Frustrated by the lack of consumer friendliness in Travel
By Darren Cronian on Monday, May 12th, 2008

I’m finding myself getting incredibly frustrated at some aspects of the travel industry because they crow on about customer loyalty, but whenever a travel company or airline can see a route to charge consumers more money for their holiday, they will.

Frustrated by the lack of customer friendliness in Travel

For a company like Delta airlines to charge £110 to make a 1 minute change to a passenger flight is outrageous, and for a hotel chain like Best Western to charge £5 for room service is ludicrous. Would I use Delta airlines or Best Western – no way.

I remember staying in a hotel in Benidorm, paid a single person supplement and the hotel stuck me in a room the size of my wardrobe that you couldn’t swing a cat in, never mind another person. Do you think that they were bothered about my holiday experience, or that they took an extra £150 off me.

I am not stupid, I know travel companies have to generate revenue and make a profit, but shouldn’t they be looking at their own business to see where costs can be cut, instead of the easy option of taking more money off the consumer, as if we are not feeling the effects of the financial slowdown.

What do you find frustrating about the travel industry?


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One Response to “Frustrated by the lack of consumer friendliness in Travel”

John Ragsdale | 9 September, 2008 at 4:24 pm

I used to do 30+ business trips a year. I’m down to about 5 now. The travel experience has become so frustrating and unreliable that I try my best to accommodate commitments via web conferencing. Here are a few pet peeves:

Airlines: So many flights have been eliminated due to cost cuts that my options are limited, every seat is full (with passengers bumped on every single flight), the turnaround time on planes (the time between when they land and take off again) has been cut to increase plane productivity so every flight is late arriving and leaving. Charges for luggage have driven even MORE carry on bags; if you are not a priority flier with early boarding privilege you will never find a place near your seat for your bag–if there is space at all.

Hotels. Just like the airlines, hotels have started eliminating benefits to save money. When my favorite business hotel in New York, The Marriott East Side, pulled the coffee makers out of the room with a note saying it was “for my convenience,” I moved to a different hotel–after 10+ years staying there when in NY. It is rare that every lamp in a hotel room works–even in luxury hotels. And as you say, room service prices and extra fees are obscene. For business travelers who arrive late and leave early, room service is often the only option. And every time I will have to fight with my accounting department about why I paid $75 for a burger, fries and a coke–way over our reimbursement limit.

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