Southwest Vacations

We booked a Vegas trip through Southwest Vacations believing our flights were scheduled for mid-June. We later discoveredjust one day before departurethat the actual dates were pushed later than what we had selected during booking.

We canceled and rebooked immediately and were told we could use our airline credit, but when we tried, the credit wouldnt apply.

At the hotel, we were denied the upgraded room we had originally reserved and were forced to pay an additional fee per night to stay in a remodeled space.

After returning home, we reached out again and were told wed receive only a portion of the cost backless than half of what we originally paid. When I asked for documentation to support that pricing, I was told it couldnt be provided because the travel dates had already passed.

Customer service was frustrating and inconsistent. One rep kept calling me the wrong name and then disconnected.

Others gave conflicting answers every time I followed up. The whole process felt disjointed and dismissive.

We used Southwest Hotels to book our stay at Wyndham Days inn. Our experience at Days Inn by Wyndham Oakland was far from satisfactory, beginning with the hotel's shuttle service.

Despite multiple calls to arrange pickup from Fort Lauderdale Airport5 days, 2 days, a day before, and on the day itselfwe ended up waiting nearly 3 hours post a 10-hour flight. The shuttle service, confusingly provided by an unmarked black van, added to the initial frustration, especially when the driver first claimed he was not our designated driver.

The situation did not improve upon reaching the hotel. The reception from the night staff could only be described as indifferent. Entering our room, number 316, we were immediately hit by an overwhelming smell of cigarettes mixed with a chemical odor, reminiscent of strong flea treatment, which was both dizzying and nauseating.

The rooms cleanliness was below any standard, evidenced by the presence of dead and dying cockroaches.

The lack of proper weather stripping on the door allowed for a gap large enough for insects to enter, exacerbating the issue. Noise pollution from traffic, people, and trains was incessant due to poor soundproofing.

The vicinity of the hotel seemed unsafe, with visible activities outside that suggested solicitation. Inside, the room's state continued to disappoint with a dirty bathroom, a bathtub that emitted a foul smell, and a slow-draining sink further marred by remnants of toothpaste from previous occupants.

Upon voicing our complaints to the staff the following morning, they offered apologies and refunded the resort fee. While their efforts to address our concerns were noted, the overall conditions were far below what one would expect for $141 a night.

The disparity between the marketed photos though Southwest Hotels and the actual condition of the hotel was significant, leaving us feeling deceived about the value and safety of our stay.

Days Inn by Wyndham Oakland did not meet our expectations, and the issues we encountered indicate a serious need for improvement in both service and facility maintenance.

This experience carved a clear lesson: Avoid Southwest Hotels if you value accountability and quality in your accommodations.

Their detachment not only from the conditions of their listed properties but also from the very essence of customer satisfaction speaks volumes.

The seamless interface of Southwest Hotels masks an underlying disconnect from the realities of hotel management and guest satisfaction.

As enticing as third-party platforms may be, this episode underscores the unrivaled value of direct communication and booking with hotels. In the swirling uncertainty of travel, empower yourself by choosing pathways that offer clarity, accountability, and a direct line to those responsible for your stay.

Beware, fellow travelers: In the realm of accommodations, Southwest Hotels may not be the guiding star to hospitality we seek.

We booked a Vegas trip through Southwest Vacations, believing our flights were scheduled for mid-June. We later discoveredjust one day before departurethat the actual dates were pushed later than what we had selected during booking.

We canceled and rebooked immediately and were told we could use our airline credit, but when we tried, the credit wouldnt apply.

At the hotel, we were denied the upgraded room we had originally reserved and were forced to pay an additional fee per night to stay in a remodeled space.

After returning home, we reached out again and were told wed receive only a portion of the cost back, less than half of what we originally paid. When I asked for documentation to support that pricing, I was told it couldnt be provided because the travel dates had already passed.

Customer service was frustrating and inconsistent. One rep kept calling me the wrong name and then disconnected.

Others gave conflicting answers every time I followed up. The whole process felt disjointed and dismissive.

Southwest Vacations failed to remedy our complaints against Hyatt Phoenix North Hotel. We informed them that the hotel didn't have a restaurant as advertised, the pool was not accessible, and the toilet in the room was leaking water on the floor with each flush.

We were told they would contact the hotel for verification. Two days went by no answer, just emails stating they were working on it. We were contacted, they still couldn't communicate with the hotel for four days later. In the meantime the hotel staff came in our room each day as we made them aware of the leaking and did nothing.

One day they removed the towel we placed at the bottom of toilet to absorb the water leaking. The day before our departure we heard from Southwest Vacations saying we had the hotel's permission to change hotels without penalty. This was not handled with any kind of professional service.

We sent Southwest Vacations pictures of the toilet leaking. We were ignored and passed over as if we didn't matter.
We are still waiting and communicating with them for compensation and are now told it is too late for any reason.

I purchased a vacation package on the SW Vacations website. When picking my hotel, the information clearly says "cancel 10 days prior to your trip for a full refund".

I also chose the refundable airfare option. I did not purchase the trip cancellation because my hotel was fully refundable and so was my airfare. I cancelled 30 days prior to my trip and my airfare was refunded in full, but a travel credit (that expires in 12 months) was issued for my hotel stay. During the process of purchasing my package, the only thing stated regarding my hotel was it would be a full refund if I cancelled 10 days before my trip.

SouthWest Vacations, didn't respond to my first 12 requests to issue a full refund.

After spending literally 8 hours on the phone with them, I finally reached a customer service rep that pointed me to bottom of their home page and says "Terms and Conditions" which says all refunds will be in the form of 12 month travel credit. Why in the world would I go looking for a different terms and conditions when the terms and conditions are clearly written on the hotel page of my order???

They are the worst!!! $3600 down the freaking drain!

Does anyone know who i can call to start a lawsuit against them for advertising false information???

Do not use Southwest Hotels! Their deceptive practices promising FF miles is apparently well known.

They have you log in using your FF number and then ask you for guest name. Well as I and many others found out they expect you to add your name and not the name of your guest. Even though your name and FF number are already at the top of the form. This then puts the reservation under the other persons name and your FF number.

This nullifies the reward points you should receive. By the time you notice it they wont change it.

Even before check in. Southwest wont stand behind this blatant deceptive practice because it is not though them.

Stay away from Southwest Hotels!!!

@SouthWestVacations wont refund $700 for my hotel, or address my other travel interruptions they caused. I paid them $2,500 for a package (air,hotel,car) for my family to visit back home to Ohio on December 24th - 31st, but my luggage was delayed by a day, rental car company did not know how to handle a travel voucher, and the hotel I reserved was closing its doors in the 5 days which was the middle of my paid reservation.

It almost seemed like Deja Vu of Southwests antics the Christmas prior (2022) and right on the tails of a $140m fine from the Feds. Read on for my firsthand experience. Its a long one.
#southwestvacations #southwestairlines #angrycustomer #refundme #christmaschronicles #dobetter #700isalotofmoney$ @southwestvacations @southwestair @fox10news @fox8news #cleveland #phoenix #
Let me begin at the start of our travel day. Up at 3:00 am to leave on a flight by 5:30 am.

At the gate headed to Cleveland for the holidays, just prior to boarding, a request for 4 people to take a different flight was announced. Supposedly the plane was overweight. So we opted to fly to Baltimore instead of Chicago Midway. We were compensated for it and told our bags would be there before us.

Great! Travel rewards force my husband to travel. Win win, right? Im ok with arriving a little later.

We took advantage of the extra time to walk around and ate during our layover in Baltimore anyway.
We arrive in Cleveland and head to baggage claim. We didnt immediately see our bags so we opted to head over and get our car. It made more sense than 4 people and 6 large suitcases on the shuttle. They were supposed to arrive before us, so who knew where they could be and the counter was busy with a line and suitcases everywhere.
We arrive at the car rental agency and the agent tried to charge us an additional fee of $900 when I only was supposed to pay $175.

He had no clue how to handle a travel voucher. That debacle only took 30 minutes for them to clear up. But my husband would have paid it not knowing I had prepaid. This was an issue with the car rental company that I booked through Southwest.com.

It gets resolved, next.
Once again we head to retrieve our luggage. Hubby stays in car so it doesnt get towed, and I run in to find our luggage. It was somewhere still in Phoenix. Ok, Im not stressing at this point.

I didnt want to look a gift horse in the mouth. We were just compensated for taking a different flight. So, We file a report to locate our bags, and signed up for text updates. Yeah!

No worries, right. They will text when our bags show up.
On to check in the hotel. There was a sign on the door (see pic)
announcing they are closing 12-29-23. I read it as something related to their rewards system which I am not a part of, so I approach the front desk and announce my name on the reservation.

She was very surprised we had a reservation, and she had no record of it. The woman asks if they called me. No. Who would have called and why.

She says they are closing on the 29th. Confused, I ask, Closing forever? Her response was Yes!
She proceeds to tell us she is the only employee working and only 8 rooms were currently occupied till the 29th. I prepaid Southwest Vacations for 7 days, and the hotel is closing, has no security, maintenance, or housekeeping on the grounds.

Im not staying even if they forced me to. Which they did try to do that by not finding me another place to stay, nor giving me a refund.
Its Christmas Eve and I need to find somewhere else to stay. I have no luggage that contains all our good clothes and gifts for friends and family, including Santa gifts for my grandkids that were traveling with us.
While still at the hotel I immediately called Southwest Vacations to find an alternate hotel for us to stay, and complain about our lost luggage which had all our clothes and Christmas Gifts. I had 2 young children with me, and I was not staying there without security.

I dont need to mention the fact that this is in Cleveland right at the I71/150th St exit. Easy on and off access.
So, I waited in the lobby while the overseas Southwest agent called Marriotts reservationion line. The verification agent returned to the line said our booking was valid. No issues with the hotel.

They thought I was lying. Uhm, Im sorry, no, it isnt a valid reservation if they are locking the doors in the middle of my stay though 12-31-23. Im standing here in the facility telling you its not valid. The front desk clerk is telling me its not valid.

They are closing their doors forever in 5 days. Just call. The nice lady here will tell you.
No one even initially attempted to contact the facility for verification. How do I know?

I was talking to the nice front desk lady named Letisha while on hold with SWV verifying my story.
After 30 minutes of listening to this CS SWV agent telling me over and over that they are sorry and understand my frustration, but they arent going to find me another place to stay, I requested a supervisor.
I only had to request for a supervisor at least 10 times, with an apology each time, reassuring me the supervisor will say the same and to allow them to call me back. No! Ive been on the phone arguing for 30 minutes now and I dont have resolution to a real situation. My 2 young grandkids, me and husband do not have a place to stay on Christmas Eve, have been traveling since 3am, and no clean clothes.

We couldnt even go to Walmart. It was after 6 on Christmas Eve. Everything is closed.
Once finally connected with a supervisor, I begged him to contact the hotel direct and speak to Letisha. Since I knew her name and she validated my story, he agreed to process a refund.
By this time I already made other arrangements to inconvenience a family member for the week.

It was 6:00 pm on Christmas Eve and we were supposed to have arrived to our families home hours before for our celebration. That was enough. We had been traveling for 13 hours.
On Christmas Day I checked the status of our bags in the morning and it showed they were still in Phoenix. Around noon, the digital tracker updated my bags were on their way to Chicago/Midway.

I called the local baggage number several times to find out status, but unless I received a text from them, they couldnt tell me anything about my luggage.
I adamantly continued to check status on our bags, and anxiously waited for the text that our bags were found. Our 6 bags finally arrived in Cleveland around 2 pm. I contacted the airport to find out when our bags would be delivered, but they were still unable to tell us because they use a third-party service.
When we did not have a response as to when our luggage would be delivered on Christmas Day, we opted to go and pick it up at 6 PM. We were compensated with a 100.00 travel voucher.

Sidenote, we were all still in the same clothes from 3 AM the previous day.
We gladly retrieved our clean clothes, and ALL our Christmas gifts. But Christmas morning was already half ruined since we didnt have all our friends and families gifts. I also had to do some quick thinking since there were Santa gifts in my luggage for my 2 grandkids traveling with me.
My husband called SWV on Christmas Day inquiring about compensation for luggage and hotel issues. At that time we still did not have our luggage.

He was told adamantly that someone would investigate and call him back. Never happened. We went on trying to enjoy our vacation once we finally got our luggage.
Anticipating the credit already posting to my credit card, I checked my account. No credit.
Since the credit for the hotel had not been issued, I called SWV on 1-11-24.

They had no record of my husband calling (so they say) nor a refund being approved when we called on 12-24-23. But didnt the agent prior tell me accounting rejected it? Yes they did! So now, they need to create a new file in the post- travel department.

I screamed and argued but they refused to get me a supervisor.
I relented and waited 5 days to call for status. No update. They are still working it. SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS IS A LOT OF MONEY.

Today is 1-16-24 and I still do not have a refund of $700 and when I called I was told to be patient, they understand, they are still investigating. No! It shouldnt take an army and an act of God to validate the property shut down.
What if this happened to someone that didnt have a gracious family member to take in 2 children and 2 adults last minute on Christmas Eve? I consider us fortunate, but disappointed at Southwest Vacations and Southwest Airlines lack of concern regarding my issues.
Hey @southwestvacations a google search will validate my claims.

I did and it clearly states the establishment is closed permanently.
Why havent I received my $ @SouthwestAir @southwestvacations
This is my personal experience with Southwest Vacations and Southwest Airlines.

Do better Southwest! Feel free to share!

This is two months before my planned trip. I am truly shocked that Southwest (SW) Airlines have gone into business or agreed with a company like Southwest Vacations (aka ALG)!

#1 - Southwest Airlines touched/changed my flight, and I was told by two of SW's agents that I could request a refund, which I did.
#2 - I have found out that Southwest Vacations paid SW Airlines with a credit card that belongs to Southwest Vacations. This means that if a refund is provided, it will go back to Vacations and not the consumer. How can that be if the flights are through the airlines!
#3 - I have reviewed my SW account and what has been issued is a flight credit.
All of these changes were not what I was seeking, yet I am being penalized for trying to take a trip. How can policies be so messed up and not favor the consumer at all? One company makes a change, and because of that change, the consumer can request a refund. However, you are then told to speak with another company about their change because the other company paid them. In my opinion, you should be able to get a refund from either company!
Both of these companies should not play the blame game and shift consumers from one company to the other instead of assisting. They make matters worse by having you go back and forth with no resolution.
You pay for trips and put protection on the trip that does not protect you at all.
Everything is fine until something goes wrong, and then you need a refund as a consumer. I am strongly advising you to please be cautious before giving either of these companies your hard-earned money.
Southwest Vacations says a refund has been requested...
I will be contacting my attorney!