An Aussie's hotel booking through Qantas' website vanished upon arrival
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Travelling for work can be stressful enough.
But imagine the shock of arriving at your hotel after a long-haul flight, only to be told that your booking doesn't exist.
This was the unfortunate reality for Aaron Smith, who booked his accommodation through Qantas, only to find out that his reservation was nowhere to be found upon his arrival in India.
Smith had booked a 12-night stay at Apollo Dimora Calicut in Southern India through the Qantas website in September, along with his flights.
Smith booked his accommodations booked through the Qantas website. Image source: Qantas.
However, when he arrived at the hotel for his business trip on November 9, the staff claimed they had no record of his booking.
To make matters worse, it was late in the evening, leaving him with no way of contacting the airline.
'We resolved to create a temporary booking so I could contact Qantas in the morning, which I did, but they reiterated that the booking was active and confirmed,' Smith said.
Despite this, the hotel staff maintained they had no record of his booking for several days.
When the hotel staff finally found his booking, they informed him that he would need to pay about 30 per cent more (about $300) than he had initially paid through the Qantas site, as he had been given the wrong rate.
In the ensuing back-and-forth between Smith, Qantas, and the hotel, it was revealed that Qantas was 'essentially a wrapper' for Expedia, a holiday booking site.
This was news to Smith, as Expedia was not mentioned at all throughout the booking process.
Smith argued that Expedia should have been 'completely taken out of the loop in the resolution' given Qantas didn't outwardly indicate it used the site.
Qantas reportedly partnered with Expedia for accommodations booked through their website. Image source: Expedia.
'My suspicion is that the hotel doesn't manage its listings very well and probably has wrong pricing all over the place,' Smith thought.
'But my issue throughout this whole process has been the ongoing communication with Qantas and their inability to get a resolution up until this morning [Tuesday].'
He also shared that a post he made on social media may have spurred the airline into finding a resolution.
'I did that to try to apply pressure and get a response because I was completely out of options otherwise.'
After almost two weeks in limbo and upon checking out, Qantas informed Smith that they would be covering the additional charges imposed by the hotel.
'Arguably this should’ve happened 10 days ago rather than five hours before checking out,' he said.
'I typically like Qantas as an organisation, but I just think they dropped the ball here.'
While Smith was able to absorb the temporary loss of $300, he worried that others could be seriously impacted.
'I’m concerned that other people would go through this and not have the capacity to get it resolved,' he expressed.
The ordeal was financially stressful and a significant distraction from Smith's work in India to complete.
'It’s just something I don’t need and I don’t want to spend any time on it. I wasted a lot of time.'
Qantas has since apologised to Smith and confirmed that it would pay for all his accommodation, including the additional charges.
'We sincerely apologise to Mr Smith for this situation and have worked with him and the hotel to resolve the issue,' a spokesperson said.
'In recognition of his experience, we have provided Mr Smith with a full refund for the booking and the extra charge.'
The airline is now reportedly working with Expedia to 'understand how this has happened'.
Qantas also confirmed bookings with Apollo Dimora Calicut, where Smith stayed, were facilitated by Expedia.
As a gesture of goodwill, Smith was also provided a $250 Qantas Hotels voucher.
Have you ever experienced a similar issue with your bookings? Share your experiences and tips with us in the comments below.
But imagine the shock of arriving at your hotel after a long-haul flight, only to be told that your booking doesn't exist.
This was the unfortunate reality for Aaron Smith, who booked his accommodation through Qantas, only to find out that his reservation was nowhere to be found upon his arrival in India.
Smith had booked a 12-night stay at Apollo Dimora Calicut in Southern India through the Qantas website in September, along with his flights.
Smith booked his accommodations booked through the Qantas website. Image source: Qantas.
However, when he arrived at the hotel for his business trip on November 9, the staff claimed they had no record of his booking.
To make matters worse, it was late in the evening, leaving him with no way of contacting the airline.
'We resolved to create a temporary booking so I could contact Qantas in the morning, which I did, but they reiterated that the booking was active and confirmed,' Smith said.
Despite this, the hotel staff maintained they had no record of his booking for several days.
When the hotel staff finally found his booking, they informed him that he would need to pay about 30 per cent more (about $300) than he had initially paid through the Qantas site, as he had been given the wrong rate.
In the ensuing back-and-forth between Smith, Qantas, and the hotel, it was revealed that Qantas was 'essentially a wrapper' for Expedia, a holiday booking site.
This was news to Smith, as Expedia was not mentioned at all throughout the booking process.
Smith argued that Expedia should have been 'completely taken out of the loop in the resolution' given Qantas didn't outwardly indicate it used the site.
Qantas reportedly partnered with Expedia for accommodations booked through their website. Image source: Expedia.
'My suspicion is that the hotel doesn't manage its listings very well and probably has wrong pricing all over the place,' Smith thought.
'But my issue throughout this whole process has been the ongoing communication with Qantas and their inability to get a resolution up until this morning [Tuesday].'
He also shared that a post he made on social media may have spurred the airline into finding a resolution.
'I did that to try to apply pressure and get a response because I was completely out of options otherwise.'
After almost two weeks in limbo and upon checking out, Qantas informed Smith that they would be covering the additional charges imposed by the hotel.
'Arguably this should’ve happened 10 days ago rather than five hours before checking out,' he said.
'I typically like Qantas as an organisation, but I just think they dropped the ball here.'
While Smith was able to absorb the temporary loss of $300, he worried that others could be seriously impacted.
'I’m concerned that other people would go through this and not have the capacity to get it resolved,' he expressed.
The ordeal was financially stressful and a significant distraction from Smith's work in India to complete.
'It’s just something I don’t need and I don’t want to spend any time on it. I wasted a lot of time.'
Qantas has since apologised to Smith and confirmed that it would pay for all his accommodation, including the additional charges.
'We sincerely apologise to Mr Smith for this situation and have worked with him and the hotel to resolve the issue,' a spokesperson said.
'In recognition of his experience, we have provided Mr Smith with a full refund for the booking and the extra charge.'
The airline is now reportedly working with Expedia to 'understand how this has happened'.
Qantas also confirmed bookings with Apollo Dimora Calicut, where Smith stayed, were facilitated by Expedia.
As a gesture of goodwill, Smith was also provided a $250 Qantas Hotels voucher.
Have you ever experienced a similar issue with your bookings? Share your experiences and tips with us in the comments below.
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