Nobody is ambivalent about the Internet. Some people say it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, while others blame the decline of modern society. Regardless their feelings about the Internet is a great tool for travel addicts. But is on-line booking a realistic option for wheelchair users? Is it really the best way to get a good deal? The answer is a conditional yes. In fact no single click method, but can use the Internet to save money and ensuring appropriate access.
Let's start with air fares. Airline websites and travel portals are the best places to book tickets Airline on-line if you have access needs. Shop around, find the best rate, and then book online. Most major websites, including have done in their reservation forms to specify their access needs, such as wheelchair assistance, accessible seating or wheelchair on board. After you have made your reservation, call the airline to ensure that requests for access are noted.
It is a fairly easy process, however there is a kind of website that you need to avoid – the auction or the name-your-price site. These sites go by many different names and are promoted by lots of celebrities, but in whole hog call-a-poke dotcoms.
In pig-in-the-poke dotcoms, enter your departure city and destination along with your card number credit. Then state how much they are willing to pay for the ticket. Finally, receive a response indicating whether the offer has been accepted. Once accepted your offer, your credit card is charged immediately.
The catch is, you can not choose the company's routes, airplanes or even the time of day of travel. In fact, you are not aware of these details until after your bid is accepted and your credit card is charged. Although this process may be acceptable for travelers who do not have access needs, is a great bet for anyone who does, since these factors can determine the availability of flights. So to say not when it comes to pork-in-the-poke dotcoms
Of course, there's more to traveling than just booking a plane ticket. You can also book room available online, but only if you know what sites to avoid. Hotel consolidators top the list of bad guys. Why?
Good, preparers to first hotel outside of just the treatment of guest room reservations and requests for guest rooms, but more importantly reservations are made in the name of the Consolidator (not the name of the traveler) to approximately 24 to 48 hours before arrival of the traveler.
In other words, if you were to call the hotel directly to confirm your reservation (and to ensure that an accessible room is locked by you) in most cases, his name would not be even in the file. Consolidators book blocks of rooms for the disabled, and special rooms are not assigned to passengers until the last minute. In most cases passengers get pot luck.
Worse, when you discover this fact and realize that in all likelihood, will not end with an accessible room, you can not cancel without paying a substantial cancellation fee (which of course is automatically charged to your credit card). Thus basically, you pay in advance, but does not guarantee anything. Not exactly a fair deal, right?
How do detect a hotel consolidator? It's pretty easy. All of them require prepayment by credit card and most have fairly rigid cancellation fees.
Moreover, many travel portals offer a professional interface that allows users to book rooms online access. The main advantage of using a professional interface in a portal travelers is to deal directly with the hotel. You make a reservation, the request goes to the hotel, and you have a confirmation number again, all concerned seconds.
The disadvantage of this is that it is sometimes difficult to tell a travel portal with a professional interface for a consolidator of hotel just by looking at the form Reserve online. Both forms ask the same information. However, there are two big differences. One is that, apart from a cost not to show, not find a cancellation fee when you use a professional interface. And two, when you use a professional interface, you have to pay the hotel expenses in advance.
The best way to book a room available online is to make a reservation directly at the hotel's website. Why? Because you can be sure that it is of the property directly. After you make your reservation on-line, call the hotel and confirm the login details of your reservation.
In the end, if you shop around, watch for sales and stay away from travel consolidators and pig-in-the-poke dotcoms will probably find some great deals online. But remember, you need to monitor every online reservation with a call to the hotel or airline to confirm that the access requests. Yes, it takes a little longer, but is the only way to ensure that their access needs are met. In fact, the Internet is the ideal tool for travelers, but remember, it's not the only tool.
About the Author:
101 Accessible Vacations; Travel Ideas for Wheelers and Slow Walkers. Visit
Accessible Vacations
, or her blog,
Barrier Free Travels
.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – On-line Booking – Is It A Possibility For Disabled Travelers?
DC by Foot: The Hotel Harrington, Washington DC
Tags: hotel, hotel harrington dc reviews, hotel harrington de, hotel harrington delaware, hotel harrington gardens, hotel harrington gardens london, hotel harrington geneva, hotel harrington hall, hotel harrington map, hotel harrington reviews, hotel harrington washington dc, Hotels, london, travel, washingtondc