Should I double-check Expedia hotel bookings?

[Silkchiffon]

Going to California in the Summer - really excited and feel chuffed that I have managed to actually do this after years of promising the dc.

I have booked 10 different hotels through Expedia to cover our trip, every time I book I get a breezy message back saying it's all booked and no need to confirm with anyone.

It all just seems suspiciously easy......anyone come unstuck with Expedia or alternately booked everything and had no problem?

I work in a hotel and have to say I've never had any problems with Expedia bookings. No one has arrived and not had a room booked. I've never had to phone them or deal with them at all, thinking about it.

Honestly, I double check anyway, just for peace of mind! Never had an issue though :)

Never had a problem with Expedia and I've used it quite a lot. (Also never had a problem with lastminute.com). It can be quite hard to figure out how to contact the hotels directly as, at a minimum, they want you to go through their premium-rate call centre (Holiday Inn yes I am looking at you, despite needing to confirm wheelchair access in a particular hotel).

For such a big trip, though, I would be tempted to confirm direct if you can find an email address or non-extortionate number to call. I don't know how quickly the hotel will have your individual details so if you do call and they don't know you I wouldn't immediately panic!

Yes I noticed the lack of email contact details tribpot, it was one of the things making me a bit nervous! I cancelled one of the hotel (free cancellation, big advantage!) after they failed to reply to a query about parking.

For my own peace of mind I will look at the hotel sites if I can find them but it's good to know people have had good experiences.

Never had a problem with Expedia. They are very good.

You could send the hotels an email asking them to confirm?

Anyway, it sounds like an absolutely fabulous holiday. I am very jealous!

I have had both no problems and also problems! Called a hotel one time that I'd booked through expedia to ask a question about our room or something and they couldn't find any booking. To expedia's credit, they sorted it quickly and even covered the extra cost of an upgraded room as the one we had booked was actually sold out. As long as you have a confirmation email you should be ok, but you could always call with a spurious question to make sure!

We arrived in New York (family of 4) at 11pm (or 4am our time) only to be told that our expedia booked room had been cancelled earlier in the day. The hotel had to be paid for on arrival and the credit card details I gave in advance were rejected earlier in the day so they gave our room away.

When we arrived they tried the same credit card again and hey presto it worked and was accepted. However, our room had already been reallocated and the hotel was full.

The receptionist spent the next 20 minutes phoning numerous hotels in the area and found one 2 blocks away. The porter then walked our bags and us round to the hotel- a couple of minutes walk but at 11.30 pm and seriously grumpy kids and husband it seemed longer.

We got to our room at 11.45 only to find it had 3 single beds. OH wanted to sleep on the floor but for $250 a night I said no way. Kids (13 and 12 boy and girl) ended up sleeping top and toe, but at that moment we would have slept in a stable!

Went back to original hotel in the morning and checked in for 4 nights and were upgraded to a deluxe room for all the hassle. No money off though even though we kicked up a fuss. They said 'take it up with your credit card company.'

Good hotel and great holiday although a rotten start.

I would double check your booking especially if they take your money on arrival rather than on booking.

That wasn't necessarily the hotel or Expedia's fault. They can't help credit cards being declined. Some automatically decline if a cardholder is not present etc
A hotel wants your card to go through straight away. No one benefitted from it not.

Well, I've paid for all the rooms in advance so I hope that will save me from your experience breward. It presumably won't save me from Usain's problem - I've seen a few mentions of such things in reviews on tripadvisor which is why I started the thread.