I first have to try to negotiate with the airlines? What if the airlines can't give me back any ticket? Actually, I don't think the airlines have to do something for me in this situation because their policy apparently says that the ticket was non-refundable. However, the agent misunderstood the airlines' policy and told me that I can get it back which turned out to be totally wrong.
That ticket cost me $1,000 and it's really big money since I'm a student. I really have no idea how to react on this situation.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2012
Cheap Tickets is a money trap. The fees that they mention on their website for any cancellation/changes to tickets do not reflect the reality of what they will charge you. To change a flight, they ensured that I could only replace the flight with one hundreds of dollars more than the original. There were flights $100 less to replace the flight, but "those prices are only on the website" is what I was told. So expect to pay hundreds of dollars more in *addition* to their quoted $180 average (really $250 firm) change or cancellation fee.
I am stuck with my ticket because the change fees are artificially inflated by the company and reservation alterations could be a nightmare. It is almost criminal, using the guise of offering cheap tickets, and then having customers pay more than the industry average in any customer service relation. It's borderline fraudulent because this kind of business is not the one that was presented to me.
Reviewed Jan. 2, 2012
I wish I could give zero or negative stars. My youngest daughter will be studying abroad in Buenos Aires next semester and the whole family was planning to travel there for a couple of weeks ahead of time. I booked three tickets through Orbitz and on their advice, I booked my daughter's open-ended ticket directly through the airline. I was able to make seat selections and everything and thought it was good. The next day, I got an email from Orbitz saying, "Due to limited availability, the airline was not able to confirm the flights you requested.”
I first contacted the airline and I found that the seats were available though not at the price Orbitz promised and then I called Orbitz to see what was going on. They spent the next hour passing me from one person to the next, it was 6 in all before I hung up, with me having to repeat my explanation to each one. At one point, they told me that the flight I wanted had been cancelled by the airline but they would not say which leg but just ‘the flight’. It is totally bogus! I believe that the bottom line was a bait and switch. They offer tickets at one price online and then up the price on the next go around.
Reviewed Dec. 6, 2011
While in the US, I called Orbitz and Alitalia multiple times to sort out the issue. Orbitz assured me that we could use the original ticket, and Alitalia told me that there was a problem with the way the ticket was coded.
On the morning of August 29th, before I went to the airport, I was again assured by an Orbitz representative that they contacted Alitalia, and that we could use the "infant-in-seat" ticket that we purchased for my son. When I arrived at the airport, Alitalia again refused to let me use the ticket for my son. After all of the assurances from Orbitz, I assumed this was an Alitalia miscommunication, so I called Orbitz from my international cell phone to sort it out. To my surprise, after waiting on the phone for over an hour, the Orbitz representative confirmed that I could not use the ticket that I had originally purchased for my son, and we needed again to purchase a last minute "infant-in-lap" ticket so we could board the flight.
After the trip, I contacted Alitalia for a refund of the "infant-in-seat" ticket that we could not use. Orbitz gave me a refund of the ticket minus $150 cancellation fee. I accepted the refund, but I told them that I expected a full refund of the ticket that Alitalia would not let us use, and in addition payment for the costs of the last minute "infant-in-lap" (approx $400) tickets and the cost of the phone call from my cell phone (approx $200). They told me that they would check if there was more they could do. They replied to me that the most they could give me was a refund of the $150 from the original ticket. We could not actually use the ticket that we purchased through Orbitz. I lost approximately $500, and wasted a lot of time talking to Orbitz, and getting incorrect information.
Reviewed Dec. 5, 2011
On October 15, 2011, I originally booked a hotel for a one night stay in Boston on November 9th. On November 4, I changed the reservation to November 10th. The Orbitz website instructed that changing the reservation canceled the previous reservation. I was billed $224.00 for the original reservation. This charge was posted to my credit card on October 17th. I stayed at the hotel the night of November 10th. When I went to check out and requested a receipt, the hotel could not provide one, since my receipt was from Orbitz.
When I got my November credit card statement, I was billed $207.00 for the night of November 10th. No credit was given for the November 9, 2011 reservation that was canceled timely (there was a 24 hour cancellation policy). When I asked Orbitz to credit my account, they said I was a "no show" for the November 9th reservation and that the hotel billed them and no refund was due me.
Reviewed Dec. 2, 2011
In July, my husband & I purchased 2 tickets from Austin to Bozeman, Montana for the holidays. Our round-trip flights cost $915 in total, just over $450 per person. On 11/29, my family asked me to re-forward the flight arrangements which I had not looked at since August, the last time I was emailed a flight change notification. When I logged into Orbitz to retrieve the itinerary and clicked on my "Bozeman Trip", the details revealed that there were no connecting flights from Denver to Bozeman on the outbound trip, though the return trip was still intact. I looked back at all the emails I had from Orbitz, all of which had the correct connecting flights. When I clicked "back" on the website, before my eyes the "Bozeman Trip" became the "Denver Trip".
I called customer service and was told that US Airways had canceled my flight and we needed to seek alternate travel arrangements which Orbitz attempted to help me secure. The rep repeatedly stated that they would offer a refund and I continually replied that we were adamant about continuing our holiday plans. We still had most of our trip intact and were optimistic that we should be able to work it out. In the worst case, we need to spend a night in Denver and take a flight to Bozeman the next day.
After an hour and a half on the phone, the rep finally told me that the problem was US Airways flights were very full and given that the issue with my itinerary was US Airways, we were needing to work with them. However, he was seeing numerous flights through other carriers at 'much cheaper' rates than what we had paid. The best option he said was to cancel the itinerary and rebook through another airline and this was actually going to save me money compared to my original ticket. So I agreed and we canceled the flights. Immediately after canceling the phone was disconnected.
When I called back, now with no flights 2 weeks from our travel dates, the agent noted that tickets were currently at about $850 per person compared to $915 for 2 tickets we had paid. The agent either blatantly lied to get me to agree to cancel or mistakenly compared the per ticket price to the total price. Either way, the agent misrepresented the prices.
To make a very, very long story short, after 8 hours on the phone collectively with at least a dozen reps in America, 4 "supervisors" in the Philippines and 1 "manager", Orbitz's position is that this is the airline's fault and since I allowed him to cancel, they are not responsible to provide any recourse for us. They offered $100 towards future travel and that is it.
The customer service was abysmal. Each of the supervisors stated that they would call me back since they were working with the airline to reach a resolution and this is time consuming. Not one of them ever called me back. They also each gave me their name and said I could ask for them once I had been transferred to the supervisor department. I tried this numerous times and was consistently told that they can't track people down. The people in the US were apologetic and friendly, but have absolutely no authority or ability to help and the "supervisors" in the Philippines were hostile, unapologetic and robotic.
It cost my family $2300, an incremental $1400 from the price we had originally paid six months ago. In addition, I spent an entire day dealing with these people, a lost day of work which I have to make up for on the weekend. Now, looking for places to voice my complaint (because I have received no responses from the emails I sent to Orbitz customer service) I see countless experiences like this and worse. I am in complete shock that a company can treat people this way and I don't understand how it is acceptable.
Reviewed Nov. 18, 2011
My name is Ja Yeon **. I am writing to express my severe displeasure with your company and your recent service. My friend and I bought a joint plane ticket from your website on Nov. 1st from the US to Korea. There was no confirmation received of our purchase for several days, even when I checked my e-mail. Upon checking my bank account, I noticed on the transaction list that the money was removed. A few hours later, the ticket fees were mysteriously returned. I checked my e-mail again and still saw no confirmation or mention of this incident. We waited over 24 hours after attempting to purchase the original ticket before deciding that it must not have worked.
At that point, the evening of Nov. 2nd, we used your website to book the same flight a second time, hoping for confirmation and success. But still, days later, we still had not received confirmation. The money remained in our account without any pending notices. On Nov. 4th, the tickets’ entire purchase price was removed once more. The following Monday, Nov. 7th, it was removed again. Apparently, though no confirmation of purchase was given, both transactions were successful. We ended up with a duplicate plane ticket and our bank account being overdrafted. This duplication was due to the faulty confirmation process of your company, and through no fault of our own. It has been a two-week process of waiting and run-arounds from both Orbitz and Singapore Airlines in order to get a simple refund.
The refund was finally confirmed after many hours lost. But this does not compensate for the $200 overdraft fee incurred by our bank account for an error you made. We request an apology and an immediate refund of this $200 to pay the overdraft fee to our bank, since it was a penalty incurred because of your company. I realize I am a single consumer, but I was a consumer that, until now, had faith in your company. Instead, I have received nothing but frustration and run-arounds for the time and energy I’ve put into trying to right a mistake made by you. I request the apology and $200 refund for the bank’s overdraft fee be sent to me in haste, so we can put this incident behind us and I may be able to regain some confidence in your organization.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2011
My wife and I booked through Orbitz for a flight from LAX-Toronto-Paris. We booked this early this year (2011) for our honeymoon on 10/16/11 departure. Our flight departure time was supposed to be 11:30 AM on 10/16, so we arrived to LAX by 8:30 AM to check in. When we tried checking in, we were not able to. The Air Canada counter representative said that we already missed our flight. We were changed to the 8:00 AM flight that morning. We were very confused. Just that morning, we still got an Orbitz alert email telling us that our 11:30 AM flight was delayed to 12:30 PM. In addition, the night before, I logged into Orbtiz to print out our itinerary and there was no notice that there were any changes.
I wanted to talk to the manager, so I can get a better answer, but got the same answer but with more attitude from the manager. In fact, she got in a heated argument with the Air Canada counter representative as well. I stated that hypothetically, even if did receive this email of change back in 10/7, it was old news because the website itinerary plan I printed out the night before and the email alert I received just that morning stated otherwise. The latest information should be the greatest. During this discussion, she said she would send me the updated schedule, which obviously was too late.
Not admitting that they were at fault, the manager (Dana) said that she can book us on another Air Canada flight for tomorrow at 8:00 AM with a $250 change fee charge. Not only was it Orbtiz's fault for mishandling the schedule change, but they also had a bad attitude and then they wanted to charge me more money for their error. I had hard evidence of this mistake, which was that print out itinerary and the email alert, which I forwarded to her, and she still didn't think it was their mistake.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2011
On 10-4-11, I purchased airline and hotel arrangements through Orbitz. I had plenty of available credit on my card, but it was declined.
I called my credit card company and was told Aer Lingus posted a charge of $1663.00 to my account. I called Orbitz back and was told there was no record of my booking through them and I must have booked through Aer Lingus. I explained I booked through Orbitz, not Aer Lingus, as I've never been on Aer Lingus's website ever. Orbitz said as far as they were concerned, the matter was settled and I would have to take this up with Aer Lingus.
I called the airline and they said there was no tickets issued. I asked if no tickets were issued, why was my card charged. They said I would have to take the matter up with Orbitz.
I called my credit card company back again and was told as far as they were concerned, I booked tickets with Aer Lingus. I now am forced to dispute the charge with my credit card company as Aer Lingus refuses to help and Orbitz couldn’t care less about the mess they’ve created.
$1663.00 was charged on my credit card, but no hotel or airline tickets and no confirmation from Aer Lingus or Orbitz.
Reviewed Oct. 2, 2011
I went on the Orbitz website and was quoted $52 to rent the smallest car that Thrifty rent a car offered for 5 days in Puerto Vallarta. When I went to the agency with my confirmation number and quote, I was told the charge was $141.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2011
Orbitz was unable to complete my reservation with the motel of my choice but still charged my credit card for the reservation. I did an online chat and told them why didn't they check availability before asking for my credit card information. The representative told me that they do ask for the credit card information first. I am still trying to get the charge off my account.
I will try to call this third-rate company and get the problem resolved. I went to Travelocity and got the reservation at the hotel I wanted with Orbitz. I paid a few dollars more but I have my reservation and all is good. I just need to get my money back from the Orbitz clowns.
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2011
I called Orbitz to ask a question about booking a flight and hotel. The guy said that he could help. I said that I wanted to book a hotel the night before the flight because we live so far from the airport. He booked the hotel, then tells me that he can't include the flight unless the hotel is at the arrival location. I said cancel it then, he said that he couldn't and transferred me. I was on hold for 22 minutes, then cutoff.
When I called later to cancel, they said that they would call the hotel and see if they would cancel. When they got back on the phone, they said that they would not cancel because it was a nonrefundable rate. I told them that I stay there all the time and would call myself. They said, "Okay, if they will cancel, call us back." I called the Days Inn and they were wonderful, no problem to cancel. They also recommended not going through these third parties.
When I called Orbitz back, they said no, they cannot refund. I said that I wanted to talk to a supervisor. They transferred me and I sat on hold for another 11 minutes. I talked to a girl for a minute, then I was transferred and on hold for another eight minutes. They leave people on hold to wear them down so they don't cancel.
When I called and pushed the button like I was going to make a reservation, I got through right away. I tried to get through to cancel and the same thing happened--long hold time. They lied that the hotel would not cancel. They are very unethical.
Last year, we bought three airlines tickets. We did not receive a confirmation so we bought them again a few minutes later. As a result, they were duplicated. When we called and explained, they said that they would not refund. And when we objected to American Express, they threatened to report it to our credit bureau. It was very obvious that it was a duplication--same names, same flights, same times and same destinations, made within minutes of each other.
Reviewed Sept. 4, 2011
This company pulled a reverse bait and switch on me. They use false and misleading advertising. Orbitz uses a "4 seats left" icon to mislead customers, along with their price assurance guarantee. After purchasing tickets for a trip for $2900, that said 4 seats left, I figured I would miss out. On the trip, after 2 weeks, I checked the same package and same flight. It was $500.00 dollars cheaper. I called about their price assurance guarantee. They told me it's not on packages. When I tried to cancel, they told me I could. However, the hotel is non-nonrefundable, and the airline will issue a voucher only. I didn't get any special deal that is a one-time only deal! So, why not give me my money back? And where are my consumer rights? The icon misled me! There were more than 4 seats left! They used false advertising because the lower price package doesn't have that icon. They offer the same flight number also.
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2011
I made a reservation through CheapTickets. It was booked through parent Orbitz to fly from NYC to San Juan, PR to bury my aunt. The trip was booked for Friday, Aug-26-11, JetBlue #715, leaving at 7:05 am. It was to return the next day, Aug-27-11, JetBlue #716, leaving at 2:44 pm. A one night stay at a local hotel was part of this package. Orbitz package record locator is **.
Hurricane Irene flooded the graveyard in Old San Juan. Thus, the funeral was postponed. Furthermore, Irene's presence in the NYC area on Saturday, Aug-27-11, made it likely that all incoming flights would be cancelled. Accordingly, I called Orbitz on Thursday afternoon, Aug-25-11, to cancel the package. The agent I spoke to (I don't have his name) cancelled the hotel reservation. The agent recommended I wait until 6 am the next day to see if JetBlue cancelled the flight, and I would get a full refund. I was not told to call JetBlue and cancel lest I lose the entire fare. On Friday, I rang Orbitz at 5:30 am. By 6:45 am, I was still on hold. I hung up. I was unable to wait any longer.
Today, Aug-29-11, I rang Orbitz about the flight. Half an hour later, Caleb answered. 90 minutes later, he got back to me stating that JetBlue marked me as a 'no show' and my entire fare would be forfeited. I should have notified them of my intention not to fly. I told Caleb that my dealings were with Orbitz, not JetBlue. I did inform Orbitz of my intention not to fly (hence the hotel cancellation). And at no time was I told to contact JetBlue of that my entire fare was at risk. If that were the case, and explained to me, I would have cancelled everything, as I initially intended, on Thursday. In short, Orbitz has provided abysmal service: inordinate wait times and wrong advice. Lastly, JetBlue sent me a voice message stating that flight #716 (PR to NYC) was cancelled! I strongly feel I'm entitled to a full refund of $433.
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2011
Want a car? Great low prices, but they don't tell you that the insurance you buy isn't worth the paper it's written on. It isn't the same insurance you get from the car rental company. Oh, book a hotel? Great! But wait, we'll tell you the room has A/C --surprise, it doesn't. We'll tell you it has complimentary WIFI internet access --oops, it doesn't. Go ahead and call Orbitz to make a change, good luck.
I was on hold at the rental car pickup location for 1.5 hours and never talked to an agent. I was on hold for 2 hours at the hotel room that didn't have A/C and never talked to a customer service person. I paid over $1500 for a room and a car, and did not get what I was promised! Oh and don't bother talking to the rental car company, they'll point the finger at Orbitz and do nothing to help. Don't talk to the hotel operator, they'll point the finger at Orbitz and do nothing to help! If you want to get ripped off, do business with Orbitz. If you want to get what you are promised, deal directly with the car company and the hotel operator. I will never do business with Orbitz again!
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2011
I was booking a flight for my nephew on 8-12-11 with Orbitz. When I was booking the flight, the site kept giving me error messages. So I closed the site and rebooked the flight.
I did not know that 2 flights were booked. When I contacted Orbitz to request a refund, I was told they would not issue a refund or put the funds back in my account. I was also told that I could send $150 to US Airlines for a refund processing fee.
I could not get anyone to understand that I wanted my dollar funds returned.
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2011
I paid for a flight through Orbitz on Dec. 2010 for four of us from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta to Seattle. Everything was fine with the itinerary until I checked tonight. They have us flying from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta, to Raleigh, NC and back to Atlanta. I called and was on hold for over an hour. I went online and chatted at the same time, but to no avail. I even asked for a supervisor and was told that I could cancel and get new tickets. What? These are non-refundable tickets and they have the wrong flight information because I checked the flight number on Alaska airlines, and it does IN FACT fly from Atlanta to Seattle. Finally, I heard a voice on phone and it was a Delta employee. He confirmed the Seattle flight and assigned all four of us seats BUT now, 6 hours later, I saw on Orbitz that it still was screwed up. I will never, ever book with Orbitz again. I will just deal directly with the airlines.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2011
Book with Orbitz at your own risk; they will change your confirmed reservations at the last minute--it happened to me! The true story is, and I defy Orbitz to challenge the facts,I had booked an airline, hotel and rental car package through Orbitz several weeks in advance, and received an itinerary. A few days prior to my flight, the itinerary was changed to the next day. I could not fly out the next day; I would miss my only child's wedding (which is exactly what happened)! To add insult to injury, Orbitz refused to assist me in obtaining even a partial refund, or getting the flight rescheduled, so I could at least visit the happy couple after the honeymoon. Sorry, tough luck, thanks for your money, and thank you for booking through Orbitz!
Reviewed Aug. 9, 2011
Trying to book a flight from Tampa to Cancun and they advertised a roundtrip for $213 and you had less than 2 days to complete your booking at that price. When you get to the end of booking, the price "goes up" by $111 per ticket making it higher than if you went to Spirit directly and booked it yourself. What a "HOOK & REEL" that was to see. After calling directly and moving up the chain from "Darwin" to finally "Rhianna", they kept telling me they would book it directly only to at the end tell me they had to charge me an additional $111 because of Spirit upping the fare. Really?? Well here it is 3 hours after my initial attempt to book and they are still advertising the price of $213 but still won't honor it. Shame on them and shame on me if I ever go back to Orbitz to book ANYTHING!
Reviewed July 13, 2011
I flew out of Sky Harbor. It was hot and the A/C did not work. It was a 2-hour flight in a sardine can, with no air moving around. It was very miserable; and I don't think you would have put up with that, if you would have been on the flight. Everyone on the flight was complaining, though they passed water around, 45 minutes into the flight. I think I deserve an 'I'm sorry', or a one-way refund or something since I spent lots of money with you all, flying to San Diego a lot, and to Los Angeles. I sent 2 other e-mails and haven't heard anything.
What a way to do business! They never take care of customers and don't fix planes when things break. Maybe I will get a call or e-mail this time. If not, I will start booking on Southwest; because at least, if they have problems, they send e-mails saying they're sorry, and refund 200 during the next flight. I bought this on Orbitz. I will send this to Orbitz so they can see how you take care of customers. I talked to Kelly at US Airways today and she is a lying **. I took flight 2835 going to Austin -- no A/C (this is the flight I'm having a problem with); and she said I opted to take the flight. She is lying. I checked in early at Austin to come home, and the lady at the ticket counter said, 'wow', that I was really early and asked if I would like to take an earlier flight. And so I said 'okay'. Now, they're going to hold me on that. That's **. Yes, I would talk to an attorney about this, for an airline to treat customers this way is **. So I said my piece, and I will start flying Southwest again; and stay away from US Airways. I'll tell all my friends so they, too will use Southwest.
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2011
For an upcoming trip to Los Angeles, I found a decent offer on Orbitz, a return flight in United First Class sold as a Continental code share for $2,800. I booked the flight, checked the seat map, selected 1A, and was happy. A few days later, I double checked departure times and found, to my great surprise, the reservation downgraded to business class. Now, $2,800 for business class is no deal at all.
I called Orbitz and asked for what seemed to me a no brainer and that the bait and switch be rectified - either offer me the product you sold me or refund the transaction. It took three and half hours of meandering discussions until I got a supervisor to offer a refund, "pending approval by management". It's now three weeks later and I am still waiting for the "pending approval". My suggestion is always book directly though the airline's website. At least you know what you are getting, and avoid Orbitz like the plague. They commit fraud and don't take responsibility for anything.
Reviewed Jan. 17, 2011
I was looking for a motel room in Willmar. Minnesota. I went online to Orbitz. They quoted me the cheapest room at a Days Inn in Willmar, Minnesota at $42.00. When I clicked to book, the site said that no rooms were available at that price and the cheapest price was $62.99. Because I needed a room and they quoted other hotels at an increased cost, I booked it. Their agreement states that I will pay the amount quoted. When I got to the room, the price was quoted at $42.00. Orbitz inflated the cost by $20.00 and lied about room availability
Reviewed Jan. 12, 2011
I booked a nonstop flight for myself, my wife, daughter, and son online on 9 Jan 11. And my mother paid for it (she has a United Kingdom credit card that she used and she currently lives in the UK). The amount that was stated on the website and on the receipt I received (including taxes and paper ticket processing fee for my son's ticket) was $3,251.85. However, when American Express (my mom's credit card) authorized the amount, they said that it was $4,987! We were informed that this was charged directly by the airline (Delta).
When my father and I questioned Orbitz about this, they denied that this was charged--they kept insisting that the charge was what they stated. We had them call American Express in the UK and they confirmed the higher amount, which Orbitz said they accepted. But then, they called Delta, who also denied that they had charged $4,987!
We spent over two hours and 30 minutes on the phone with Orbitz and spoke with a supervisor in the end (Lauren). However, she would not agree that we were charged the higher amount even though Orbitz had been told by Amex! Orbitz told us that this extra amount ($1,735.15) was a pending amount that would drop off within 24-48 hours. But Amex confirmed that they authorized the entire amount of money and there was only one transaction and authorization code--this was never mentioned anywhere on their website.
In the meantime, my mom's credit card went over the limit because of this additional charge. In the end, we had no choice but to report this as a fraudulent transaction to Amex!
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2011
On 11/09 I booked a business trip I ultimately did not have to take. In July I tried to book a different trip but was told I had to book the same itinerary. I gave up and forgot about until last week. I called and was put on hold and disconnected. Today, I did manage to get through but was told that since it's been over a year I have nothing. $910.80 is gone. Please help if you can. Orbitz is good at taking money but makes it very difficult to get any back or modify plans. I've spent at least 3 hrs on hold trying to deal with this. Thank you.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2011
I had booked a flight and hotel through this website. I paid $2272.48 for the package. When I arrived late at night to China, the hotel that I had booked was closed; it was under construction. So I had to go look for another hotel at night, and no one spoke English. I had to spend more money in taxis until I found a cheaper hotel to spend the night.
I called Orbitz to complain about the problem, and all they said was that they had to investigate and couldn't do anything. Afterwards, all they said was that they were sorry for the inconvenience, but they can only give me a $25 voucher and only $127.40 was credited to my credit card. I spent over $400 in taxi and hotel. I would like to know what can be done. If you can please contact me through email or the phone number I provided. Thank you.
Our vacation was horrible!!!! It was a total nightmare!!! No one spoke English and was able to help us to look for a hotel. Orbitz never told me before booking the hotel that it was under construction, even when I had called a week prior to traveling to double check if everything was OK. They had confirmed all was well.
Reviewed Jan. 6, 2011
Three of my daughters decided to attend the service as well as two sons. Not everyone was from IN but I allowed them to arrange flights from IN where 3 lived and one son from IL. Another son from CA made his own arrangements.
The three daughters were confronted with varying costs via Orbitz, a name I was not familiar with. One cost $494.00, another $699.90 and the third $884.90 plus tax for economy status. The son from IL had a ticket from IL costing $777.20 plus tax. I heard them saying prices were going up but thought the costs were to be cheap as advertized.
I was flabbergasted when I received the bill for almost $2900 and all economy seating. The 3 daughters were the same plane flights within minutes of booking. I contacted Orbiz about the varying costs. Orbitz said that because it was a heavily traveled holiday season, lower costs were no longer available. My daughters were able to get on, all the same plane flights within minutes of booking.
I wrote to the President of Con tinental Airlines only to get a belated response from his secretary that was simply company policy to have only certain low prices.I have written to my U.S. Senator
who just suggested writing to the
DOT - another one to pass the buck!
Thoses extravagant prices turned out to be Economy status. Why should one alone be almost $900? and still economy.
If this is the typoe of operations that Orbitz and/or airlines can charge willy-nilly, then what they are doing its simply auctioning seats. This is outrageous and should not be countenanced.
I have been seething for a year now and can say with justification that Cheap Orbitz tickets are no bargains.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2011
My girlfriend and I made holiday plans to go and see her family in Maine, then to my family in New York. We both work on a daily bases with computers, so we are far from being computer illiterates. We booked our flights with JetBlue online, no problems. We booked our rental car and hotel online, no problem. We booked our return tickets online through Orbitz, and that was a big mistake!
We booked through JetBlue going from Florida to Boston on December 23rd. Then we found good fares on Orbitz going from Long Island, New York to Florida on December 30th, so we set it all up! We had our holiday in Maine; drove to New York on December 27th, in a blizzard, and we enjoyed our time there. We went to the airport on December 30th; we turned in the rental car, and went to our counter to get our tickets home. At this time, the agent at US Airways informed us that our tickets were for November 30th, and that we were a no show, so the tickets were no longer valid!
So, we contacted Orbitz. It took an hour to get a live person, who knows nothing about the company they work for (no surprise). We were transferred to the manager’s line, 43 minutes later. We explained to him that we know we booked for Thursday of December 30th. We asked why they booked us for Tuesday of November 30th. He said that their computers don’t make mistakes, and that we where a no show. So, once again I explained to him the issue—slowly. Then I asked him what they can do to help because it was not right. I paid for my tickets, now I have no tickets to get home! He told us, “Yes, you have no tickets; book new ones, or be stuck in New York airport!”
I hung up on him. I went to the US Airways counter; they were nice and understanding. I asked how much are two tickets to Florida, and they told me $1000 each. Well, that's not going to happen. I asked for the manager on duty; she come over, and I explained our problem. She and the ticket agent said it was not the first time Orbitz has done it! Good luck to trying to get anywhere with them. Well, they hit that nail on the head. US Airways worked hard and fairly to get us home! They did, for the next evening, waved ticket fees--$440 for two.
Just because Orbitz is a world known company, they have no right hurting or even putting the consumer out! Maybe $1000 is nothing to them, but to most of us it is months of savings. I’m tired of seeing companies like Orbitz get away with things like this. No wonder the guy can fly around in a hover craft giving money away, they steal it from us! I will fight them, and I will win!
Reviewed Dec. 24, 2010
I booked flights for myself, my daughter and my niece to Mexico in October. At that time, the return flight was 1/2 empty, with plenty of seats. I chose my seats. When I logged back in to check my flight, my seats were missing, I requested them again. This happened at least 6 times, so I contacted Orbitz. I was told there was nothing that they could do because it was a code share flight. I continued to try to get my seats, while watching the flight fill up. Others were clearly able to get confirmed seats.
Why wasn't I? Now, there are no seats open on the flight and I may be stuck in Mexico as the flight is on a holiday (January 1). If we do not return home that night, my niece will miss her flight to return home and I will be on the hook for an additional ticket! Not to mention the children will now most likely be seated next to strangers if we actually get on the flight.
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2010
Two months ago, I booked my ticket home through Orbitz.com. They charged me $1,172 on my credit card. Today, my mom called and told me that American Airlines has charged $540 two times on my credit card. I called American Airlines and they suggested me to call Orbitz because I booked my ticket through them. I then called them and demanded an explanation. The lady told me that they have only changed me $1,172 on my credit card. So after a heated discussion with the lady (I get a bit agitated over these issues; I can't stand injustice), I told her to send me an email that they have only charged me $1,172. I will forward that email to the bank and hopefully, that will resolve the case. I don't think I'm using Orbitz anymore after this experience even though sometimes, the tickets are cheaper there.
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2010
Orbitz is unable to actually book seats on flights, only request them. Since they make no indication of this, nor do they tell you that you have to go to the carrier's site to actually make a seat reservation, nor email you to let you know that, indeed, your seat request was denied. I would consider this an incredibly poor business practice. Not to mention false advertising, considering what appears as available seating on the Orbitz site is in fact not what is available on the plane. Why would anyone ever use Orbitz to book a flight when all that Orbitz is able to confirm is that they'll take your email address and your credit card number and leave you to figure out your own booking issues with the airline that has no ability to help you because you book through Orbitz?
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2010
I told them that "trip cancellation" is a named trip peril in their policy and that there is no specific situations under the title "trip cancellations," so obviously I am covered and they have to pay. It is now apparent that this a scam utilizing ambiguous terms both in their policy and correspondence.
Orbitz and Access America scammed me out of $336.84. I feel that many other unsuspecting customers have been stolen from in a likewise manner by this company and perhaps if they come forward, we can start a class action lawsuit with the guidance of the proper attorney(s).
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2010
I bought a ticket online from Orbitz.com departing from Jakarta (Indonesia) with final destination of Toronto (Canada). Since there were no direct flight between Indonesia-Canada, then I chose a flight plan that had me to transit twice in China. Just before midnight, I went to the airport to check in but they asked for my Chinese visa. I wasn't aware that I needed a visa to transit in China. Turned out Xiamen is a domestic airport so it wasn't a connecting flight but was a stopover.
Unfortunately visa on arrival was not possible either, Air China has confirmed that. The only option was to re-route my flight directly to Beijing but since my ticket was under Air Canada, so Air China couldn't do anything about it. I went back home, confused about what should I do next and whether my ticket is still valid or not. It was 2 o'clock in the morning when I arrived home, tired but still managed to write a complaint letter to Air Canada.
I woke up in the morning I realized that it was Orbitz to blame since they didn't put any information about the stopover. I sent an email to them and thought that I should cancel my ticket. I canceled my ticket online at around 11 AM on Dec. 4. It's probably too late but at least I tried. Orbitz replied back to me and apologized of what happened then asked me to call their customer service and reschedule my flight. I waited for a couple of days and decided to reschedule the flight to Jan 2011 if possible. I then called them and it wasn't possible to reschedule it since I already canceled the ticket. The only option was to refund my ticket and let me book a new flight myself. They charged me $200 to refund my ticket, I complaint that it wasn't my fault and they should have refunded all of my money.
The girl I was talking to on the phone said there wasn't any other options since she was only following the procedure. So I was forced to get the refund with $200 charge plus a long distance call for 20 minutes for the mistake they did. If only they just put the transit status as a "stopover", I wouldn't book the ticket at the first place and even if I did, I would have applied for a Chinese visa. I filed a complaint on their website (Dec. 7) and they haven't replied until now.
Reviewed Nov. 1, 2010
I booked one room on Orbitz.com for $220 (1 night) at a hotel, the Rodeway Inn, in Helen, GA. When I got there, the hotel was completely disgusting. I have pictures of the room showing blood stains on the sheets, dead bugs around the room, the light switch was hanging off the wall in the bathroom with exposed wires behind it (these could kill someone), and there was a mystery door in the bathroom that opened up to the dry wall in the room next to us.
The dry wall had some holes in it and you could see into our bathroom from the other hotel room. This door could not be shut or locked., it was very creepy. On top of all that, I found bed bugs on both mattresses in the room. I mentioned the state of this room to the front desk and politely asked to cancel my reservation. They said they could not refund my money because I booked through Orbitz. When I talked to Orbitz they said they can't refund the money without permission from the hotel manager. The hotel manager is lying to Orbitz, saying there was nothing wrong with the room despite knowing that I have proof.
I've been trying to resolve this with Orbitz but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. They continue to sell rooms at this hotel and refuse to post my review of the Rodeway Inn on their website. It's a great scam where they can sell a product over the internet that doesn't even come close to your expectations when you see it in real life. Apparently if you book a room with bed bugs in it, Orbitz expects you to spend the night there. There is no chance for a refund.
Reviewed Oct. 30, 2010
My son made flight reservations through Orbitz to visit his sister for her birthday. Orbitz screwed up and made the wrong return flight reservation. Attempts to change it resulted in the same 30 to 45-minute waits with Orbitz customer service as many others have reported. Then they were going to charge him $85 to change the flight. So much for fee-free flying! Return calls to Orbitz resulted in additional 30 to 45-minute waits to get a live person on the phone. He finally had to go to the airport and try to resolve the issue directly with the airline.
Again, cost additional fees, etc. Lesson learned is never ever use Orbitz for anything! They will ** up your reservations and end up costing you way more than you save (if any) by booking through them. You can get the same rates if you do the research yourself and you can avoid all the hassle and extra expense Orbitz will cost you in the end. Orbitz customer service is a joke!
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2010
I booked a flight and paid for it. Then, I cancelled it after 30 minutes as I found out some changes to my school's plan. I cancelled within 24 hours and I was told I would get a full refund within 5 days. I had to book another flight and pay for the second one. It has been well over 19 days. I have called three times, each time, annoying customer service, annoying connections, and unaware/untrained customer service. And my money is not still refunded. They charged me for both flights right away. They keep people's money and work with it. No one is there to regulate them, ask for our consumers' right, and punish them for their conducts. I am going to have to file with BBB. I am very dissatisfied with them. They are a rip off.
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2010
I teach at Southwest Minnesota State University and have ties with the Foreign language Department of National University of Mongolia. Recently I have been sending, at my own expense, one Minnesota student to Mongolia to act as a native speaker resource/teacher, and bringing one Mongolian student to the US to study here for a semester. So I have bought a lot of round-trip tickets, always from Orbitz.
Two weeks ago, my student in Mongolia e-mailed, asking if I could change the date of his return from January 15 to January 5. I phoned Korean Air and was told that the change would have go go through Orbitz. I went through the training video at Orbitz on how to change a ticket click change/cancel, click yes, click change, click continue, click date/time, click, click, click, ending with the assurance that "no changes made until you decide."
I got through 2 clicks, and the site cancelled the ticket. Immediately I phoned customer service, waited about an hour (missing an important meeting) only to be told by "Alice" that there was no way to reclaim the ticket, all I could do was file for a refund of about $700 on a $2200 ticket. I phoned "Sue" in Kentucky, asking to reclaim the ticket or complete the flight change with an appropriate fee.
She promised to investigate the matter; three days later, she left a message on my answering machine saying "sorry, nothing I can do." When I redialed that phone number--270-849-3207, the taped message said "This number no longer in service. " I e-mailed "Joey" at a customer service line, and Joey responded, "sorry, nothing I can do." Interestingly, while I was on hold with "Alice," I checks on Orbits for the cost of a one-way ticket for my student; it was about $1400.
When I returned a few hours later to check that price, it was up to $1700, which is more than the Mongolian student presently in the US paid for the round-trip ticket she bought (at the last minute) in Mongolia. It does not surprise me to learn that Northwest (we used to call them "Northworst") and United Airlines were part of the founders of Orbitz. I went round and round with United last spring after my student returning from Mongolia went to the airport to board the plane and found herself "not on the passenger list" and therefore not allowed to board the aircraft. That matter was resolved.
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2010
I booked and paid for two nights (Oct 8 and 9, 2010) in the Econo Lodge in Ocean City MD. Orbitz charged me $153.06 for these two nights when in fact the hotel only would have charged me $125.14 for the same time period. Also, I requested a Non-Smoking Room but Orbitz never passed that information along. Orbitz says the $27.92 difference is their markup for making the reservation. I say I will never use Orbitz again. All future reservations will be directly with the hotel or reservations dept of the hotel chain. Oh, by the way, Orbitz simply told me to have a good day and hung up!
Reviewed Sept. 19, 2010
I book a trip with Orbitz back in June for 4 people for a trip to Vegas for the first week in Nov. last week. My husband was looking over the names and notice I gave my cousin's nick name instead of her given name that is on her ID, so I called just to change the name and they stated I had to cancel the ticket and buy a new one which was higher, so we lose money on the first ticket and to buy another ticket at a higher cost. That is not fair, they stated that they talk to the airlines which is American Airlines and that's what they stated we had to do. I do not believe that they talk to them at all. I feel it was a way for them to get more money.
We had more than enough time to change the name. Money is hard to come by as it is without company like this trying to rip us off. It just hurt me because this is the first time for my cousin to fly and we have already started off bad. Can someone tell me were they right to charge me for another ticket because to me all they did was cancel her ticket and then sold it right back to me at a higher cost because we look on the plane at our seats and the plane was not sold out her seat before is empty and she is just a few seats down from us which also is not fair because she needed to be with us.
Reviewed Sept. 18, 2010
I tried booking a flight with Orbitz.com and received an error message when I hit book reservation. It had a 'back' link to go back to the previous page and try again, so I did. I received the error message again and so decided to close the webpage down and sign back in to try again, in case I had a bad connection. I received an error message again a couple of times.
Frustrated that their website was not working, I ended up going with Expedia.com and was able to purchase my tickets on the first try. This was not such a big deal until later in the day, I was at the store and my card was declined! I checked my account and it was in the negatives because, although Orbitz's website was not working properly and never gave me a confirmation or even a reservation. They still charged my account the full amount plus a 2-dollar processing fee for every attempt I made!
When I called them, all I got was 'we don't have a reservation for you and you need to contact your bank to have those charges dropped off!! Well, it was Saturday and my bank was closed so basically that left me with nothing until Monday!
I have purchased several things online and have never had my account charged unless there was a confirmation page that showed up. Never, even if I got an error message! On top of it, 'Arthur' wanted me to give him my card number again so he could 'personally' call my bank, after they had already closed. It left my bank account in the negative and so I was without any money for the duration of the weekend.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2010
I booked a first class flight to Turks and Caicos Island in April 2010 for travel Sept. 2010. Three weeks before the flight, I received a phone call from Orbitz telling me that one of the connecting flights had been canceled and that I had been rebooked on another flight. This would not have been a problem other than the fact that the rebooked flight was for a flight 12 hours earlier than that original flight which meant that I would have to miss a day of work to make the new flight. I was told by the Orbitz agent that the only other choice was to cancel the flight and I would get a refund. This was not acceptable as I was meeting a charter boat on the island that was already paid for. I told them to go ahead and make the change. The return flight was also changed but I did not see any issues with that flight.
On my way home yesterday, I get to the airport to check in for my flight and the agent will not check me through all the way home. She said that there was a close connection and that they could not check me through. They would only check me through to Dallas. I live in Oregon. They checked me through to Dallas and as soon as I got to Dallas I got on the phone with Orbitz and spent an hour and a half on the phone trying to resolve this. The end result was that the only thing the could do would be to book me on a flight for the next day. I told them that if that was the case then I expected them to pay for a hotel room. They refused to do that. After I hung up the phone, I went and talked to the American Airlines customer service rep in Dallas and she told me that they are not even allowed to book a ticket with a short connection time so the flight that Orbitz had put on my itinerary and charged me for was not even a valid flight. I ended up renting a car and driving the last three hours home.
Reviewed Sept. 1, 2010
On January 22nd 2010, I booked for my family (three people including myself) three airplane tickets from Amsterdam to Miami with the English airliner British Airways. The price at that moment was $1.000.00. On May 13th 2010, I discovered that the name of my wife was not correct. I used her married name and I have to use her maiden name. On the website, I had the possibility to change her name and I thought at that moment everything is okay.
On July 21st 2010, I received a reminder from BA that we can print out the boarding pass 24 hours before departure. On July 23rd 2010, I checked on the website from BA.com if everything is okay and couldn't check the name of my wife. I made a phone call to British Airways, Netherlands and the employee told me that the name on the boarding pass was all right but the ticket was still the wrong name on it and I had to call to Orbitz.com to change it. The procedure is "Name Change."
So I made a phone call to Orbitz.com and what then happened is indescribable. The man and later on a woman (she was a supervisor) had sold the ticket of my wife without my permission because they couldn't change her name and so I and my family had a huge problem and a lot of stress. The explanation from Orbitz.com is that BA, USA didn't except the "name change" and we have the opportunity to buy the ticket back for $2,000.00 and she decided not to take that offer because it was twice the price I have paid for it. So she did me a proposition to buy a ticket from US Airways. The price for that ticket was about $1,365.00 and I get back for the ticket from BA $756.00.
The loss from all of this was $609 which is about 500 Euro and my partner had to travel alone but there was no alternative because there were no tickets traveling by BA available; everything was sold out.
I hope you understand the problems me and my family had for a very nice vacation we would have spent in Florida. Somebody made a very wrong decision otherwise they did it on purpose and made a lot of money with the ticket of my wife. The cost of it is all about is $609.00 and the physical damage is a bad begin for our vacation and I don't know the loss of that.
Reviewed Aug. 31, 2010
Booked two nights at the Lincoln City inn thru Orbitz and was told it would be $100 plus $11 dollars taxes, total of $222 for both nights. Got to the hotel and found out they charge $165.57 for both nights. Called Orbitz and was told the hotel had no right to tell me their price and can't do any thing about it. Have a nice day and she hung up. Put a little damper on our mini honeymoon.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2010
In July 2009, I booked a flight through Orbitz flying with United (August 2009). I became seriously ill a few days before the flight and my doctor would not allow me to fly. I called Orbitz and notified them of my situation. I was told that because it was a medical situation, I would get a refund. I then asked to have the ticket reassigned to my older daughter so she could accompany my youngest daughter on the trip, but Orbitz refused the request. I then asked that the refund be applied to the new ticket that I had to purchase for my older daughter; again, this request was refused. Orbitz took my cancellation and told me that I have one year to use my "credit" and in order to use my "credit" I would have to call them directly to speak to one of their "agents" in order to apply my credit.
In July 2010, I called Orbitz to book a flight to Canada and to use my refund. I followed all of the directions as stated when I cancelled my flight in 2009. I called the Orbitz number and waited on hold for almost an hour to get to a live person. I told them I wished to apply my credit. The operator, Lois, had no idea what I was talking about; she stated that there were no records showing that I was to receive a credit. I was then put on hold for approximately 45 minutes and another operator (Betsy) came on the line.
They told me that I have to use the same airline if I wish to use the credit. I agreed. She told me there was a $100 fee subtracted from the original credit amount that was paid to Orbitz to make the change and apply the credit. Then she continued to add additional fees that totaled more than the original price of the ticket. I stopped her when she arrived at a price where I owed Orbitz money instead of my receiving a credit. This was ridiculous. This representative advised that I contact United and see if they would issue the credit. I called United and made a reservation for my fight to Canada, but they told me they had nothing to do with issuing a credit and Orbitz would need to be contacted again.
I called back Orbitz and was on hold for another 45 minutes until a new agent (Marleen) got on the phone! The agent told me that the original agent I spoke to was wrong to tell me to book the new reservation directly with United, and that I needed to do so with Orbitz.com. She said I would have to cancel my ticket with United and rebook it with Orbitz; she never stated that I would have to pay any sort of fees to do this. She only said that I would receive my credit if I did this. I did as she suggested and once again, she started adding all kinds of cancellations fees to my ticket price. When I asked to speak to the manager,she told me she'll put me on hold asked me to hold and accidentally disconnected us!
I called back Orbitz again and waited another hour to speak with another agent (Tatiana). I then had to explain everything that happened all over again. I spoke with Tatiana who told me that I would receive a refund for all of the fee charges. I really did not believe her, but had to choice but to take my flight since I was leaving in the next few days. I decided that if I returned home and these outrageous changes showed up on my credit statement, I would fight them. I arrived home and to no surprise, the fees were on by statements. My original ticket price of $327 ended up costing me over $1400.00. I need help to fight this obvious fraud perpetrated by Orbitz.
Reviewed Aug. 23, 2010
I booked a flight at Orbitz partially because of the prominent label ‘No Fees’ above the flight booking banner. When I selected ‘Flights’, the next page also says ‘No Flight Booking Fees’ in large letters! But when you click on ‘learn more’ which why do I need to learn more if there are no fees, you will find out that in many situations, there are fees! If they book a round trip on 2 different airlines for example, if this isn't fraud. I don't know what is! It's the same with their sister website Cheap Tickets, as well.
Reviewed Aug. 22, 2010
I am trying to find a vacation package for my family (9 people total) to Nassau Bahamas. We wanted an all inclusive package. Went on orbitz.com...it says that we will receive a 25% discount as well as $300 per room promo for booking the package. Well when i called and spoke with an agent, she was able to get us a deal for $5439 including the $600 discount because we need the correct spelling of names of some of the travelers we had to call back. Went online and chatted with an individual (Zeke) in which she said that the $300 discount does not apply to the hotel we chose although it clearly states that the hotel is providing the discount. The customer service rep said that Orbitz have the right to not honor a promotion at their own discretion. I believe that this is extremely deceitful.
How can you post something on your website and tell me you can change your mind and say, "Oopps, sorry we can't do it?" What type of operation are you running? What happened to good old customer service? I am (was) a loyal customer for a very long time and this incident has made me realize that I have made a huge mistake. I know that I will continue to let who ever know about my displeasure with Orbitz. Know for sure that you have lost one customer who is not afraid on spreading her displeasure to all social media, my friend and family. With the current economy, customer loyalty is precious and losing one customer can and will translate to 10--> 100-->1000-->1MILLION. So, good luck with your exceptional customer service
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2010
I booked hotel reservations online and was given a price of $412.86 for 5 nights. When I checked out the invoice the hotel gave me was for $332.38. When I got my credit card statement, I was billed the higher amount. I emailed Orbitz and asked why the difference. Cara **, Orbitz Email Service Team,says "Our prepaid rates are discounted rates and Orbitz books these rates in advance. However in some rare cases, the hotel rates may drop. In such cases, we are unable to provide you with the new prevailing rate, as your credit card is already charged at the time of booking". In the future, I should use the click on the small link 'Low Price Guarantee Hotel'.
Reviewed Aug. 16, 2010
I made a reservation through Orbitz for an overnight stay in Fort Brag California at Stevenswood Spa Resort. I was quoted a price of $125 a night and taxes and extras of $38.75 for a total of $163.75. I was sent a confirmation from Orbitz via email. I checked my credit card balance and found I had been charged $223.30. I called Orbitz immediately to complain and rectify the problem.
They called the hotel and were told that there is a $25 per person spa fee. I told them I recognized the contract for $163.75 and not the other fees. They said I would have to pay the whole amount and that my confirmation was not a contract. I asked to cancel the non-contract and get a full refund. I was told if I cancelled, I was responsible for the whole charge regardless I canceled. I feel Orbitz is guilty of a bait and switch to the tune of $60 and I will fight the charge.
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2010
I had received a promotion code from them on Aug. 10, 2010 to use on my next booking on a hotel. The promotion was for 10%. I tried using the and it would not work. It did not say to use all caps. I had used small letters. The code is **. Please issue me another code # so I can get my hotel booked.
Reviewed July 26, 2010
I bought a ticket on Orbitz. I was with United who has a policy that anyone over 12 may choose to travel unaccompanied. I got to the airport. I found out she was traveling on US Airways and had to pay an extra $200.00 for unaccompanied.
Reviewed July 17, 2010
My daughter contacted me and asked if she could extend her vacation. I instructed her to contact our travel agency, Orbitz, to inquire about the cost of changing the flight. My daughter called me shortly and told me that she needed my email address for verification. Since she was on a road trip, I didn't hear back from her.
On Friday, July 16, a $30 charge from Cheap Tickets showed up on my bank account. I had no idea what this entailed, so I contacted the phone number that was included with the charge. I learned that the $30 was a customer service charge my daughter generated when she purchased a ticket with my credit card! I contacted my daughter, and she said the young man she spoke to was really nice and he told her he could find her a good deal. She said when she told him she didn't have any credit information, he said he could use the information that was on record.
I contacted Orbitz/Cheap Tickets and was furious. I was told by Helene that it was impossible for my daughter to have purchased a ticket without my 16-digit credit card information. I told her there was no way my daughter had access to my financial information. I was over 2,000 miles away! Helene told me to take it up with my bank, because there wasn't anything that could be done.
I asked to speak to a supervisor. Evelyn came on the phone and repeated what Helene said and told me to contact United Airlines because there wasn't anything that Orbitz/Cheap Tickets could do for me. Evelyn insisted that my daughter somehow had accessed my credit card and was able to use it to purchase the ticket.
I asked to speak to someone higher, and Evelyn told me that she ran Orbitz and there was no one higher than her. I challenged her, and she put me on hold for about 11 minutes before she came back and said the manager wasn't available. She further said that I would have to call back at 8:00 am the next day to speak to a manager.
Well, I called the next day, asking to speak to a manager, but I got Jared, an Orbitz supervisor instead. I had to tell the story for the sixth time. Jared said that he believed me when I said my daughter didn't have my credit card. He said the agent on July 15 was able to purchase the ticket, because he had access to my financial information from the original June 16 transaction. He said Orbitz considered this a valid transaction, because I purchased the initial ticket for my daughter.
Jared then transferred me to Sandra who reiterated what Jared said. Sandra said the only refund she could authorize was the $30 Orbitz service fee; other than that, there wasn't anything that could be done about the transaction.
I am floored at Orbitz's willingness to access my financial information without my authorization. My daughter should never been able to purchase a ticket based on information I gave to this company in a previous transaction. When I did a search for flight information, the Orbitz site kept coming up; so I joined. I cannot believe this company encourages their customer service representative to access financial information without receiving authorization from the credit card holder.
When my departure flight was delayed on July 6, I received a notice from Orbitz, I also received a notice from Orbitz that my departure flight on July 14 was on time. Here it is--this company changed an itinerary for a ticket I purchased, and I didn't get a notice. This company charged my account, and I didn't get a notice or a receipt either. There is something seriously wrong with this situation. Orbitz/Cheap Tickets should change their policy on accessing financial information that has been given to them in confidence.
I asked for a refund and was told no; but, I am seeking compensation for your employee taking liberties and using my financial information without my authorization. I do hope someone contacts me about this situation. My account was overdrawn as a result of the $166 charge. My mortgage payment did not go through the first time. I had to scramble to get more money.
Reviewed July 4, 2010
I booked a flight with Orbitz that they listed as being in San Diego, CA. I had lots of choices for about the same amount of money. I chose this particular flight because it was the best time, but the other flights would have worked. It turns out that the flight leaves from an airport 50 miles north of San Diego. Nothing on the Orbitz web site indicated that the airport wasn't in San Diego or at least close. I now have to pay an extra $100 to get to the airport. They even sold me an option to take Super Shuttle to airport and Super Shuttle doesn't even go to the airport. Orbitz's web site is very misleading.
Reviewed June 29, 2010
I experienced sudden change in travel plans just hours after having made my reservation with Orbitz. I went to the site and was pleased to see that due to the short time, I was allowed to make a change to my itinerary. I canceled the ticket with American Airlines and re-booked on Continental to change the return date for my trip. A warning popped up that stated I was about to cancel all tickets connected to this itinerary. I thought no problem, but I was glad I was traveling alone. I clicked on through the options and then followed the instructions for canceling the trip insurance that had been purchased for the flight.
I then made a new reservation on Continental since they had a better price on the tickets for the new dates of my trip and booked again through Orbitz. It only took a few days to see the credit for the trip insurance on my credit card, but a month went by and there was still no credit for the American Airlines ticket. I called my credit card company and was advised that I had to wait until at least a full 30 days past the date I canceled the ticket and then they would look into it. Well, no, Orbitz tells me that yes, I saw the screen but no, when I clicked on the button, nothing happened, the ticket was never canceled and they are not going to credit me the $700 charge for the ticket.
I asked them why they would say that the fact that their site had a technical difficulty was my fault. The person who spoke very accented English continued trying to tell me that their system records everything and that I never clicked on the button to cancel. However, it moved to the next screen and gave me instructions for canceling the trip insurance so how was I to know they were having technical problems? They were completely unreasonable and denied my refund. I will never use Orbitz again! They and their website cannot be trusted!
Reviewed June 27, 2010
I scheduled a round-trip flight from Nashville, TN to Las Vegas through Orbitz. Flight was scheduled to leave at 5:50am. Received an automatic message from Orbitz at 4:17am from 888.587.0496 and was told that the flight would be delayed to leave at 8am. I arrived at the airport at 6:45am to be told that the flight left on time. I placed several calls to Orbitz and was put on very long holds and spoke with several representatives. They disclaimed that the message was sent. I have confirmed records that they did call. Orbitz scheduled me on Frontier Airlines. No agent was at the front counter to assist me and no answer at the local number. I am still in Nashville with no resolution for a confirmed departure. I will never use Orbitz or Frontier again. I have spent money will no service or product and no assistance. Per Frontier there is no guarantee that I will be able to get on the 2 flights.
Reviewed June 27, 2010
Orbitz advertises a "Price Assurance" policy and a "Low Price Guarantee" on its hotel room rates. I booked a hotel room through them for this reason. A week later, the room was being offered for a lower price. I called and emailed Orbitz about both policies. I was told that in the so-called "Low Price Guarantee" does not apply to non-refundable reservations. I then asked about the "Price Assurance" policy, where the man in the TV ads is handing people a check and I was told that the policy did not apply if you used a promotion code to book the room, which I did.
Both these “exceptions” to the pricing policies are in extremely small print and only found after sifting through a few pages of “terms and conditions”. On the reservation page, it just states that Orbitz will give you the lower price. You really have to search for these rules. I would not have booked the hotel so soon. I lost $23 per night for 2 nights. It is not the money, but the principle of the thing. I am sure I am not the only person surprised by the hidden rules.
Reviewed June 23, 2010
I made an online reservation for travel for June 25th for two. It was two airlines tickets for $550 each from LAX to Philadelphia and back on June 26th. I made this on May 3rd. I called into Orbitz on June 10th for a totally separate matter pertaining to a trip I was taking in August to Dallas. I asked the agent to cancel my trip to Dallas for me, which she did. She sent me confirmation of this. Yesterday, I found out through my checking that the agent had actually also canceled my PA reservations as well. They were never even mentioned in our conversation. The supervisor Katie confirmed the reservation was canceled on June 10th, at the exact time I was on the phone with the agent, but they will not take responsibility for it at all.
I lost my reservation and had to book new ones for work which cost me $735 each. I got $300 in airline penalties and no refund at all. This money came out of my pocket and is a huge loss plus I spent hours and hours on the phone with them with no results.
Reviewed June 11, 2010
I booked a room in Sandusky for a convention. I paid $121.83 a night with a price assurance and low-price guarantee. I paid for 2 nights equal to $272.18 total with taxes included. I found out when I got to the hotel that rooms are only $65.00 a night and have never been $121.83 a night.
I called Orbitz and asked for my low-price guarantee. They informed me this only works 72 hours in advance of date of stay. I asked for my price assurance, because I know someone who had just booked at a lower rate (on the Orbitz website at $55.73 a night for a total of $124.50 with taxes for the same two nights and same room). I was told no one had booked the lower price on Orbitz. The person booked the room with me there: I know it was booked. I argued with everyone at Orbitz. I will never use them again. They have an excuse or loop hole for everything. I'm very disappointed.
Reviewed June 9, 2010
I booked 2 adults and 3 kids airfare with Orbitz at the same rate, however, with the price assurance, Orbitz will only refund on the adults' tickets and not the kids. Orbitz claims that kids rate do not apply, however this is not on their price assurance policy.
Reviewed May 28, 2010
I booked a flight leaving on Wednesday for Tampa. Months later, I called to change the date. This is something that is simple to do if you are dealing with the airline only, but Orbitz managed to screw it up horribly. Over the course of 3 days, I spoke to 5+ representatives, two of which I could hardly understand and could not speak English. I was dropped from their calling system twice, and was on hold for over 5 hrs. They finally confirmed that it was done. I called back the next day b/c I wanted a confirmation # and they said that it was never booked. The price has risen since and they will give me no resolution. My family's plans were changed around this change Orbitz was supposed to make.
Reviewed May 18, 2010
I cancelled a ticket back in June 2009. I was told I had one year to use it. I spent 3 hours on the phone with people who spoke broken English, and they couldn't find any records. Yet, they took my $600, and I had a ticket in my hand, but they couldn't find anything until the 4th time I called and got someone else. Much to my surprise, I was told I had 2 choices: mail the ticket back and they would make me another reservation (Of course, it wasn't when I needed to use it.), I could go to the ticket counter and maybe they would accommodate me for a $150 fee, or I could show proof there was a medical emergency.
If I was told all of this when I cancelled, it wouldn't have been a problem. But the element of surprise and timing wasn't satisfying. I ended up just calling another airline directly and booking my flight. Stay away from these so-called discount ticket places they will not help you if you experience any problems, even almost death. Sad but true. They took $600+ from me, and I have nothing to show for it.
Reviewed May 11, 2010
In March 2009, a booking of the hotel "The Palm hotel and Spa" in Miami (3025 Miami Beach, FL, 33140, phone 1-305-534-0505, fax 1-305-908-3366) was made. The booking was made through the website, orbitz.com. The hotel was in a five-star category at the Orbitz website. The booking required a full advance pre-payment which was made in the amount of $1939,87 immediately upon booking.
The check-in time indicated in the itinerary was Saturday May 8, 2010, 16.00. It was written in itinerary that there should be an "Oceanfront" room provided. Orbitz charges its customers for the booking service provided. On May 9, 2010 (12.30 am approximately), me and my wife Ekaterina arrived to the hotel at the front desk. The receptionist Mrs. Cheryl, a very nice person, has informed us that unfortunately they don't have the Oceanfront room available and that she can only offer us a city-view room. The vacation was a long-before planned honeymoon. The wedding party took place on April 24. So all the details were very important for me and for my wife as well.
During the conversations with Mrs. Cheryl (again I want to stress that she was very nice to us), we have found out that their hotel have received a fax message from Orbitz where it was a request for reservation for "standard-oceanfront" (it goes that way exactly in the fax message) room. As far as we were informed by Mrs. Cheryl, the hotel basing on this information reserved a standard room for us and had sent the confirmation for the reservation of the standard room back to Orbitz. Also when I asked for the fax with this confirmation I've noted that in this paper there is a sign "Do not disclose the base rate to the customer!", From which I made a conclusion that Orbitz is also being paid by the hotels on its list.
Also I should make a notice that Orbitz has a 'lowest-price guarantee' policy which in my understanding implies that there are no price for the room cheaper than they offer. Further development, immediately as we have found out that Mrs. Cheryl was not able to solve the problem because their hotel had no oceanfront rooms available at all, we've started calling Orbitz to solve the problem. Mrs. Cheryl has clearly explained to the person at the call center that there is no possibility to give us the oceanfront room.
Later during the conversation we have found out that the closest date when we can possibly have the oceanfront room would be not earlier than on Tuesday and the room with a king-size bed (which was a condition mentioned during the booking) would be available not earlier that on Thursday. It took the person in the call center about 1.5 hours to finally find the following solution: they can "transfer" us to the different hotel for which we would have to pay by ourselves and later on they would refund the amount charged for "The Palm hotel and Spa" back to my card. Here I need to mention that it took me about 10 minutes to find out the hotel with available rooms and that surely there was absolutely no problems to refund the trip back.
So that this solution was so obvious and easy that I doubt why it took them 1.5 hours to find it. The other option was to stay at the hotel in a non-oceanfront room and get a difference in price for the rooms refunded. I've insisted that I was purchasing exactly what I wanted from them. And in case they are not able to deliver the service that they have promised, it is up to them to pay the difference (if there is any) in the price of the hotels. Because it is not my fault. By the time we came to this two options, it was already about 3 in the morning. I've asked the person at the call center to connect me to one of her superiors. It took some other 15 minutes and finally I was talking to some Mrs. L (she refused to tell me her last name referring to the company's policy).
The conclusion from our 30-minute conversation with her was that it is either my fault or the fault of the hotel but in any case it's between us and them - Orbitz is not liable for anything even though Orbitz was the one to sell the trip. Then finally we left it as it is and went to the other hotel. On 11th of May, 2010 I've once again talked to Orbitz customer support line. They have transferred me to the manager (even though I wasn't asking for) and she assured me that they would refund my purchase on their website fully.
In my opinion. Orbitz is a company which lies on purpose to its clients presenting "The Palm hotel and Spa" as a five-star, even though the workers of the hotel clearly defines it as a four-star facility. (Orbitz is a company which acts like a travel agent charging for its services the clients and, probably, getting a kick-back commissions from the hotels. So Orbitz does not simply work as an information board. As soon as the Orbitz is a travel agent, it should be liable for its actions ant it is up to this company to settle all the issues of the trip. The quality of the Orbitz services is very poor. Orbitz (or at least its representatives) does not believe that their company is liable for anything at all.
Is there any kind of legislation that protects the rights of the consumers in US? Can this legislation be applied to the aforementioned case? Is Orbitz a travel agent or simply an information board under the local legislation? If Orbitz charges for its services, does it make this company obliged to deliver the services? Is it possible to get Orbitz by the unexpected expenses which happened because of its fault to provide the services? Is it possible to claim damages from Orbitz? What can be an approximate amount in such a case?
Reviewed May 4, 2010
I called for a reservation that would get me from Punta Cana to Denver for a vacation which I was using miles to get to Punta Cana. As soon as I booked the itinerary, the Airline changed flight times and I would end up at the Airport for 23 hours. I tried to cancel and they said that the Airline would need to cancel the ticket and provide a refund. I had to book a replacement flight quick and had to pay for another flight. Orbitz never submitted to the airline the request for a refund.
It is now three months later and after talking direct to the airline, I am finally going to get my refund three months later than agreed. I called Orbitz to complain and they said that it is not their fault and there is nothing they could do. I will never again use Orbitz as the representatives that work there do not know what they are doing. I called on several occasions in between and each time, it seems that the representatives make up information. Do yourself a favor and book direct through the airlines or use some other website. You will thank me later. I am still paying interest on the flight that should have been cancelled and refunded months ago. I have spent easily 15 hours on the phone trying to rectify this matter.
Orbitz Company Information
- Company Name:
- Orbitz
- Year Founded:
- 2001
- Address:
- 500 W. Madison St.
- City:
- Chicago
- State/Province:
- IL
- Postal Code:
- 60661
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.orbitz.com
