January 15, 2010 12:03 p.m. ESt
– Carolyn Fletcher’s honeymoon started heading south the moment she and her husband landed in Cancun. No one was there to pick up the newlyweds.It took an hour for her to convince a van service to deliver them to their hotel. But when they checked into their four-star resort in Akumal, they discovered it was “a two-star, at best,” she remembers. “The grounds were unkempt and there was trash everywhere,” she said. “Our room smelled of mildew. I sat down on the bed to cry, only to find the sheets and mattress wet from the moisture and mildew. There was mold growing on the curtains, the walls and the furniture.”
Why am I telling you about Fletcher’s post-nuptial nightmare? Because she booked it online. Some vacations should never be booked through anyone but a travel agent, and a honeymoon is arguably one of them. But there are others, too, as travelers like Fletcher are discovering.
A recent Forrester Research study suggests there’s something of a backlash when it comes to booking travel online. It concludes 15 percent fewer travelers will use the Web in 2009, compared with two years ago — a finding that comforts many travel agents who previously saw themselves on the endangered list. (People have gotten a little carried away with the Forrester study, though. One headline writer suggested online booking might be the “worst part” of the trip. Right. That would be the flight, actually.)
It’s little consolation to Fletcher and her husband. “While most people will remember their honeymoon with happy memories, ours are filled with disparagement, frustration and regret,” she adds.
In trying to figure out when you shouldn’t book online, I thought I’d ask someone who works for an online travel agency. I put the question to Ginny Mahl, Travelocity’s vice president of sales and customer service. “There is still a place for traditional travel agents, particularly those that have carved out a niche, like adventure travel,” she said. “Depending upon the traveler and their needs, a face-to-face meeting with such a consultant could be wise.” Of course, she adds, “higher fees will apply.” Of course.
So when should you not book on the Internet? Here are seven kinds of trips:
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