Booking Travel On The Net - Thomas Wahl presented by MyCarRentals

Booking Travel On The Net

Although we operate a hotel booking service, I am a hotel consumer advocate first and wanted to share with you my thoughts on booking travel on the Internet.
Travel clearly is one of the largest growing segments of ecommerce and just recently we saw some of the major players, including Expedia acquiring other travel web sites. As with many other consolidations that brings many advantages for the consumer, but also has some inherent dangers. Less competition equals fewer choices and potentially lower value for you the end user.

But it also has the potential to raise quality and develop standards for travelers like you and creates opportunities for sites like Hotel Insider, Travelshoppe and others to build a niche and offer value added services to it's visitors.

However, with the growth over the past year, I have seen so many travel sites crop up all over the Internet and discovered that literarily thousands of web sites make travel bookings available to their visitors. As a consumer you should take caution and keep some of the following in mind:

Before you hand over your personal information you should check that the site has a privacy policy that deals with the use of personal information.
Check to see if the site has contact names and a telephone number, preferably toll-free for you to follow up.
Print a copy of your reservation confirmation page for reference
If possible take note of the hotel's telephone number in case you have to make short term changes to your reservation
After you travel give the site feedback on the quality of your stay
Ask the site for assistance in case of disputes or concerns related to your stay

These are just a few examples of issues that I have come across, both as a person that uses the web for ecommerce and as an ecommerce provider. The potential of the Web as a true benefit to all of us is enormous and I truly believe that we haven't seen anything yet, but be responsible, take caution and as always let your power as a consumer do the talking.

In hospitality Thomas

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