Andrew Price enjoys doing work around the house, both in the Bay Area where he lives, and in Texas where he tends to some family land.
He says he does “the landscaping [and] a little construction because the house is uninhabitable … I try to keep it up.”
For years, to get to his family property in Texas, Price booked at the Super 8 motel in Big Spring. It’s about 300 miles west of Dallas. Price prepaid Expedia $683 for an eight-night stay in June. But that booking went sideways when he arrived for check-in.
“There was nothing there, the place was abandoned,” Price said. “The office was closed, all the rooms were excavated of the furniture, the water was cut off, the electricity was cut off.”
He found a different motel and then contacted Expedia to get his money back. Price said Expedia denied his refund request, saying it couldn’t make contact with the Super 8. “That’s when I contacted NBC Responds and they gave me justice, thank God,” Price said.
The NBC Bay Area Responds team contacted Expedia. Expedia then refunded Andrew his $683. It also gave him a $50 credit for future travel.
We also wanted to solve the mystery of how Andrew could book a motel that is closed. We called neighboring businesses. They told us the motel shut down sometime this spring. So, why was Expedia still taking bookings this summer?
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Expedia told us, “...we learned that the property had closed operations before giving a prior notice to Expedia. Please note that as soon as we became aware of the issue, we made sure that the property was no longer available for reservations.”
We also contacted Super 8’s parent company but did not hear back.
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If we could go back to June, we would encourage Price to call the motel directly to confirm his booking.
“Thankfully, these types of enormous service failures are fairly rare and that’s a good thing. But, it’s cold comfort if it’s happening to you,” said Zane Kerby, President and CEO of the American Society of Travel Advisors, which represents travel agents.
”The vast, vast promises that people make online are just -- you know -- they need to be fact-checked, and you can do it all yourself if you want to spend your entire life doing it, or you can work with a professional,” Kerby suggested.
Kerby noted that travel insurance is another option to protect yourself. Just make sure you (and your agent, if you use one) read the fine print before buying a policy.
Price says he will be careful booking his next trip to Texas -- like calling ahead to verify his hotel is actually open for business. If you’re ever stuck, he recommends calling the NBC Bay Area Responds team.
“If you’re out there alone, you’re not alone,” Price said. “They have your back.”
