Travel Troubles

Here’s what happens when things go wrong for travelers on the road, in the air, at hotels, and in vacation rentals.

The Travel Troubles category at Consumer Rescue is a collection of real-life stories about travelers who’ve encountered unexpected issues during their adventures. Each tale is dramatic but is a cautionary example, offering valuable lessons and practical advice.

The Travel Troubles section is meant to educate and empower travelers, helping them avoid similar issues and know what to do when things go wrong.

Travelers who encounter a problem they can’t resolve on their own should ask for help from our advocacy team. Our direct mediation service is fast, friendly, and always free!

Empty gate area after missed flight connection, missed connecting flight, sitting at the gate alone.

What happens if you miss your flight connection (and it’s your fault)?

December 3, 2024January 31, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What’s the correct thing to do if you miss your flight connection? The answer depends on why you failed to board your connecting flight. But it’s a question that Alla Machavariane is asking.

She has an unusual tale to tell. Alla says she and her husband missed their flight connection in Chicago while sitting at the gate in full view of the aircraft and crew members.

The duo is unsure why they never heard any announcements or noticed all the passengers around them boarding the plane. But they believe Spirit Airlines is somehow responsible for their missed flight connection and want the airline to reimburse them $2,200. That’s the cost of the new tickets they were forced to buy to get home.

But what caused the couple to miss their flight connection?

That is the $2,200 question.

car rental might not have unlimited miles, car rental mistakes

Warning: Your rental car may not come with unlimited miles

March 14, 2025January 29, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Richard Wallerstein and his wife made an expensive car rental mistake when they assumed their reservation included unlimited miles. It didn’t. Unfortunately, they discovered the zero mileage allotment on their rented SUV only after they completed a 1,150-mile road trip.

If you’re like the Wallersteins, you may be unaware that not every rental car comes with unlimited miles. Their tale is a reminder that when making your own reservations, it’s important to pay careful attention to all details. The information this couple needed was in plain sight — if only they had looked — before they took their lengthy road trip.

Mexico's blue water, ocean, honeymoon destination

Here’s a honeymoon horror story that could have been avoided. This is how

April 30, 2024January 22, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Lauren Weichman missed her honeymoon and she wants you to hear her horror story.

After their wedding, she and her new spouse boarded a Frontier flight for their much-anticipated honeymoon to Cancun. Upon landing, the giddy couple made their way to the immigration window and handed over their passports. But when Mexican authorities asked Lauren’s husband for his required visa, the couple’s honeymoon came to a premature halt. He didn’t have a visa — and the border agents rejected his entry to Mexico.

Now Lauren wants our advocacy team to find out who is to blame for this honeymoon horror story. And who will refund her missed honeymoon?

A Lufthansa aircraft on a runway, Lufthansa flight delay causing problems

After a Lufthansa flight delay, I canceled the trip. Where’s my $5,459 refund?

December 30, 2023January 20, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

How did an extensive flight delay cause a Lufthansa passenger to lose $5,459?

That’s what Sruthi Samraj wants to know after her bizarre experience with Lufthansa. She recently boarded a last-minute flight planning to make a connection in Frankfurt to Bangalore to attend her grandmother’s funeral. But after an extensive delay, during which the passengers deplaned, it was clear Sruthi would miss her connecting Lufthansa flight.

So she canceled the trip and went home.

But the disappointment of missing her grandmother’s funeral was soon exacerbated by the airline’s response to her refund request. Lufthansa intended to keep her entire $5,459, calling her a no-show on the delayed flight.

Oregon coast, road trip down the Oregon coast, ocean and flowers to see on a road trip in a rental car.

Budget charged me twice for the same car rental! Can you help?

January 7, 2025January 18, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Eileen Wendorf says a Budget mistake caused her to pay twice for the same car rental. She wants her money back. But there’s a big problem with her discovery — it occurred nearly seven months after she returned the vehicle.

Now she’s asking our advocacy team to convince Budget of its expensive billing mistake and retrieve her $426. Can we do it?

cleaning supplies, blue spray bottle to illustrate an article about an excessive cleaning fee.

Is this legal? Here is the most excessive Airbnb cleaning fee ever!

October 28, 2023January 16, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

James Parker just got hit with the most excessive cleaning fee I’ve ever seen as a consumer advocate. Soon after checking out of his recent Airbnb rental, the owner sent him a $1,470 bill to clean up the mess she says his family made.

But what mess was she really cleaning up?

Colorful London residential street, Airbnb rental in London

This vacation rental had no working toilet! Will Airbnb refund this family?

June 9, 2025January 13, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

It goes without saying that a vacation rental in the heart of London should come with a working toilet. And, of course, if your Airbnb doesn’t have one, you should get a refund. Right?

Unfortunately, Airbnb guest Karen Morris just found out that not everyone agrees with that basic premise.

ANA owes this Expedia customer a $1,296 refund for a flight the airline canceled. He asked Consumer Rescue for help getting it.

ANA canceled my flight two years ago. What happened to my $1,296 refund?

March 25, 2023January 6, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Over two years ago, All Nippon Airways (ANA) canceled Jurian Yee’s flight to Japan. ANA promised that it would soon send a $1,296 refund through Expedia. But it never did materialize.

Now a frustrated Jurian (via his dad) is asking the Consumer Rescue team for help. He’s hoping we can nudge ANA to send that refund so he can finally take his long-awaited trip to Japan.

But after so much time, is this a lost cause? Let’s find out.

This is why you should not skip parts of your airline's flight itinerary.

You should never skip parts of your flight, this is why

March 11, 2024January 5, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Thinking about skipping parts of your next flight? Charlie Williams can tell you from experience — it’s a very bad idea.

Here’s why.

Consumer alert: Don't buy two one-way airline tickets to save money. This is why!

You should not buy two one-way airline tickets to save money. Here’s why

May 27, 2024January 3, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Airline passengers can sometimes save money by booking two one-way tickets instead of a round-trip flight. But Sharon Sanborn found out the hard way that there’s a downside to this practice.

Now she wants to know if our advocacy team can do anything to help her out of the financial headache in which she’s landed.

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