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OTAs Rack Up Complaints over COVID-19 Travel Cancellations
March 08, 2021
OTAs, including Expedia, CheapoAir, and JustFly, received 14,604 complaints from January to December 2020. Photo: http://ii.studio//Shutterstock.com.
As millions of travel plans have had to be canceled, consumers have had the added problem of trying to secure refunds through online travel agencies (OTA).
Those who made a reservation through a third-party site, including online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia or Priceline, are finding just how difficult it can be to get their cash back.
This is evident in the upswing in consumers lodging formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Transportation. OTAs, including Expedia, CheapoAir, and JustFly, received 14,604 complaints from January to December 2020. Of those, 94% were about obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets, fare adjustments, or bankruptcies.
Valley s travel industry starts to heal again after a devastating year
KFSN
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) A year after the pandemic first reached the Central Valley, business is finally picking up at Fresno travel agency Travel Shoppe. We are selling more than we are refunding now, so i am happy about that, said owner Cheri Verrastro.
Verrastro said 2020 was a tough year for most travel agencies.
The coronavirus forced them to cancel bookings, resulting in very little income flow.
The latest Air Travel Consumer Report shows that more than 102,000 complaints were filed against airline companies last year.
90,000 of those were for refunds.
Travelers or almost-travelers were really unhappy with airlines last year.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) received 102,550 complaints about airlines and travel agencies from January 2020 to December 2020, according to the department’s most recent Air Travel Consumer Report, released Thursday.
The DOT said the number of complaints is the highest number on record and up 568.4% from the number of complaints it received in 2019, which was just 15,342, according to a press release from the department.
Of those 102,550 complaints, most were about refunds.
According to the report, there were 89,518 complaints about refunds, which makes up 87.29% of all of last year’s complaints.