Complaint Review: Travelocity.com

If this case were to make it to a court of law, it would be based on contract principles. As I see it, there are two possible legal versions of this story:

1) The consumer seached for a quote based on a party of four people, and was given an acceptable price. The delivery of this price constituted the offer, which was then accepted by the consumer, thus forming a contractual agreement. The terms of that agreement were as follows: in return for payment of a stated amount, Travelocity would ensure transportation and acomodations for four people. If the T&C stated that prices were based on double occupancy, the consumer had every reason to interpret this as meaning that, for a group of four people, two rooms had been reserved. After all, the consumer asked for a price for four people, the system allowed her to ask for this price, and said price was given.

Travelocity breached this agreement and is responsible for the consumer's excess expenses.

2) It is irrelevant how the consumer would have interpreted the T&C if she never read them in the first place. As the consumer cannot claim a reasonable reliance on such an interpretation, the T&C must be given their full, literal effect. Travelocity acted in full accordance with the terms of the agreement and, therefore, did not breach the agreement and is not liable for any expenses incurred by the consumer.

Even if Travelocity did, in fact, violate the agreement, the consumer was under a duty to minimize resulting damages. Had the consumer taken the appropriate step of familiarizing herself with the T&C she would have noticed the discrepancy and the situation could have been resolved before excess expenses were incurred. The consumer's damages were entirely a direct result of her failure to take necessary steps.

You be the judge. My moral compass prefers the first argument, my legal compass is still searching for magnetic north.

1) I am not a lawyer, but I do tend to read things before I buy them. Ignorance of the law, is not an excuse.

2) The 'rules' are not in legalese. They are in very simple plain english, that is one click away.

3) If mom and dad are paying the bills, maybe they should be the ones doing the reservation and making sure that everything is in order.

4) At any point you may contact a Travelocity agent w/ any questions you have regarding making a reservation, or during or after a vacation.

Your daughter made a reservation, spent your money, and did not bother to click on the 'rules' of the reservation and read the very simple terminology that is there. Further, even w/o clicking on the link for the full rules, it is STILL posted very clearly on the page after you have selected flights & hotel, added any extras or if you want insurance. The first line there, in bold, is about the double occupancy and extra person rates.

Travelocity didn't lie to you, they didn't deceive or trick you. They spelled out in clear english, even on the page w/o reading the full rules, that there would be extra charges if more then 2 people were going. I apologize if you feel otherwise, however maybe next time you should either make the reservation for your daughter, or tell her to read things, and if she has any questions, to call the company.

Further, I do agree w/ Sherri that shopping around before hitting the 'submit' button can be a very good thing to do. Travel agents like to make money to, and the prices might be higher then elsewhere.

Vickie, just because you dont like something doesnt mean it isnt valid. You state "Do you read the 10 pages of legalise every time you install a piece of software on your computer?", well guess what, just because you dont read it, doesnt mean you arent bound by it. You entered into a CONTRACT which has certain RULES & REQUIREMENTS about it. Just because you are too STUPID to not read it doesnt mean you arent bound by it. You seem to think you are special & dont have to be bound by what you dont like, WRONG !!!! You are just like everyone else. You were just TOO STUPID & RIPPED Yourself off. Now SHUT UP, GO AWAY & QUIT WHINING !!!!!

I have found that I generally save money by booking my airline and hotels directly through their own websites or by calling their reservation lines. The "deals" offered by Travelocity usually aren't. In fact, ask the hotels if they have any promotions or specials. They usually won't volunteer the information unless you ask. Same thing with the airlines.

I noted the prices quoted by Travelocity to be much higher than what I was quoted directly, on several occasions.

Thanks for your enlightement, Jason. You sound like a lawyer for Travelocity. Let me put it another way that you may be able to understand:

Do you read the 10 pages of legalise every time you install a piece of software on your computer?
Do you think that college students care or read anything like that anyway? After all, its mom and dad who pay the bills. Get my point?

Thats why things like "ROOM RATES BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANY" on the front page. But thats also why we have corporations in America...so that no individual within the corporation can ever be held accountable.

When I read your posting I went to Travelocity's website and created a random booking. When I got to the page that asked me to "click here if you agree to the full terms & conditions" I clicked on the link that lets me read them all. In the very FIRST section, in fact it is the first line of the t&c's, in BOLD it states "All hotel rates are based on double occupancy. Charges for extra persons and / or children may apply and will be due upon check-in to the hotel."

They list it very clearly in black and white. While you do have to go to another page to look at the full t&c's, it is not in what I would call 'fine print.'