Oyster adds another hotel review option
A new startup adds its reviews to the Internet. These reviews are conducted by paid journalists and claim to be totally independent. Will they make a difference. Time will tell.
Service fee or commission — does it make a difference?
Expedia was ordered to pay consumers $184 million, for 2003-2006 hotel transactions for poorly defined service fees. While Expedia contract language claimed fees were reimbursement for expenses, the judge concluded that they were simply profits.
Are online agencies betraying their customers? Depends how the cookie crumbles
Expedia has publicly announced they’re selling individual customer buying habits to advertisers. Other travel websites are apparently doing the same in secret. Ned explores his concerns about the sale of this information.
Why online travel agencies’ arcane tax battle is your problem
You may have heard about the pending lawsuits between online travel sites such as Expedia and Hotwire, and various cities who feel they are evading taxes. Which sounds like — and is — a complicated and perhaps arcane issue. But it could affect you.
Online travel agencies battle for bookings
With the recession in full swing and bookings down, online travel agencies are in a price war with some cutting fees and reimbursing customers if the price of their trip drops after booking.
Forced to buy a new airline ticket
On his return flight from Madrid to San Juan, Jose Morales is forced to buy a one-way ticket because of an error made by Expedia. Now the agency wants him to contact the airline for a refund. Can it do that? And what of its “promise” to take care of any problems that come up?
A contagious virus? Marketing campaign sinks Cruise Critic
Are the Royal Champions about to be dethroned? Based on the fallout from last week’s column about Royal Caribbean’s secretive group of cybercheerleaders, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Anita Dunham-Potter has the details.
New TripAdvisor fare search tool estimates fees
TripAdvisor is introducing a metasearch flight tool which will do a side-by-side comparisons of fares offered by Expedia.com, Hotwire and Travelocity.
Is CEO shuffle at online travel agencies a merger warning?
Are the big three online travel agencies about to become the big two … or one? Maybe. There are signs that something is in the works.
Help! My room rate just tripled
The nightly room rate at the Best Eastern Sovietsky Hotel in Moscow is $279. At least that’s what the Expedia sales agent promises Ilan Saadia. But the hotel begs to differ when he checks in. It jacks up his rate to $839 a night. Who’s right? And who should pay the bill?