all those travel sites are not your friend, its a business, they make money by selling fares, the higher the better for them, then they still charge you booking fees.

Posted By theSuperStar on May 11, 2008, 10:58 PM

That happens a lot on web sites, airline sites too. I swear they store "cookies" on our computers to know what we are looking at. Then when we go back to check again- voila! the price has increased. I have checked on my computer, had that happen and then go to my husband's to try again and there's the lower fare again! It's quite a game they play on our computers and I swear there are things going on "behind the scenes" that we are not even aware of! In the case of the hotel that David mentioned, I would call the hotel directly and query them before booking it on-line.

Posted By Deborah on May 12, 2008, 8:56 AM

Actually, having worked for an online travel company for many years, I can give you a bit of an explanation as to why this happens. When you ask for hotel rates for all of London, that's a LOT of hotels. The system does not query each hotel individually for their exact rates for every sigle hotel in the city every single time a person asks for them--that would use up way more resources than the hotel's servers (not the travel site's usually) can handle and they complain loudly if your 'look-to-book' (window shopping vs. actual buying) ratio is too high. So when you see the initial rates on a website, it's often a snapshot of rates as of some point earlier in the day. If the lowest price room you see sold out since then, you're possibly not going to find that out until you say "I want *that* hotel right there!" At that point, the system does a 'single availability' search for that one specific hotel to see exactly what's available right that second, and unfortunately the $300 room was no longer available.

Trust me when I tell you that no legitimate travel site wants to be showing rates that are no longer there. It just creates angry customers and loses sales--it makes us look bad. The first thing customers always claim is 'bait and switch' without realizing all of the computations and communications that have to go on in the background to get them semi-live rates and availability. Unfortunately, until there's a better system in place, you're going to run into it sometimes. At better websites that recognize this problem, once that $300 rate was no longer available when you clicked through to book it, it should have pulled the $300 listing until a new rate refreshed.

This was the bane of my existance for a looooong time. I wish I had a better solution for you!

Posted By JBean on May 12, 2008, 9:44 AM

This happened to me recently as well on two different travel sites. The third one let me book the travel package for the original price.

Posted By Norman Binder on May 12, 2008, 12:38 PM

This happens to me often with airfares on Orbitz and other booking sites. I realize that airfares get bought up, but frequently there will be fares that have warnings: "only 3 seats left!" and I'll go for a different fare, only to lose that one, even though there was no warning. Always seems kind of bait-and- switchy to me. It happens more these days.

Posted By Liz on May 12, 2008, 12:40 PM

I actually experienced the same sort of thing with a company (who shall go nameless) that was featured in Budget Travel Best Deals (Paris, 6 nights hotel w/ breakfast, and air for under $700). The original deal was unavailable by the time we decided that it would be worth but we registered for their email newsletter anyway. About six months later I received an email newsletter from them at 6:10am (I actually received it at about 12:45am that morning). I woke my wife up and we agreed to do it. I completed their on-line form by 6:20am and had a confirmation screen, which I printed. Later that morning I received an email from them saying that that fare was no longer available. Their claim was that it had sold out immediately. I protested long and loud to no avail. I called their 800 number and spoke with increasingly higher muckedy-mucks. I finally sent them a detailed email explaining that what they did was illegal (bait and switch) and that I was complaining to the FTC, FAA, Budget Travel, the airline they were affiliated with, and their r local BBB. I even enclosed a copy of my proposed emails. Within a few hours a VP called me and said they had been able to make a special arrangement with airline and we would have the advertised package rate.

The point here is to keep good records (I had all email from them and the names of everyone I talked with) and threaten them with bad publicity, official complaints, and even legal action.

Posted By Jeff Kelso on May 12, 2008, 12:44 PM

If I find a good deal but am not familiar with the hotel, I open a second browser window and research the hotel with that browser window. If I like the deal, I go back to the original window that is still open and accept the deal. Just make sure you don;t take too long as your original window can time out.

Posted By Charles on May 12, 2008, 12:46 PM

Happened to me yesterday with Travelocity. I went to book flights from BWI to Minneapolis, found a good fare, selected the flights, went all the way through the booking process, but when I clicked to confirm the purchase, was told that the fare was no longer available. Of course, when I tried it again, the same fare came up again. NOT FAIR!

Posted By Kathy Orr on May 12, 2008, 12:57 PM

Deborah hit the nail on the head - call the hotel directly, and if they do not offer the best rate tell them the rate you saw online. They may grouse a bit, but every time I have done it they match the disappearing price!

Posted By Dean on May 12, 2008, 1:03 PM

Looking for a park and fly with a one night stay, I found a high end hotel that offered a great rate. When I called reservations to book, the agent upped the bill by 60 bucks. I questioned her and she said that rate was for 1 person in the room-2 was more. I have never heard of this at an upscale hotel and thought it was sneaky. We booked elsewhere.

Posted By fundogs on May 12, 2008, 1:06 PM

What JBean said is absolutely correct. It's not a "bait-and-switch" issue, it's just a question of systems, servers, availability and many other issues (often involving third party support, like hotels) that we just can't combat. Travel companies selling online really don't want to advertise incorrect fares/prices, it would just make them look bad and the loss of credibility would equal a devastating blow to conversion-which could be devastating to the company during this already tenuous economic climate.

It's an ongoing problem within many travel industry tech teams, and something that developers are constantly monitoring and trying to improve.

Posted By KDiz on May 12, 2008, 1:21 PM

I had this same problem on lastminute.com. And I call it a problem because I couldn't get past it. I would get the error message saying that my chosen fare was sold out, so I would start over, selecting a different fare (even though my original fare still showed up). I must have tried 10 different fares and got the error message every time. I have successfully used lastminute.com in the past and was very happy, but this just seemed unacceptable and Princeline got my business instead. (By the way, I was able to book that original rate at the same hotel on Priceline no problem.)

Posted By Brooke on May 12, 2008, 1:23 PM

Tried to book a fare on the Northwest site but it would not allow me to book it. Tried it on Expedia and on Travelocity. I even had a travel agent at American Express try, and she could not get it to go thru either.
But when I called Northwest, they were able to book it for me--and then charged me the extra fee to do so!

Posted By Rilly on May 12, 2008, 1:33 PM

Not just with Hotels...I recently researched airfare from Washington DC to Montreal on the Air Canada web site. I was using my office computer, which is networked through a New Jersey portal. The fare quoted on line by Air Canada was $180 each way. I thought this was a reasonable price and I would have booked immediately but I wanted to check the date of travel to be certain. When I arrived at my home in Fairfax VA, I logged in again to Air Canada using my Fairfax VA computer and my personal IP provider in the Fairfax zip code. The price was $32 higher each way. I was looking at it 6 hours after I had first researched the price and I thought this was probably a change in availability. Nevertheless, since I also have a VPN connection that I use to connect my office laptop to my office network (New Jersey) I thought I would check for the same flight, same time and same travel plans on my office network access point. The price when I was logged in from two separate zip codes for the extact same trip at the exact same time was $60 more, plus fees, when booked from VA. The departure and arrival airports were identical as was the date, time and flight number. Ripped because of ZIP...

Posted By Andrew Burt on May 12, 2008, 1:34 PM

I was booking a flight on Delta's web site using the "check alternate dates feature." By the time I entered the information for my flight, I got a message saying "sorry, seat no longer available." I've check several time since then and the fare no longer shows up. I guess I'd better type faster next time!

Posted By Jim on May 12, 2008, 1:36 PM

This happens to me frequently using Travelocity...it is really frustrating. I'm not sure how it pulls the same lower prices numerous times, and then they are never available if you try to book.

Posted By LouK on May 12, 2008, 1:39 PM

It's the cookies! Delete them before returning to the site.

Posted By Rich on May 12, 2008, 1:42 PM

Orbitz has had the same fare availability for over 2 weeks for airfare only (not a package)from Frankfurt,Germany to Nashville, TN. Every time I click on the lowest fare, the same red typefaced note pops up telling me that airfares "change rapidly". Well, that may be true, but Orbitz's sure don't change rapidly.

Worse, I acquiesce and click on a higher fare and the red typeface pops up again saying that that fare is not available, but "that itinerary can be bought for...." usually several more hundred dollars. In one case it suggested a fare for over $6000.

I've taken Orbitz off my favorites.

Posted By Stephen on May 12, 2008, 1:47 PM

Using Kayak.com I was getting airfares to europe that appeared to be a bargain. The fares were coming from Orbitz and Cheaptickets.com. When I would click on the links to those sites the fare with a warning that only 7 seats remained at that price would be displayed. When I tried to book just one of those seats the price jumped several hundred dollars. I didn't purchase but when I went online several days later I got the same fare and # of seats left claim and then the same rate hike when I tried to book. Orbitz and Cheaptickets are definitely using bait and switch tactics and I would avoid using them (I believe they are part of the same company). An earlier poster said that travel sites would have nothing to gain by doing this but I'm sure they have determined that the money made on the higher priced fares outweighs the cost of 5 minutes the customer service rep needs to cancel a booking. Plus these false fares draw traffic to their site.

Posted By Kerry on May 12, 2008, 2:26 PM

ALWAYS clear out your cookies on your computer before starting a search, but also, when you are returning to a site to check a second time for the same flight you saw before. Once they know they have you back at their site, they figure you will keep trying (costing you more if you don't clear the cookies to make it look like it is your first trip to their site) or get so frustrated you will just book the next thing that pops up.....

Posted By amy on May 12, 2008, 2:33 PM

Travelocity is absolutely the WORST culprit. I have yet to book something on the web site after numerous "Bait and Switches". I no longer even try.

Posted By capnDave on May 12, 2008, 2:48 PM

This is what happened to me with Spirit. I received an email for one of their specials on a flight to Vegas, immediately went to the site to book, (this was at about midnight EDT) but never could get the sale price. A few days later, I received another email advertising the same discounted price, tried a few more times, never got the discounted price. I booked through Travelocity for a cheaper price anyway!

Posted By boj on May 12, 2008, 2:52 PM

It is the "cookies", but remember if you clear them you clear the ones you want as well, such as frequently used shopping sites, credit card pay sites, etc.

Posted By Conniev on May 12, 2008, 3:11 PM

Same thing happened to me two weeks ago. Searching for a flight, the really good deal (air, hotel and car) came up on Travelocity. I booked it and after the payment went through I got a message, in red, that the cost had increased and my card had been charged more than $150 more (this on a $750 package). This is an extremely poor business practice to say the least, but since I'd already paid, I felt stuck.

Posted By Jan on May 12, 2008, 3:23 PM

I ran into the same problem on Orbitz, and was really upset! I tried clearing my cookies, and even used another laptop to try and get the lower rate-- no dice. I ended up just booking separately on the hotel and airline's websites, so too bad for Orbitz.
JBean's comment above makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate you letting us know what's going on. Now I won't get QUITE so mad if this happens again.

Posted By Heather K on May 12, 2008, 4:38 PM

Some of you got it right. Delete the cookie. Problem solved!

Posted By Nancy L on May 12, 2008, 5:20 PM

Thank you to everyone who has shared their insights! A lot of helpful info here!

I'd remind folks that you can also switch to another computer, such as from a home computer to a work computer, to clear your cookies about recent searches. But if you've logged in while you're doing a search, the site will remember you. You have a trade-off of the convenience of not having to type your billing info in to the form, over and over again. So... it's not an easy decision.

For more thoughts on cookies and online searching, see this recent blog post: Beware of slippery online sites:
http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2008/04/fares_watch_out_for_websites_t.html

Posted By Sean on May 12, 2008, 6:29 PM

i too have used lastminute.com twice. the first time, i choose a hotel in west london and when i arrived the room was not only not what was shown, but was actually awful. i changed to a "sister hotel" at a higher price. the second time, i was quoted a price only to find, as the blogger did, that miraculously the price had gone up twenty five pounds from the time i hit the book button.
me thinks something stinks here.

Posted By kevin connelly on May 12, 2008, 6:49 PM

I agree with Kathy, above, that this happens a lot with Northwest. In trying to book to MSP Expedia showed a fare about $75 less than a few days ago (and they sent me an email about it - I'd saved it in an itinerary). When I went to book I got the red lettered "sorry" with the same fare as before. And I was searching from a different computer so I don't know that cookies made the difference.

Conversely, on another just-completed trip to MSP, after searching several sites I went to book at NWA at a fare of $550. For some reason I decided to check Travelocity again before booking and I found EXACTLY the same dates/times/airline for $375. I should have held NWA to their "lowest price" guarantee!

By the way, did you know you can't get an envelope for your boarding pass(es) from NWA anymore unless you check a 2nd bag for $25? And Delta is charging an extra $1 at check-in at SLC if you don't print your own boarding pass at home!

Posted By Judy on May 12, 2008, 7:13 PM

I have had the same problem with Delta Airlines website. I found a sell price and tried to book it and the web site had a problem. I waited a little while found the same special and tried again, this time the website said I waited to long and the deal was not available. I tried again and the fare still showed available but would not book at the rate.

Posted By Christy Hamilton-Eames on May 12, 2008, 7:42 PM

I just finished emailing Hotwire to ask why they'd sent me an email advertising rental cars in Denver (where they knew I'd been searching) from $9.95 on up but when I clicked on the "deal", the cheapest car was $24.95. Of course it's a bait and switch. And why would anyone pay that much for a compact rental car?

Posted By karen on May 12, 2008, 9:24 PM

A note to Conniev, you don't have to delete all your cookies at once if you have the right browser. Safari lets you pick and choose what to delete.

Posted By stella on May 12, 2008, 10:04 PM

I've had this happen a couple of times on American's site. I got all the way through to the "purchase" screen, when it suddenly showed a higher fare. I was so frustrated I called American, where a rep said that the site is not actually updated with prices until you get the purchase screen. Then how are we ever supposed to know the true price?

Posted By Jeanette on May 13, 2008, 12:46 AM

I can tell you that in my experience deleting your cookie for Hotwire absolutley gets you back to the lower price. I have done it many times and always with the same result, the return of the original price quote.

Posted By When Worlds Collide on May 13, 2008, 10:08 AM

I recently tried to book a flight for my sister to visit me in Portland, Oregon. I always use Orbitz to book, and had way too many instances where this happened to me. The worst was choosing a fare of $250 per person immediately after I saw it, entering all the payment information, choosing seats, etc. and then on the final page, it said the rate was no longer available and that the fare had increased to almost $500. I ended up using Priceline for the tickets instead, and had to haggle to $240 each. I felt as though I wasted alot of time on the Orbitz web site, trying to snag fares that apparently didn't exist.

Posted By Keri on May 13, 2008, 11:58 AM

I had a similar experience, but with the opposite, and happy result. Last year I searched online sites over the course of several days for roundtrip deals from Newark-Copenhagen. I too received 'Sorry, but..' messages repeatedly, but then suddenly received an offer better than $400 less for 2. I jumped on it, expecting to see it evaporate too, but the tickets purchase completed w/o a hitch. I was baffled, but delighted. Can anyone offer how or why this happened?

Posted By John G on May 13, 2008, 12:53 PM

Had a recent(last month) bail and switch on airefare and hotel to Germany with Orbitz. I eventually got the lower price because of their 24 hour low price guarantee.

Posted By doubleblack on May 13, 2008, 1:23 PM

Just happened to me with Vacations to Go. They advertised one price, gave me another (after taking down all my info) and blamed it on the cruise line. When I checked with the cruise line, the price they gave me was identical to the "discounted" price. Better to use the cruise line, I think. There is one less level of confusion and more direct responsibility if there is an error.

Posted By B. Truesdell on May 13, 2008, 6:02 PM

Recently, I deleted cookies when revisiting a site to receive the original lower price offered. It worked. I also tried the site's other language, German,and I received the lower price for more visits; I booked using the German (which I had translated on Babelfish.com to make sure I understood everything).

Posted By alice on May 14, 2008, 3:42 AM

You need to clean out all your cookies. That will list all deals again. I do that on a regular basis.

Posted By Hannes on May 14, 2008, 3:14 PM

Just happened to me yesterday...Got price on Orbitz for $2485 Put in all info Tried to pay and got error message. Called Told by rep that price no longer exists. Now costs $2555 which still was less than any other web site including doing package with Jet Blue itself.So booked our vacation package... However when I called Jet Blue for seats. My husband and I aren't together and if we want to switch it will cost an additional $80 to go to the more legroom seats which are the only seats left! HOWEVER when I went back to Orbitz the advertised price for the package is now $2675 GO FIGURE THIS ALL OUT!!!

Posted By Beth on May 14, 2008, 7:58 PM

Hey guys - sometimes it's worth calling a real travel agent. Usually they can get the fare they quote and frequently can hold the fare for hours if not a full day if clients provide correct spelling of all names. It might cost slightly more, but avoids hours of aggravation.

Posted By David Epstein on May 16, 2008, 1:43 PM

Lastminute.com offered a a last minute flight for an affordable price. It "disappeared" and no one was offering anything comparable so no one got the business. We all lost. I resent the time wasted trying to book.

Posted By moth on May 18, 2008, 4:25 PM

I had a similar experience with Vacations To Go. I booked a hotel in NYC and after i booked they told me the price would be $100.00 more b/c of spring break. I will never use that site again and i will make sure everyone i know doesn't use it. I think if you advertise a rate that's what the rate should be. I will complain to our BBB. Thanks for letting me vent.

Posted By lucy on May 19, 2008, 1:36 PM

I had an unusual one happen to me. I booked two rooms, through Priceline: one for two people and one for three people. The room for three cost more, and had a sleep sofa in addition to two beds. When I asked for linens for the sleep sofa, I was told that would be $ 10. PER NIGHT. I had prepaid, so I paid the extra. With more forethought I would have gone to Walmart and bought a sheet!

Posted By Marcia Darnell on May 20, 2008, 9:47 AM

I have just read the comments made regarding this article and to the person who worked for an online travel site who defended the online bookers for not being able to keep up with the raise in rates, I can only ask this... If they can raise the rates automatically, why can they not update their advertised rates automatically? If you advertise something is a certain price, it should remain the price.

I have been checking the rates with travelocity.com for three days on last minute travel for a specific trip. For the last three days, the advertised price has been the exact same price and for the last three days, each time I click the "book" button, I receive a message stating that my original option is no longer available and that "due to the volume and volatility of airline fares, the price has gone up". Skyrocketed if you as me. And, frankly, I assume that a web site such as travelocity.com has full time IT and techies on staff. This should not happen, ever. It is bait and switch. The only saving grace is that I took the bait but was not ignorant enough to do the switch.

Posted By Vildachaya on July 9, 2008, 11:19 PM

My wife and I have been 'baited and switched' by Travelocity. Despite an advertised price of $750 to Las Vegas, we have been given a 3 1/2 hour run around by Customer Services as to why it's going to cost us $849 per person, rather than the advertised or 'baiting' price. They blamed the increase in costs on United Airlines change in flight costs that haven't yet been 'officially' received by Travelocity Headoffice to 'legally' change the website prices. Somehow, Travelocity can get the actual 'flight increases' through the Global Sabre system, ...but not until you are ready to give them your credit card!!!! Then and only then do you find out what the real cost of your trip is going to be. Unlike other 'travel agencies',with Travelocity - the 'advertised price' is merely a suggested starting price ( no disclaimers or warnings before you are ready to book!!! ) and it will always cost you more than what you think you're going to pay.

Posted By Cam Thomson on August 2, 2008, 4:53 PM

Lastminute.com is clearly bait and switch. The vast majority of the time you will not get the advertised price. It's not an occassional thing. They will bump it somewhere along the line. They know the new price and could update the web site. They don't. The strategy on that site is to get you to search for the trip, then add a bit more once you're hooked. It's classic bait and switch.

Posted By Charles on August 13, 2008, 10:29 AM

I have used Travelocity in the past so am on their email list. They regularly send me "special low prices" on routes I have flown in the past. WITHOUT FAIL, every time I have followed their link to get the deal price, one of two things happen: 1. I get to the end and it says "sorry, that price is no longer available" or 2. I get "Please be aware that we are unable to process your request due to an error." Every time. And I have tried about 20 times - it's sort of a cynical game now. I have read the comments from the "I used to work at one of these online travel places and they would never do this" folks, and my opinion is 1. if these places did intentionally bait and switch, the employees of the company would likely not be told, and/or 2. the servers are set up with such stringent restrictions that there is statistically little way anyone will get the low price, although maybe it's technically possible. Either way, the same result. These sites are not to be trusted.

Posted By Jack on August 22, 2008, 9:16 PM

I am in the middle of a bait and switch deal with Princess Cruise lines. I got a brochure in the mail in September 2007, with the offer of a $365 piece of Samsonite luggage if we booked a cruise before November 30, 2008. Another couple and us booked a 14-day Panama Canal cruise in mini-suites at nearly $6,000 each. We made the final payment on July 28, 2008 and I called Princess and asked about the luggage. They claimed they had no record of it and the luggage was all gone. My travel agent had copies of the FAX records. with a copy of the brochure I had received. Finally a customer service rep with Princess said they would give each couple $100 each, since they said the retail price of the luggage was inflated. I wrote a letter to Alan Buckelew, the President of Princess and still no word.

Posted By Larry R. George on August 27, 2008, 11:00 PM

Hi Larry,
Sorry to hear about your frustrating experience.
You may want to contact chris Elliott, the travel trouble shooter, at elliott.org
Thanks,

Sean O’Neill

Blog editor

Posted By Sean on August 28, 2008, 11:55 AM

I just had the same thing as Christy on the Delta website. I've been planning on booking a flight for a week or two now and been checking it out on their website. When I went to book it, the website gave me errors four times (requiring I enter all my details over again). I left it 15 minutes then when I came back, that flight was gone and one at more than twice the price was in its place. The plane just happened to book up just as I was trying to book the flight? I don't think so. Bait & switch I reckon.

Posted By Richard Thomas on May 28, 2009, 12:08 AM

Well, clearly, these companies use the bait and switch - no doubt about it. If an advertised price is suddenly "not available" anymore when you click on it, but then suddenly "available" if you clear out your cookies and start over, that's not "slow updating of prices" - it's cheating the customer. If it was just "slow updating", then clearing your cookies wouldn't matter. Cheaters!

Posted By cbjpsw on May 31, 2009, 7:57 PM