I booked a three night stay at a hotel in Sydney, Australia at the Crown Plaza Darling Harbour last June. I was immediately charged $525.00 for the reservation on my credit card.
At the time I booked the reservation, I understood it was noncancellable but I had NO idea that it was a non-changeable reservation or I would not have booked the room at that time. When I found I had to reschedule my trip, I got online to change the dates as I have done with other hotels with Orbitz. Much to my shock, the site said that I could NOT change the dates and my only option was to cancel the entire reservation and thus, lose my $525.00 prepayment. I called the customer service line and was told that "only the hotel could change my reservation." I contacted the hotel who said they would have no problem changing the date but that I had to have the "third party" booking agent do this on my behalf. I again called Orbitz and was told again that they would not accomodate any change and that my only option again was to cancel the reservation so that they could keep my money.
While Orbitz did tell me that the reservation was non-cancellable, I feel that Orbitz was deceptive in not telling me that the booking could also not be changed. If I had known that, I would not have made the reservation and would still have my $525.00 that has been paid for nothing.
I will no longer deal with Orbitz for ANY reservation of any type and I suggest others make sure they know ALL of the parameters before booking - even the "secret" ones.
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