Double standards the travel industry must fix

Double standard No. 3: If a rental agency runs out of cars, you have to wait and you don’t get compensated for your time. If you bring back one of its cars late, it charges you its highest hourly rate.
Most car rental companies won’t guarantee a particular vehicle, only a “class” of car. Car rental companies do this because they can’t effectively manage their fleets. It isn’t unusual for them to rent all of their cars in a particular class, which means you have to wait anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours for your vehicle. Incidentally, you know you’re at a quality car rental company when they offer you an upgrade to the next class right away. Your compensation for the wait? Nothing. In fact, you’ll probably lose part of the value of a rental because you’ve already signed a contract, and the meter is running.

So what happens if you make your car rental company wait? Well, the rules are a little different.

Car rental companies have literally been losing their patience with tardy customers. Just last year, for example, Hertz abbreviated the grace period for returns to 30 minutes, from one hour. Not to be outdone, four car rental firms — Dollar, Enterprise, National and Thrifty — completely eliminated their grace periods. That means if you’re a minute late, you’ll have to pay an hourly rate for your vehicle. Not very nice.

What a silly double standard. If a car rental company is going to make you wait, it should be prepared to do the same.

How to get around it: There’s a little-known car rental industry policy that still exists. If a car in your class isn’t available, you’re entitled to an upgrade to the next class. Free. Next time someone tells you to wait, try reminding that person of the rule.

Double standard No. 4: If you book a trip, your travel company takes your money immediately. If you’re owed a refund, it takes months to get your money back.

Next time you book a trip, chances are pretty good that you’ll have to pay for everything up front. The airline or agency will suck the money out of your bank account with a swipe of your credit card. There are notable exceptions for big-ticket items like cruises or tours, where you’re allowed to make a deposit and then pay the balance later. But the rest of the time, we settle up at the time of booking.

But what happens when the roles are reversed? If your trip gets canceled and now the airline or agency owes you a refund, there’s nothing instant about getting your money back. Far from it.

In fact, airlines are notorious foot-draggers when it comes to refunds. Although they promise to return your money in seven to 10 days, it can take much, much longer to get your money — anywhere from one to three months. Why so long? I’ve asked customer-service experts, and they say the most plausible explanation is that these companies haven’t invested in the technology to process quicker refunds. There’s no incentive. When there’s a travel agency involved, the wait time can be even longer because it won’t pay up until it’s been compensated. In some cases customers have had to wait up to six months to see their money again.

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This is a ridiculous double standard that is easy to fix. Travel companies should be committed to paying their debts as quickly as they are paid by their customers. It’s just good business. You should insist on it.

How to get around it: If a travel company owes you money, the only way to speed things up is to become the proverbial squeaky wheel. Call, write, e-mail and let them know you aren’t interested in giving them an interest-free loan for half a year. If push comes to shove, don’t be shy about threatening to dispute the charges on your credit card. And if they don’t respond, make good on your promise.

This is by no means a definitive list of double standards. There are more out there — lots more. If you have any favorites, shoot me an e-mail with your nomination. And remember, the reason the travel industry gets away with these double standards is that no one bothers to question them.

If we stop letting them get away with it, they won’t.

I’ll be taking a close look at what makes the travel business tick in this column that appears here every Monday. Your comments are always welcome, and if you can’t get enough of my column, drop by my blog for daily insights into the world of travel.

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