Kayak
Reviews and Complaints

This complaint is regarding an online airline agency that is mostly advertised via kayak for cheap deals.

My husband booked a trip to India through a Kayak advertised agent- E dreams. He was due to travel on 15th Feb, he arrived at the airport, and was told he was having some visa issues which was resolved within 24hrs. However, he ended up missing the flight to India.

Since than he has been contacting E dreams to reschule a flight. Everytime he calls edreams- he is told that he needs to contact them back in 24hrs, as they can not find any flights on their system. My husbands flight was Sri Lankan airlines.

He contacted Sri Lankan airlines who told him that all E dreams need to do is email Sri Lanka airlines advising them that they are unable to manage my husbands booking because they can't see any available flights on their system, and Sri Lankan airlines would be happy to help E dreams with the issue. It has been a week now, my husband calls Edreams everyday, with same statment to call in 24hrs, and that his matter has been esculated, but there has not been a single resolution or update from their end. They even say my husband was a "no show", which Sri Lankan airlines confirms is not the case, and on the system he is not shown as a no show as well. E dreams also say they have emailed Sri lankan airlines, but Sri Lankan airlines denys that they have received any emails from E dreams. Honestly this feels like a scam. My husband is not even disputing any money issue, he just wants his flight rescheduled.

I don't directly blame Kayak, but since than I have seen hundreds of emails against Edreams that they are ripping people of, so why would such a reputed company such kayak advertise agencies like these considering so many complaints.

Hello.
I am very disappointed because I have booked a flight with you. My trip was cancelled since July 2021. It was cancelled from your side.
Till now I keep claiming and dont get any answer whether you will refund or no and when and
let me how to track it. Very bad customer service.
knowing that I bought the option that allows the refund.

BOOKING NUMBER

[protected]

I am still waiting.

Part1: I booked an international flight from US to India through Kayak. The ticket was booked on 01-Oct-2021 and the travel date was 07-Dec-2021.

I received a confirmation email for my booking, my credit card was charged and the trip showed up on Kayak's website under my profile until the last day. I went to the airport and the airlines representative informed me that they had closed one of the routes that I was planning to fly to, and that this had happened back in October. After scanning my passport they were also able toconfirm that this was communicated back to Kayak on 05-Oct-2021. They gave all of this information without even knowing my booking date, etc.

All of this seemed legit to me and made sense. Kayak on their part, in my opinion, failed to make a note of this in their system and also inform me about it.

Part2: At the airport I had no choice as I scrambled to get in touch with the customer care. No matter what time of the day you call, they have a standard message "All our offices are currently closed". I tried their chatbot option and there was no response.

I was continuously trying to reach out to them but went into the same loop (phone to chatbot to nothing). Finally, somebody from their team reached out to me directly on my cell phone and was able to connect me to the right department. In the mean time I had also tried to contact the airlines customer care (which was very easy to reach out), they were very patient with me, explained me the situation and tried to help in every possible way. However, since my ticket was booked through Kayak, they couldn't do much.

Coming back to the Kayak's customer care, I asked for an explanation and since there was none, the agent tried to blame it on the airlines. It was outright that he was not being honest as he wasn't able to explain why do they still have a confirmed trip for a route that was closed in October. As per him, the airlines made a last minute cancellation of my ticket and they didn'tknow about it until a few minutes ago. It was a LIE and I could immediately see that.

Honestly, we are all humans and it is ok to make mistakes, but then you need to admit it, own it and be responsible. Since I was not interested in what had happened, I asked him for my options and he gave me 2 options. Option1: Full refund, which I wasn't interested in. Option2: Another ticket with the same airlines and same country (not the same destination).

He was "supposedly" trying to help me out here but in my opinion his help was a mere attempt to correct their blunder and appear nice. I took option2 as I had no choice. He said I would receive a confirmation email in about 2 hours.

Part3: After about 12-13 hrs, I didn't see the confirmation email coming through. I once again called their customer support number, heard the same standard message, got routed to the chatbot option and finally was able to get in touch withanother agent.

This time the agent was very polite, nice, honest and she really tried to help me out. It appeared that the ticket that was promised on the previous evening was not confirmed and nobody had followed up on that. So, we started the process once again, but this time the agent was really able to book the ticket, stay in touch and also shared a direct number in case Ineeded to reach someone.

Part4: So, to summarize, Kayak did not inform me about the flight cancellation for 2 months. Apparently, they did their part by providing an alternative ticket on the "same airlines" and "same destination country". You guessed it right, if you change the airline because you want to save time for their mistake, you got to bear the difference of fare because you are changing the itenary. What did I lose? I lost time. I lost additional money as: I had to book a domestic flight at my own expense; I had to pay for excess baggage to the domestic airline as their policy doesn't allow the same baggage limit as an international airline; I had to pay for my airport cab twice since I got rebooked on a flight on the next day; I paid for one day of my hotel accomodation. I reached my destination 40 hours late than originally planned. I had to undergo additional covid test at the new destination as it had different rules. I was mentally tremendously exhausted. I had to take additional day off from work. I had to cancel my cab at the destination and rebook it as per the new schedule. I can go on and on, the point is that Kayakhas happily lifted their hands and has denied to take any responsibility for everything that has happened.

Part5: I am very very disappointed not for the flight getting cancelled but due to Kayak's so called horrible customer service. I have been Kayak's customer for over 14-15 years but I don't think I wouldever trust them again.

I know it won't make much of a difference losing me as a customer but I am done doing business with them. If they care, they should listen to all the call recordings in this case and take appropriate actions so that they don't lose other customers like me.

I am one of the most chosen customers that unfortunately made a reservation through your website. I wish I had not made this mistake.

1. As per the current Policy an Indian Passport holder cannot travel through Heathrow Airport due to the Covid-19 restrictions. This was confirmed by the British airways customer care today.
2. As per Kayak representative I need to talk to British Airways customer service for refund. As per British Airways they are no way responsible as this booking was made through kayak.com. The British Airways representative was not willing to provide this to me in an e-mail. He stated that Kayak customer care can call their tradeline number [protected]. I passed on this information to the refund department executive at Kayak.com, the rep stated he cannot wait to join the tradeline and hung up on me.
3. I called Kayak Customer care again and the customer rep said he will connect me again to the refunds department and will stay on call with me to find a resolution. The call was connected to the refund's department and the rep again hung up on me.
4. I am tired of calling you or British Airlines and to be treated in a fashion as I am responsible for booking a flight with you. This has been the most horrible experience of my life.

Dear Kayak,

We purchased flights from your affiliate, BudgetAir worth thousands of pounds.
They have not provided the service offered, nor tickets and have not been able to confirm anything of the sort. They have not provided a refund either.

This is fraud, and I will be pursuing legal action if this is not resolved quickly. This is not what I expect from an online service and it provides for a terrible negative customer experience.

Kayak's responsibility in this matter is clear as the referrer and I would suggest that you cease affiliation with BudgetAir as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Ali Vahidi (vahidi.[protected]@gmail.com). I searched a flight ticket in Kayak.com on 10 July 2021. I set the price result to be shown in euro then I chosed the cheaper one. I forwarded to agancies website (Travel2be.com) and I did the payment. Whole the price until payment was in Euro. After the payment I recieved the invoice and the price was in pound. So I payed about 100 euro more because of currency change fee. I explained my experience to Kayak and they answered me with things that were not helpful. I want to say, there is no information about currency change in whole procedure of searching and buying a ticket not only in Kayak.com but also in Travel2be.com. And it is nonsense to search in euro and pay in another currency. At least they should mention it. I believe Kayak.com is responsible for my problem because they should give enough information about the searching result and also they should evaluate competence of corresponding agencies.
Finally, I am disappointed and feel like a person whose money was stolen.
Regards,
A. Vahidi

I bought my ticket CMN to SFO on Kayak.com.Said customer service from Kayak..I called them because at no point was there a place to indicate handicap assistance needed..or to tell them I am traveling with my own wheelchair. when I called Kayak customer service. (expensive international call)
the man was annoyed and said " not our job, we are a TRAVEL agency!" I explained he just needed to put a note on the account. I finally hung up snd called Royal Air Maroc.They were fine..but said there was notjing they could do for the second flight. It has shared status/ flight numbers with Jet Blue... CALL them!
already tried that.. it automatically disconnected. nothing possible on line because not booked with them.
soo, I will have no assistance from the time I arrive, get my suitcase..which will have to be REchecked in..even if it has a thru ticket on it. I will have to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5..with a 25" suitcase, a carry-on, a wheel chair..and no assistance.
I have fractured my pelvis in two places and not supposed to even lift my PURSE.. if it is heavy.
I am 73.

I did a search on kayak for a one-way flight from Bar Harbor, Maine to Fort Lauderdale. Kayak listed a flight flight of $274 using Cape Air and JetBlue. Above the search results in the fee assistant box, I did a plus one of a carry-on and a plus one of a checked bag. When you add or remove a bag in the fee assistant you will see a pop up that says Prices have updated based on your selection. when I added the checked bag the fare then changed to $304, which reflects the bag fee. When you select the flight details it says "You Pay $304" When you click to purchase the deal you are then redirected to the JetBlue site and the fare is now $353 and doesn't include the $30 bag fee. I did the chat with the Kayak help desk. I provided screen captures along with the details above and they said that the $304 is only valid when you book the flight. I explained that's what I was trying to do. I was then told that fare is no longer available and it will take approx. 2 min to update. I was receiving that fare info 20 min prior to reaching out to their support people because the redirect and higher fare didn't make sense. Yes fares change and I get that and know it well as I travel 75% yearly with my job.
It has now been 30 min since my chat session and kayak is still showing the $304 fare with a checked bag included and when that fare is selected there is still a redirect to jetblue with a $353 fare and the checked bag is not included.

Me and my partner gave just recently just got back from holiday from Vancouver. On both legs of our trip her information had been entered wrongly and she was nearly not being allowed to leave Canada because her name had been entered wrongly twice. I ended up have to pay extra at airport to get ticket reissued so she could get home. Yet her confirmation email she received regarding the booking and cheak in reference were as she had booked it but were not what details the airline had.

Hi I book my flight jfk to Lahore July 24 every thing is ok for ticket but my layover of Lahore to Kuwait is almost 19 hour I can stay not long because I have a small child and me and my wife go work have sechudle I don't wana lose my job when I book flight is layover 3 hour know u change time that's is not my fault other airline everybody going on time but why ur airline if u switch my flight to other airline Lahore to jfk its be ok other wise I wana sue ur airline because I have small kid..passenger name 1.khawaja ahmad. 2. Mrs bibi javed. 3.Miss Aleena ahmad.Thx I will wait for ur call or msg...

June 19, 2017 I made a reservation through kayak for a super 8 room in ashland wi for a date in mid august. I spoke with an agent named karen. She quoted a price and said it could be cancelled within 24 hours of the arrival date. I asked her if the quoted price was a total amount with taxes etc. She assured me it was the total. I asked her for the exact date and time I needed to cancel get a full refund. She gave me an exact date and time that was 24 hrs before my arrival date. I checked my credit card account that same day and saw the amount had an added charge of $44.28 for tax recovery and service fees. I called getaroom immediately and told them I wanted to cancel my reservation because of the misrepresentation of the price. They said I couldn't because of their "no cancellation" policy. I'm in the process of contesting it with my credit card company. They are scam artists and I see several other complaints of people who had the same or similar experiences as mine.

I booked a hotel via Kayak for all weekend 5 days before my trip. They charged my credit card but later I received a message stating my booking was cancelled. I contacted customer care and they said they couldn't verify my card. That was an absolute lies, they took my money and now they say they could not verify my card! I asked for a refund, but I received no money. So I called again and but was placed on hold for 30 minutes. When I finally talked to the manager he kept saying I need to talk to my bank. I wasted hours of my day with them! Horrible company. Do not do business with them!

I just want to warn everyone that Kayak is a complete scam and their service is the worst ever! They do not want to take any responsibility for their own mistakes. My husband booked a flight through Kayak and suddenly he ended up booking directly with the American Airlines. He didn't receive any notifications about this transaction. He thought that it was not a purchase cause he haven't been charged so he bought the same flight ticket from American Airlines. Several days later his credit card was charged by Kayak. He contacted their customer support but was told there is no way to get a refund. Then he contacted the American Airlines and they also refused giving my husband a refund. He explained what happened and they offered him a credit. We are very disappointed! Kayak has the worst service ever and we won't buy any tickets from them!

We had a terrible experience at Kayak Lodge when we arrived at the Lodge on 12/30/2014. Although we had a confirmed reservation through Expedia and had already paid for the suite in advance, when we arrived at the Lodge we were informed that our reservation was cancelled and the suite was given away. Added to this they did not reimburse the money paid for the suite. They did not even help us find alternative accommodation for the mistake that they had committed. The hotel owners and their staff were very rude and uncooperative and left us out on a limb. Not only did we have to spend the next 5 hours to find a place to stay but also for the next couple of days we had to check in and check out at different hotels. We called the police since we did not know what else to do and the police asked us to file a complaint. We have never ever experienced anything like this in all our travels

I made hotel reservation through kayak in Dec 2012 for dec 27 to dec 30. I contacted kayak on dec 27 to cancel the reservation. Customer representative said they are unable to contact hotel management. I called 18-20 times and sent out email to customer service. Still they couldnt contact hotel reservation team. I was able to contact hotel accountant through number published on hotel site.
I dont understand why customer representatives were not able to contac.
Its been 2 months and i havent received refund yet.

Do *not* book your flight directly on Kayak.com. Their site says that your flight will be managed by Travelocity, however in booking it on Kayak and not directly on Travelocity.com, you are not afforded any of the benefits of a Travelocity customer (namely, you cannot benefit from price or service guarantees).

Go to the travel agency site and book directly. DO NOT BOOK ON KAYAK.COM!

The site recommended I buy 2 one-way tickets from different carriers instead of a single roundtrip in order to save money. I bought the first ticket, but then when I went to buy the second ticket, the original price of $141.00 quoted on Kayak.com was actually $485.00 on Delta's website. Of course I couldn't cancel the one-way ticket I had just purchased.

I fly at least twice a month, locally and internationally, and I can say this is the worst travel site I've used (in the U.S., anyway). This site simply quotes the prices I can find at other websites on my own, and it doesn't even quote them accurately!

I was a big fan of Kayak, but I want to warn about a recent experience that has changed my mind. Our family lost $1000 in savings because of a Kayak alert failure.

I set up a daily alert for specific outbound and return dates. The alerts only last for 10 days at a time (highly inconvenient if you are searching for a flight a month or more ahead of time - e.g. Xmas, 3 months in our case). I had it running (with resets) for about six weeks and saw only minor fluctuations in price. However, with my most recently reset alerts, they failed to come after the seventh day (the email on the seventh one said it will expire in "three more messages" = 3 more days). It resumed again on the 10th day (last day of that cycle).

When I went to reset the alert, I did a check on Kayak's "chart" to see past price fluctuations and noticed that there was a $300 dip very recently. After reviewing all my alerts, I had to conclude that it occurred during the time frame of the missing alerts (represents over a $1000 missed savings for our family). Also, that alert on the 10th day and all subsequent email alerts from the reset now have a new format (i.e. look and feel).

Like most people, I'm pretty busy these days so did not specifically notice that the emails were missing as they hit my general email along with hundreds of others on a daily basis. I usually just give them a quick look as they come in. What's the point of having an alert if I cannot rely on it, but instead need to specially monitor if it will come and then do a manual search myself if it doesn't? Seems like Kayak screwed up in its transition to the new format, but fat chance getting them to admit so, nor getting any consideration for it, given their terms of service.

So now I am signed up with five other services (not just one any more)...you can bet that my next booking will be on those ones - I may still use Kayak just to search a route and validate prices, but that's about it.

We placed reservations for the weekend in McGregor, IA and when we got to McGregor we found out that the hotel did not exist. We spent alot of time on hold to talk to an agent to get this situation resolved with no results. Then we had to cancel the reservation at a loss of one night that should have been spent on a night in McGregor, Iowa. We had to try to find a room with the events going on in the surrounding towns. We also tried to email them and got a response of a non-human was responding to our email. I do not recommend this site (Kayak-Travelocity) to anyone.

I booked a Hotel room for the first time with Kayak.com for a business trip. The one night stay for that room with taxes/fees was $133. Of course, the client changed the dates for me to visit, so I went to change my reservation. All I could do is cancel, and I have to pay in full anyway. Wait, what?

I wanted to *change* my reservation (I still needed the room, just for a different night), and I would have paid a modest change fee (say, $25), but I can't. In what world is that not fraud? No service was rendered.

Go to their website. Locate the customer service number. Oh, wait, that doesn't exist. You can email them and they'll respond in 24 hours. Wow. With all the money they get to keep, you'd think they'd be able to afford a customer service team.

Once the charges are cleared on my credit card, I'm going to dispute the charge. Do yourself a favor and just book directly with the hotel you want to stay at. In all my years traveling, hotels will change your reservation with nothing but a "Ok, no problem".