Comments on: Dot bomb! How to handle online travel purchases gone bad http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/dot-bomb-how-to-handle-online-travel-purchases-gone-bad/ The last honest travel site Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:50:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Edd http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/dot-bomb-how-to-handle-online-travel-purchases-gone-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-12313 Edd Tue, 19 May 2009 22:08:37 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=14283#comment-12313 Travel websites are under pressure to deliver low-fare flights to consumers or else the consumer will just open another browser-tab and move onto a competitor. The technology behind the process (that actually interrogates the airline mainframe booking systems) is called 'low fare shopping' and there are various ways to implement it, but often the website is either losing the fare between the fare shop/quote on a GDS such as Amadeus (or equivalent) and the booking being made, or is using a cache of results for initial searches so they have a quicker service to the consumer with a lot of options. There are other explanations so it would be difficult to determine the exact cause without looking at the error logs provided by the website developers, but these are probably the most likely. There's no conspiracy here Christopher or Kay. In fact the problem exists because of the high demand of people using the internet! It affects somewhere between 1 and 3% on average of people booking air fares online on a large well-constructed travel booking website. I don't think it's something that will ever go away as technology like this can never be perfect. But some websites are definitely better than others. Travel websites are under pressure to deliver low-fare flights to consumers or else the consumer will just open another browser-tab and move onto a competitor. The technology behind the process (that actually interrogates the airline mainframe booking systems) is called ‘low fare shopping’ and there are various ways to implement it, but often the website is either losing the fare between the fare shop/quote on a GDS such as Amadeus (or equivalent) and the booking being made, or is using a cache of results for initial searches so they have a quicker service to the consumer with a lot of options. There are other explanations so it would be difficult to determine the exact cause without looking at the error logs provided by the website developers, but these are probably the most likely.

There’s no conspiracy here Christopher or Kay. In fact the problem exists because of the high demand of people using the internet! It affects somewhere between 1 and 3% on average of people booking air fares online on a large well-constructed travel booking website. I don’t think it’s something that will ever go away as technology like this can never be perfect. But some websites are definitely better than others.

]]> By: Kay Tee http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/dot-bomb-how-to-handle-online-travel-purchases-gone-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-12308 Kay Tee Tue, 19 May 2009 20:57:22 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=14283#comment-12308 If Mr. Bainbridge and his ilk are correct, why do these "minor inconveniences' always end up costing the traveler MORE money? Genuine mistakes go both ways. Greed and trickery do not. If Mr. Bainbridge and his ilk are correct, why do these “minor inconveniences’ always end up costing the traveler MORE money? Genuine mistakes go both ways. Greed and trickery do not.

]]> By: Joel Wechsler http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/dot-bomb-how-to-handle-online-travel-purchases-gone-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-12304 Joel Wechsler Tue, 19 May 2009 18:55:30 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=14283#comment-12304 If these events were less prevalent Mr. Bainbridge might have a point, but as a travel agent I hear far too many stories like these to accept his rather cavalioer attitude. Mr. Mainzer is also only partially correct. While it is true that someone else may grab the last seat while I am accessing the same reservation system, this will not result in the individual being booked at a higher price unless I confirm it with him. This is what often happens with online sites and is what consumers find confusing and irritating. If these events were less prevalent Mr. Bainbridge might have a point, but as a travel agent I hear far too many stories like these to accept his rather cavalioer attitude. Mr. Mainzer is also only partially correct. While it is true that someone else may grab the last seat while I am accessing the same reservation system, this will not result in the individual being booked at a higher price unless I confirm it with him. This is what often happens with online sites and is what consumers find confusing and irritating.

]]> By: Graham http://www.consumertraveler.com/columns/dot-bomb-how-to-handle-online-travel-purchases-gone-bad/comment-page-1/#comment-12290 Graham Tue, 19 May 2009 17:27:06 +0000 http://www.tripso.com/?p=14283#comment-12290 If the issue is a cookie, try a different computer! If the issue is a cookie, try a different computer!

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