Booking the trip of a lifetime for wrong year

By Siobhan McAndrew

Beverly Walker of Reno made the kind of mistake that could happen to anyone.
She and her husband, Jim, decided to take trip of lifetime to Kauai in November for their 40th wedding anniversary.
"It would be our first time in Hawaii and like our honeymoon, since we never got one in 1967," Beverly said.
So last year on Oct. 10, 2006, after "scrimping and saving," Beverley booked the trip on Travelocity.com.
She charged $4,751 for the flight, four star hotel and rental car.
She figured booking a trip that far in advance would give the couple a year to be excited.
Beverly is training services specialist for the Washoe County Sheriff's office, so she's used to booking lots of training programs for law enforcement.
She chatted up the trip with family and friends and envisioned a perfect vacation at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa.
She would look at the itinerary a lot, she kept one in a kitchen drawer and one at work, and get excited.
Last week, Beverly decided to book a bus tour of the island.
"Imagine my surprise when the days and dates for 2007 didn't line up correctly on my itinerary," Beverly said.
"November 30, the day we were leaving, was a Thursday on my itinerary, but November 30 is a Friday."
Beverly went to Travelocity.
"It wasn't there," she said.
She went to her history file and realized the trip -- the flight, the rental car and seven days at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa -- had gone and went already.
"I realized my horrendous error," Beverly said. "I booked the trip for 2006."
The itinerary Beverly had looked at dozens of times didn't list the trip's year.
She frantically tried to find a number for Travelocity.
"You have to do everything on line. They do not list a phone number and every time you ask questions or reply to a question, you get a response from a different representative."
She was referred to a consumer relations person and for more than a week worried that she wouldn't be going anywhere for her 40th anniversary.
"My husband just shook his head," she said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Beverly got good news.
The travel Web site that touts, "With Travelocity, you never roam alone," refunded $3,529.57 for the hotel and rental car.
"The airline tickets I purchased on Oct. 10, 2006 were non-refundable and only good for one year from purchase date. I missed it by one day," she said.
United Airlines agreed to send $400 in travel certificates.
Total, Beverly is out $800 -- a small enough amount that she will be going to Hawaii after all.
"I booked the trip again, this time for Nov. 29, a Thursday in 2007," she said.
Instead of a deluxe room with ocean views, the couple is recouping some of the loss by staying in a sunshine room with mountain views.
"But we get to go," Beverly said. "We aren't going to be spending anytime in the room anyway."