Keen on booking a hotel, car, cruise, or flight through Travelocity but have concerns about its legitimacy and safety? If so, then please read this article to find out whether it is a legitimate, safe and reliable website OR an infamous scam and what you should be aware of before booking.
Is Travelocity Legit?
Travelocity is a fairly reputable travel site owned by the largest online travel agency, Expedia Group. Booking via Travelocity may increase the risk of encountering complications due to its nature as an intermediary between customer and supplier.
Let me explain in detail why the risks associated with booking through Travelocity are higher. As you may know, travel agencies such as Travelocity serve only as a middle man between travelers like yourself and potential entities which provide services including airliners, hotels, car rental companies; etcetera.
As an intermediary, Travelocity can collect your payments and is ultimately responsible for your booking. Since you’re not dealing directly with the hotel, airline or other travel providers you booked with – they are not accountable for your booking and will not provide any direct assistance to you if there is a problem that arises during this process. However, in the event of a conflict between yourself and the provider (host/traveler), Travelocity would have to be contacted first before reaching out to the latter on behalf of both parties involved to resolve the dispute quickly without complication.
There is a lack of customer support on Travelocity.
It is not uncommon for customer service to be lacking at any business – even online travel agencies (OTAs). To keep prices low and offer deals, these companies cut cost on customer support and rely solely on the host’s level of competence.
As such, while booking through Travelocity may seem easier or less expensive, those who use this avenue often find themselves working hard from one end trying to resolve issues with an uncooperative partner.
However, while you may not be able to change or cancel your reservation immediately due to the limitations of customer service, it is possible that they will eventually fix your problem. If this was booked through Travelocity then things can become tricky since changes and cancellations are even more difficult to accomplish compared to other travel services. However, canceling or changing other reservations for various forms of transportation shouldn’t pose too much difficulty.
In fact, it is almost impossible to cancel or change flights booked through Travelocity.
The reason for this is that if you booked directly with an airline, making changes or cancellations to your flight becomes difficult. If you booked your flights through Travelocity instead, things become more complicated because of the third-party intervention. Having a middleman means any mishaps are more tricky because airlines will tell you to contact Travelocity about any problems first and won’t offer direct assistance themselves. Meanwhile, Travelocity may just push it back onto the airline which leaves you stuck in between them both.
Though it may seem inconvenient at times, booking direct is much easier than using a third-party such as Travelocity. This way you avoid any extra charges and time spent negotiating while cutting out the middleman. Furthermore, travel providers often give preferential treatment to customers who booked directly from them rather than those who used an intermediary service.
The reason is simple:
They do much better-selling airline tickets or hotel rooms themselves instead of selling them through Travelocity because they don’t need to give commissions (up to $30) to Travelocity. On the other hand, when people call in or come into their store, it is much easier for them because they can have full control over those people and what they’re booking – which isn’t always the case if someone books their travel through an online agency like Travelocity or Expedia.
One instance of this would be when hotels fail to see a reservation coming from Travelocity, thus booking the same room for twice. I have personally seen instances where a guest has tried to make an advanced reservation through Travelocity but ended up stranded in a strange city because they were overbooked; all because they were not booked directly with the hotel. With direct bookings, you never need to worry about missing your booking confirmation since there is no middleman involved (Travelocity).
Hence, I would say:
Travelocity does work for many people, but it isn’t always the best option. Often times, Travelocity offers cheaper prices than booking on your own. However, when problems arise – say there’s an issue with your reservation or you need to cancel your flight – it can be difficult because Travelocity only facilitates the transaction rather than actually selling anything themselves.
With that said, let’s conclude: Is Travelocity legit?
Even though booking through Travelocity may carry an increased likelihood of problems, there is no doubt that this still remains a legitimate place for travelers to book flights and accommodations. Expedia Group which owns not only Travelocity but also other leading online travel sites – like Vrbo, Hotwire, etcetera- means that we can never question them about their legitimacy. In conclusion, all other information besides the fact that this is 100% legitimate – i.e., pricing, availability etcetera-, it may be worth looking elsewhere if you’re willing to take on an even greater degree of risk or lower cost options available.
If Travelocity was a scam company, they would not be partnered with Expedia. Furthermore, travelocity has been in business for the last 26 years and scam companies do not stay operational this long. Taking these two major factors into consideration, one can easily tell if Travelocity is legitimate or not.
Should You Book Through Travelocity or Directly?
If the savings are equal or less than booking through Travelocity, then there’s no reason to use them. If the savings between using Travelocity and booking directly is huge though, it comes down to a personal preference about convenience. Personally, I advise you to try to avoid booking flights with Travelocity because of how confusing they can be when it comes time for changes, cancellations, and other issues. However, if you’re looking for more comfort – especially during bumpy times – don’t shy away from contacting customer service at an airline as there will usually always be someone available who can give advice on what steps should be taken in order to fix whatever issue may arise during the process of finding your perfect fare.
I only recommend Travelocity for booking hotels but only under these conditions:
- The price difference is significant between booking directly and through Travelocity.
- Booking an average hotel, not an expensive luxury hotel.
- Not making reservations for a large number of days at once.
Aside from these conditions, you must take note of the following:
7 Tips To Book Safely on Travelocity
Here are some of the ways that you can minimize your risk when using Travelocity.
1. Check the Photos of Hotel and Its Rooms
Before booking a hotel room, ensure you look at several pictures of it provided on the Travelocity website.
After looking at the pictures of the hotel, it’s crucial to then look at what type of room would suit you best. Once you have looked over everything from pictures and information about your desired location – only then should you proceed with booking anything.
2. Read Guest Reviews
It is important to spend ample time researching a hotel before booking it. It may take some time but reading guest reviews thoroughly will give you a good idea of what type of experience guests have had with the property and whether or not the hotel itself might be worth your money.
Ensure that when looking for accommodations online there are enough positive reviews (at least 100) and at least a rating of 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor or other travel sites.
3. Carefully Read The Policies
It is important for people to know the room cancellation and refund policies before booking their rooms. If people fail to do this, then there will be many problems later on with unsuccessful cancellations or refunds.
Furthermore, always make sure to read the rules before booking a property. Make sure you review all policies when booking another service as well (i.e., flights, cars, taxis).
4. Check the Amenities You Need
Before making your reservation, ensure that the space you’re considering has all of the amenities that you need. Furthermore, check if the property meets all of your needs so it will be perfect for you when choosing where to stay.
5. Don’t Make Prepayments
Some hotels on Travelocity offer you the option of paying now or at the property. When booking, always choose to pay at the property so that if your plans change and you need to cancel, it will be much easier to do through your hotel.
6. Make Sure The Book Details Are Correct
When booking things through Travelocity, be sure all the information is correct. Incorrect information can create big problems and make it difficult to change anything – even if you are trying to modify your flight plans last minute.
7. Confirm Your Booking From The Hotel
As you know, booking a hotel through Travelocity comes with the risk of not getting your confirmation email or phone call which could result in no room availability when you arrive at the property. To avoid this issue, make sure to contact your hotel and confirm your reservation before arriving at the property.
That’s it!
It’s no secret that life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies; it has its moments when we need to take extra care of ourselves. As adults, our responsibility for taking care of ourselves is even greater than when we were children.
Why Booking Through Travelocity Is Cheaper Than Booking Directly?
It is because of the two major business models employed by Travelocity:
- Merchant Model
- Agency Model
1. Merchant Model
Travelocity employs what is called the merchant model for buying hotel rooms or other types of bookings in advance and in bulk at discounted rates, before reselling them to people like you and me later at an inflated price. Consider this example: Travelocity buys up 50 rooms from a given hotel at the discounted rate of $100 per night each while the market value stands at around $100 per night.
Over time, Travelocity resells those rooms for $130 which is cheaper than the current market price of $150.
Example:
- Travelocity gradually resells those 50 rooms for $130 per night.
- Travelocity profits $30 if one customer books a room through them.
- The customer is still able to purchase below the current market ($150) by the hotel, saving you $20.
By taking these rooms and reselling them at a higher price than it bought them for, Travelocity makes money but also presents savings to its consumers over what the current market rates are. Travelocity employs the merchant model with airlines tickets or rental cars; it then combines all of these different bookings to provide you a vacation package that has built-in discounts from booking everything separately.
One major reason for the lower prices when using Travelocity is that they can find great deals from other providers which we would never know about if we were just booking directly.
2. Agency Model
In the agency model, Travelocity helps to facilitate a booking between the customer and an airline, hotel, or rental car company. In order for Travelocity to earn money from their services they receive commissions based on how much business they generate through these bookings.
Basically, Travelocity allows people to post listings on their platform for free and charges a percentage of commission from them once a sale is made through their platform. When travelers book with one of the travel providers (airlines, hotels, taxis) they are charged a small fee which goes to Travelocity as well. This money then goes back to the customer in form or lower prices because it offsets what was given up previously at booking time for listing this specific item.
FAQs About Is Travelocity Legit
What is Travelocity?
Owned and operated by the Expedia Group, a leading travel service provider globally, Travelocity provides users access to a wide variety of booking services. One can easily browse through flight options, hotel deals, car rentals, cruises – all while having access to customer-service agents 24/7 via phone or live chat.
How does Travelocity work?
To find the service you’re looking for, select it from the homepage of the travelocity website. When entering all necessary details, a search results page will show up.
Conclusion
In addition to these factors, please keep in mind the safety tips mentioned earlier as well. I hope you are now fully cognizant of how legitimate Travelocity is and how reliable they can be for your next journey. If you’re still concerned about any aspect of this site please reach out to me via the comment section below. It’s true that sometimes problems arise when we book a trip with them; but overall it does make sense to use them because they offer us cheaper prices than what we would find elsewhere (hotels, airlines, or other travel services).
