Why does Expedia show Dolphin has availability but

[ehallison]

Dreams Unlimited can't book me a room during the same dates? I didn't want to book through Expedia because of their deposit/refund policy. Is Expedia holding rooms that other agents don't have access to while they're being held?

 

[claudia]

Many times expedia shows rooms as existing, but when you try to complete the booking it will come up as no room available. I have had this happen on 2 different occasions....once it was for Disney trying to get the CR (other sites, AAA and Disney) had shown it as sold out, so I thought I would try them, also once for a Marriott in Williamsburg, VA....the marriott site and AAA showed none available. I think they sell out and then don't update the main pages.

 

[Jestocost]

On the other hand, Expedia also books blocks of rooms in advance and those rooms are then unavailable to other TAs or through the hotel directly. It's theoretically possible that the hotel is "sold out" but that some of the rooms Expedia has booked may still be available through them. You'll never know until you try to book and you'll know before you have to pay, so it can't hurt!

 

[tjmw2727]

If the Expedia rate looks good and you can live with their policy then go for it. I have also had problems getting the rate after all is said and done and it has referred me to "similar" resorts. So it may look like you can get a room but either you can't or you can only get it with Expedia.

Just fyi if you have your heart set on S&D then try early on Fridays. A couple different S&D agents have told me that they get their updates weekly on fri am. You may also want to try directly to the SD when looking for the recently released rooms or have your DU agent call SD for you.

HTH
TJ

 

[lillykat]

Expedia is HORRIBLE about the good prices and availability sometimes. I have tried to get airfare from them a few times b/c they had a great schedule AND great price - but whenever you try to book it - it tells you that it is not available - but if you do the search again it comes up again!

 

[justhat]

Beware of Expedia for booking hotel rooms. We've always used them for airline tickets without a problem, but when we booked a hotel room in Phoenix for 12/00, we had lots of problems. It appeared as though everything was fine, we printed out a confirmation and everything, but when we got to the resort they said our room was a standard room, though we booked and had on the confirmation a concierge level jr. suite. The resort (a Hyatt)said that they never give out concierge rooms at that rate, and definitely not concierge suites. We showed them the confirmation and they basically said too bad. Well we chose that resort based on the view of the suite and the concierge priviledges, so we continued with our case. Finally, after speaking to a manager or whatever in the back, the woman checking us in came back and said that we could have a key to the concierge lounge, but we would have to stay in the standard room, with parking lot view, unless we wanted to pay to upgrade, which we did not. They also said our rate was actually higher than on our Expedia confirmation and that if we had problems with it we needed to contact Expedia. We did, but that took months to work out, and though they reimbursed us for the rate difference after many, many letters and calls, we still had the bad experience during our stay that they could not change. So even if you book a standard room with Expedia, you could arrive at the Dolphin and be told that your rate is actually higher than what it is or something like that. If you do decide to book with them, I would definitely call the resort and make sure everything is as it says on your confirmation.

 

[lillykat]

Expedia is HORRIBLE about the good prices and availability sometimes. I have tried to get airfare from them a few times b/c they had a great schedule AND great price - but whenever you try to book it - it tells you that it is not available - but if you do the search again it comes up again!

 

[robinb]

Starwood has a price guarentee if you book your stay on their website.

http://promo.starwood.com/bestrate/

If the Expedia rate is indeed valid, then Starwood will not only match your rate, but also shave 10% off it .