OTA denies claims it hikes prices after customers have booked
Online travel agent On the Beach has denied accusations that it hikes the cost of holidays after customers have booked, forcing them to either pay more or cancel their trips.
The OTA admitted that ‘every now and again’ it was unable to offer a holiday for the price shown online, but it said customers were always told if the price had gone up before they made a booking.
It blamed the ‘odd’ price discrepancy on a problem with the live data feeds from its suppliers, which it said sometimes didn’t provide updated price information fast enough.
"However, customers are told the price has gone up before the booking is confirmed," said an On the Beach spokesman. "When they try to book online, if the price has gone up they are told of the increase and asked if they still want to go ahead before payment is taken," he said.
He denied accusations in an article in the Mirror newspaper this week that the company increases prices after bookings had been confirmed and paid for. The newspaper quoted consumer group HolidayTravelWatch saying it regularly received complaints from consumers who book with some online travel sites then receive demands for more money because the price has gone up.
"On the Beach customers have never been charged for a holiday and then asked to pay more," said the company spokesman. "The problem is that hotels and airlines are sending out millions of prices to their suppliers and somehow, every now and again, they don’t update fast enough.
"It’s a technical issue and they are constantly trying to make the feed as fast as possible."
He denied On the Beach was deliberately misleading consumers by advertising out of date or ‘ghost’ fares to attract them to its site.
"There are holidays that can be booked at the price shown, but every now and again, between us getting a refreshed feed from the supplier and a new booking, the price has changed."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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