AIBU to think that this brave new world of everything needing to be booked in advance while simultaneously being non refundable is a massive PITA?

[Uptee]

And that it's all down to the internet?

Yeah, it's "easy" to book things online, but it's not always "easy" to turn up for them. Life gets in the way, people get sick, have pressing commitments appear, plans change. And when that happens, easiness goes out of the window. Suddenly it's not so easy, to do anything at all, because none of this ease is really for the convenience of customers. It's just to push cash flow forwards.

Half the time, you have no choice but to book in advance. There are no walk-up tickets. Or, if you're talking walk-up tickets on the train, they're £200. So instead you buy a train ticket for £70 which is still let me remind you a fuck of a lot of money, and even though your journey that you won't make (say for example, because a booking you had as a self employed person got cancelled) is weeks and weeks hence, there is no refund. You might just have well have burnt that bloody money. It's a fucking con.

Thankfully its not so bad in my country, can just turn up and pay at the door for most things rather than book in advance but I'm planning a holiday to the UK next month and its stressing me out trying to figure out when we'll want to do things so I can book them.

I noticed this last year; a lot of the Christmas type events releasing tickets in January for the next year.

I don’t want to have to book the pantomime in January to get ok seats. Or we went to a lights trail with timed slots - again released in January.

That's nonsense. Southwest trains do not reduce prices when it's quiet!!!

I absolutely hate that thing on flight bookings where it says things like only 2 seats at this price, or price about to change. Genuinely stresses me out (I complained once into the obvious big black hole).

Then, once booked, you can go back on the same site sometimes weeks later, and do same search and the same price is still there.

All pushing us to book quick book now! Some of us like to browse, weigh up options, decide, then book. I know the price can change but it’s these pushy prompts I can’t stand. They work I suppose ☹️

And because slots are open, people book because they don't want to miss out due to other people booking. Look at the way people lose their minds over supermarket Christmas delivery slots. They start looking out for them in August and get up in the middle of the night to reserve them with a bottle of champagne that they'll then take out and fill with Christmas groceries instead later on.

I'd never book something like a Christmas light trail more than a couple of days in advance. What if the weather is shit? Fortunately, this is something we can take or leave, it's a nice thing to do if it's not pissing it down/country ground to a halt by snow. So we book if the weather looks good and often there's a late deal, eg we've been to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the afternoon and done the light trail from 4/5 pm for less than the cost of booking either much earlier in advance.

But when I went last month it was a Friday and the ticket I booked was Euston to Manchester and back not really a commuter journey

I hate booking things. I often only decide what I want to do quite late on. I miss being spontaneous - we used to go away to places & find somewhere to stay when we arrived. Not much chance of that now.

I don't book trains though, unless I'm going a long distance. Booking for the tip was ended due to it being very unpopular & I can get in to swim without booking so don't.

They do sometimes actually-some train operators use dynamic pricing. DH uses this to is advantage a lot (travels a long way by train three times a week) but you have to be on it and sometimes it doesn’t work out in your favour.

I agree with you about the having to book absolutely everything in advance being a pain though. We live somewhere where you can’t just decided to go out for dinner and expect to get a table of a weekend. (No cost of living crisis here apparently). Everything is fully booked. There is no spontaneity at all.

Nor me. Not even a same day booking.
For local travel I get my ticket just before I leave the house, but I book ahead for longer journeys.

Booking fees annoy me. There is no admin involved so why?

I live in between two councils and use tips in 3 locations over both, never had to book just turn up.

I just came here to say this. Every single fucking app you can think of and cant access the tickets any other way, cant park any other way, app doesnt download, is glitchy, wont save your details, card wont load, blah blah blah, standing there in the rain at the car park because I cant see the machine numbers or instructions from where I am blah blah blah, payment not gone through

Sick to death of it.

We went to the RHS garden show last year, didn't book tickets, arrived there, huge queue for those that had booked, a couple of us hadn't booked and just went straight in at a different window that you pay at. Ours was cheaper too as we didn't pay the booking fee.

All the things designed to make life easier just end up adding friction.

I agree. Booking for swimming does my head in. No reason at all you shouldn't be able to turn up at your local leisure centre and pay. It's bloody ridiculous

Was this the one at Wentworth Woodhouse?
I had to download a different app for this - one that I will never use again, and deleted it once I had been.

Yes so annoying. All those book now for best price emails - well I don't know what the weather will be doing in half term so don't want to book your entirely outdoor activity if it's going to be 9 degrees and chucking it down all day.

I booked a monster truck show for DC and the booking fees came to the same price as a ticket. For what? I'm the one doing the fucking booking, you should be paying me.

This one does piss me off too because everyone gets sick in December and the weather is always dreadful.

Also when you book it nearly always says "limited tickets", especially on the Trainline app, then you get on a half empty train.

Some train tickets are refundable if you decide not to travel as we have claimed before. Might depend where you booked them though.

https://www.gwr.com/help-and-support/refunds-and-compensation/train-ticket-refunds

DD also got a very cheap last minute train (£20 would usually have been £70) when she booked just 24 hours ahead recently. I was equally surprised.

We still have to book in Kent. Started covid times. They carried it on

tho tbh I can always book to go in 30mins time (travelling time ish) but it is a Flaff having to go online to book a slot rather than turning up

and if you don’t book they do turn away even if empty/not busy

they check your reg no and if not on the booking list they turn you away

madness but …..

Completely agree! I have a time blind dh and it causes me no end of stress having to prebook things. I don’t ever want to prebook restaurants especially! So we vv rarely do.

I use trains frequently, and most of the tickets I buy can be refunded if cancelled before the journey, although some (advance tickets, looking at you!) have a £10 fee to change plus cost of difference to new ticket). Is this possible on your tickets?

hotel rooms are the ones I struggle most with - pay more in advance for the ability to cancel up till a couple of days before, or book late for less or more sometimes!!

We have to book at the dump and at the weekend there are barely any slots left

Also if you are doing several runs in a day with garden waste or big things that need several runs, its difficult to know how to book it, so do I book an 11, then 12, then 1, which means my day is spread over literally 3 hours, but if I did it 11, 1130, then 12, I have no guarantee with the traffic that I would make those times

Nightmare.

We don't have to book to use the tip but we can't use our nearest one because it's run by a different council and they check your address at the gate, so we have to drive at least 3 times as far to the ones at the opposite side of our city. Weirdly I am allowed to be a member of their libraries though.

But we did have to fill in a lengthy form to be allowed to take DPs van to the tip to prove he wasn't trying to dispose of trade waste without paying (his business doesn't produce any waste).

Totally agree my daughter has autism plus other physical medical needs so very often we can’t do what we’ve planned. The amount of money I’ve lost is unbelievable also it means when she’s having a good day we can’t just turn up on a whim. It does annoy me.

Our nearest tip is 16 miles away and you have to book to use it. So we drive 22 miles to the next nearest one which operates a rock up when you need to system, and the workers much more pleasant.