Member-only story
Why I Don’t Use Online Travel Agencies
The thing I’ve missed the most is travel. I’m finally considering booking a vacation. (Ideally, this would be to see my elderly father and his partner in the UK, but given the way COVID is still an issue, I’ve decided it’s not quite safe yet).
And as a lot of us are booking travel again, I want to talk about why I personally don’t use OTAs…and why you should seriously consider avoiding them too.
The Buck Gets Passed
The biggest, number one reason to avoid “online travel agencies” (Which aren’t, by the way, travel agencies) is that it allows so much buck passing.
Let’s say you book your hotel through an OTA. You arrive, late, tired, in a foreign city.
Your hotel has no idea who you are. There’s no reservation. And they’re full.
The hotel says the OTA never sent them the booking. The OTA says they did.
Both entities pass the buck and neither makes it right. Booking directly through the hotel means they are entirely responsible for making sure you have a room.
(Real travel agencies will have a rep you can call and they will find you a room).