Peter Greenberg: Filing Complaints Against Travel Companies

By: Peter Greenberg | Source: AARP.org | 2008-02-23

How can I get the Hotel Bucks promised me by Hotels.com?  They were promised six weeks ago. All e-mail inquires resulted in boilerplate answers, "there is a 4-6-week response time," as though they never read that I've already waited six. I was told today they [the Hotel Bucks] were never mailed. From my recent research, it looks like this is the common procedure: Promise them, then don't send them, claim it is an error, and wait six weeks more, and on and on. Thank you for your assistance!
–Kathi, Birmingham, Ala.

Good news, Kathi! We reached out to Hotels.com, and not only did they agree to express-mail your Hotel Bucks to you, but to add a little something for your time and energy spent resolving this situation. They also offer their apologies.

More generally, when you're trying to have a complaint addressed by a travel company (or most other types of companies, for that matter), there are some guidelines to keep in mind.

First, always try to report the problem as soon as possible. That means at the hotel, at the airport, or wherever the problem occurred.

Another rule to live by: Never accept a "no" from someone who isn't authorized to give you a "yes" in the first place. There's no sense in browbeating the low man on the totem pole if there's no way he can help you anyway. Take your complaint to the top. When you do call or report problems, keep detailed notes on your initial complaint, including the person’s name, title, the date, and the time.

And finally, if you're really getting the runaround, use multiple methods to try and get a response. If sending e-mail doesn't seem to be working, try giving the corporate headquarters a call, or send a certified letter.

Thanks for letting us know about your problem. Thanks for letting us know your problem; we’re happy to help you solve it. We're here for you on AARP.org.