Distribution Strategies

Expedia.com has eliminated all phone-based booking fees. The online travel company will not charge phone booking fees for any flight, car rental, hotel or cruise reservation booked by phone.

Published: 06 Nov 2009

Expedia.com has eliminated all phone-based booking fees. The online travel company will not charge phone booking fees for any flight, car rental, hotel or cruise reservation booked by phone.

Expedia.com says it is now the only major online travel agency to offer fee-free telephone booking for air travel.

The company added that in comparison, some online travel agencies charge as much as $25 per ticket to book via phone. Many airlines also apply as much as $25 in fees, per ticket, to book by phone.

The company eliminated online air booking fees and change fees and cancel fees on all hotel and car rental reservations in May 2009. Cruise change and cancel fees were also eliminated in May 2009 and cruise booking fees were eliminated in October 2009.

Expedia wouldn’t say exactly what percentage of its bookings are made by phone, but Forrester Research estimates about 10 percent, reported The New York Times. The move gives Expedia a pricing advantage over airlines, which levy surcharges for phone bookings, said Henry H. Harteveldt, principal travel analyst at Forrester. Still, he does not expect that airlines will match Expedia’s decision.