3rd party bookings dilemmas

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Although this is the next installment of my travel saga to Naples, and I still have 2 more weeks before I leave, remember, there is no such thing as a good price, if it’s a good price you should expect problems.

It’s a dilemma but the price is great.

Yet, if you are proactive, the problems can be lessened, nevertheless, the problems come from using 3^rd party booking sites like Expedia, Orbitz and Booking.com.

The issues with my flight to Naples and return came from booking the flight on Expedia.

I need a boarding pass to use my Known Traveler number, and it trumped my need to rest up and stay in a hotel near JFK for the night prior to the flight.

Since I was proactive, I spent more time questioning Delta, the listed airline carrier for the flights to Naples with a stop at the Fiumicino Rome airport + a change to another flight that leaves 45 minutes later—re the CSR staff at Delta, I lucked out when a lovely gal based in Atlanta took the time find out how I could possibly get a boarding pass on Alitalia who is the carrier operating my 3^rd party “good price” flights, and if not Delta will issue me a boarding pass with my Known Traveler number as well. 

The same Delta CSR told me 45 minutes is a legal time for a flight change to another terminal, but if my plane is late, then I have the right to be given another flight to Naples on Alitalia as well, and she found 2 flights that I can use to get me to Naples on the same day.

I have to print out the boarding passes 24 hours before my flight, so no hotel to rest up before the flight.  

Accordingly, I had to revamp how I traveled to JFK from my upstate New York location.

Now I’m taking Amtrak to Penn station the day of my flight which leaves at 6:30 p.m., and I discovered there is a bus to JFK just a block away from Penn station—I can buy a ticket for $18 and be at JFK in 1 hour, with plenty of time to rest before my flight.

However,. my return from Naples will be late and I won’t get to Penn station from JFK until at least 10 p.m., so I decided to look for a hotel near Penn station for an overnight stay.

NYC hotels are pricey so once again I used a 3^rd party booking site, this time Booking.com, where I found the perfect hotel just 2 blocks away from Penn station and I can pay when I get there, saving me at least $100, also I can cancel up till the day before I arrive.

The price was too good, and indeed more problems, but I was once again proactive and called the hotel directly to check on my reservation—the hotel didn’t have it, but that’s because they prioritize bookings and they wont assign rooms or have listing of reservations until the end of April.

As it turns out, I arranged with the booking office of the hotel to send them a copy of my Booking.com reservation and I will give them a reminder call at the end of April—sent my e-mail direct to the hotel using the name of the reservations supervisor I spoke to.

Again, 3^rd party booking sites are the source of travel dilemmas, but you can’t beat the price, so BE PROACTIVE and spend time to anticipate + avoid the problems.