At the end of December, I booked a car rental through the Ctrip platform, intending to rent a vehicle from Hertz for a New Year’s Day trip from Las Vegas to San Diego. Upon arriving at the designated pick-up location on time, I was shocked to learn that no cars were available—and there were no upgrade options either.
After spending over ten minutes in futile discussions with the staff, they finally suggested I head to the Hertz rental desk at Las Vegas Airport to collect my car. Reluctantly, I asked if this would work, and they confidently assured me it would.
As expected, after waiting in line for an hour and a half at the airport’s Hertz counter, I was told that the car could not be provided. It turned out that the pre-paid order placed through Ctrip needed to be transferred from the city rental location to the airport pick-up point—a crucial detail that had been omitted earlier. Frustrated, I called Hertz directly, only to be told that nothing could be done. They hung up shortly afterward, and subsequent calls went unanswered.
With no other choice, I contacted Ctrip for assistance. They instructed me to wait another hour before informing me that I’d need to book a new car for the day at my own expense, with compensation to be discussed later. This left me no option but to rent a car on-site at a significantly higher price.
During my interaction with Hertz staff at the airport, I learned that it’s common practice for them to direct customers to the airport for car pick-ups—even when vehicles aren’t actually available. By the time I finally secured a car at 5 PM, I had already spent over four hours navigating this chaos.
My family of four had checked out of our hotel at 1 PM and waited patiently in the lobby of a nearby hotel while I dealt with the situation alone at the airport. Not until 5 PM, when I finally retrieved the car, could I return to pick up my family. Our carefully planned afternoon activities were entirely disrupted.
To this day, I’m still awaiting a resolution from Ctrip. Initially, they promised a response within five working days, then added three more days. When I followed up today, they mentioned it typically takes over two weeks—and now, they’ve extended the timeline to three full weeks. I can only hope for a favorable outcome amidst all this uncertainty.
Upon reaching out to Hertz myself, I discovered that they claimed they never received payment for the original order, advising me to contact Ctrip directly for a refund. Meanwhile, Ctrip stated they’re waiting for Hertz to confirm whether the initial order resulted in a failed pick-up before proceeding further. Essentially, both companies are shifting responsibility back and forth, leaving me—the victim—as the one caught in the middle.
Update: Three weeks later, Ctrip informed me that the responsible party had already left their position and that they were verifying whether the first order could be canceled without financial loss. The reality is clear: I paid for the first order, didn’t receive the car, and had to place a second order under duress.
Now, I’m stuck waiting for confirmation from Hertz as to whether the first order—wherein I did not receive the car—can indeed be canceled without loss. It feels like I’ve fallen prey to highway robbers. @Ctrip @CtripTravel #HertzCarRental
