I booked a vacation rental property through a popular virtual platform website. To my surprise, within 24 hours, the price dropped by $50 per night for the same time period.
So I called the host of the vacation rental property to ask for an explanation of the price discrepancy. They said that I would have to contact the website that I booked through. But there was no contact phone number or email address on that site. There was only a note on the property listing to contact the host with any concerns. So I called back the host and they said, once again, that I had to contact the vacation rental website. I was going around in circles! When I tried to cancel one day later, I discovered that I would lose half of the total even though I had booked just 24 hours prior.
Virtual platform booking sites are widely used and lots of people are happy with them. However, if something goes sideways, watch out. It can be next to impossible to get out of the booking if the site has strict cancellation policies. They can also charge hefty service fees. If you can’t contact the booking site, you might be stuck with a host who refuses to help you. Bottom line, I recommend dealing directly with the owner of the B &B. They don’t typically charge extra fees and their cancellation policies tend to be more reasonable. Bottom line… deal with people, not robots.
Susan Whitney
Qualicum Beach