Last Updated: April 17, 2024
LY.com might have popped up in your search while looking for cheaper accommodation and flight deals.
But as a savvy traveler, you may be eager to know about its legitimacy and reliability as prices that seem too good to be true often result in scams.
So by the time you finish reading this blog, you’ll explore if LY.com is legit and what are the issues associated with booking through this platform.
Let’s delve into it.
Is LY.com Legit?
LY.com is without a doubt a legit online travel agency as it has been in business for the last two decades and is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Furthermore, it has the prestige of being a unicorn company as it has raised a total of $1.7B in funding over 7 rounds and also has made 6 investments in different renowned organizations.
So by looking at these factors, it’s crystal clear that LY.com is a legit online travel agency for booking accommodations and flights.
But wait!
Although LY.com is legit, it’s essential to take into consideration the following 3 things before deciding to make a booking through its site:
1. Resolving An Issue Through LY.com Is Complicated
Some of the customers report that they find difficulties in getting a refund or making changes or cancellations to their bookings when they book a room or flight through LY.com.
This is because LY.com, like other online travel agencies, acts as a middleman between you and the travel service provider (hotel or airline) you book with.
So when you book through LY.com, your booking isn’t directly handled by the hotel or airline but LY.com manages it with the respective travel service provider.
That’s why when you need changes, cancellations, or refunds, you have to first contact LY.com who then reports your request to the hotel or airline on your behalf and then LY.com communicates that response to you.
Similarly, you can’t resolve any other issues directly with the hotel or airline but have to involve the intermediary of your booking (LY.com).
So this is the reason that customers face difficulties in making changes, cancellations or resolving any other issues with the hotel or airline through LY.com.
2. Beware Of Administrative Charges
You should be aware that LY.com takes administrative charges for making changes and cancellations to the bookings which are mentioned on each ticket.
So if you want to make changes to your booking, you have to pay the amendment charges of LY.com.
Similarly, if you cancel your booking for a refund, the cancellation charges will be deducted from your refund as these are non-refundable.
Every online travel agency indeed takes administrative charges but what LY.com’s users complain is that these charges are so high that when they need changes or cancellations, their cheap tickets end up becoming costly.
3. Issues In Booking Confirmation And Receiving Tickets
With each ticket, you’re shown when you’ll receive your ticket after your booking is confirmed with the airline.
Although LY.com sends tickets, it sometimes takes longer than the given time to send them to its customers.
Besides delays in receiving tickets, some of the users find difficulties in confirming their bookings with the airlines even after receiving their tickets from LY.com because of the issue with the booking reference number.
Therefore, though it rarely occurs, it may leave you frustrated if LY.com doesn’t send you your ticket on time or your booking isn’t confirmed with your respective airline.
Got it!
So these are the 3 main things you should keep in mind before making a reservation through LY.com.
So Should You Book Through LY.com?
In the end, it mostly comes down to your personal comfort and preferences whether you book on LY.com or explore other alternative options.
But if you’re worried about booking through LY.com due to some issues mentioned above, I would say that resolving issues with any online travel agency, not only with LY.com, is complicated due to the involvement of a middleman.
Moreover, if you make sure to not make changes and cancellations to your booking later, you’ll not need to pay for the administrative charges of LY.com. So this is in your hands.
As regards the booking confirmation issue and delays in issuance of the tickets, it’s not a big deal as you’ll definitely receive your ticket but with a slight delay, and your confirmation issue will be easily resolved if you just report it to LY.com.
The other noteworthy point here is that it’s not always the case that customers encounter the above-mentioned issues when they book through LY.com.
These are merely the negative experiences of a handful of customers and don’t represent the overall experiences of the majority of its customers.
Users are generally very happy and satisfied with LY.com and save a significant amount of money by making bookings at cheaper rates on its site.
So I would personally recommend booking through LY.com if it offers you a flight or room at significantly lower rates than booking directly with the airline or hotel.
But as booking through an online travel agency comes with some issues, you should take into consideration those issues before booking through LY.com.
Most importantly, customers are stuck in problems because they ignore paying attention to some important things when making a booking on LY.com.
So here are the 7 tips you should follow to decrease the chances of facing an issue and have a pleasant travel experience with LY.com.
7 Tips To Follow While Booking Through LY.com
The first important one is:
1. Pay Attention To The Ticket And Room Policy
You should pay attention to the amendment, cancellation, or refund policy of the ticket you want to book with an airline.
This is because it shows you the amendment and cancellation deadlines, conditions as well as charges.
Besides checking the ticket policy, it’s also essential to check the cancellation policy of the room to make yourself aware of its cancellation deadlines and refund conditions.
Next, proceed to:
2. Carefully Look At The Property And Rooms Photos
Multiple pictures of the property and its rooms are provided by accommodation providers on LY.com.
So to get an idea about the property you’re going to book a room in, it’s important to check the photos of the exterior, dining, recreation, and rooms of the property.
After checking the hotel photos, you should also look at the pictures of the room you’re going to book to get an idea about its bed, toilet, size, and other things seen in the pictures.
3. Read The Property Policies And Amenities
There are some policies of the property regarding pets, children, additional charges and taxes, age restrictions and some other things.
Don’t forget to read these policies as you may not be allowed to stay in the hotel if you don’t adhere to its policies and will also lose your money.
Furthermore, also make sure that the property you’re going to book with provides you with the amenities and services you’ll need during your stay.
4. Read The Guest Reviews
To know what to really expect from the property, you should read the reviews of the customers who have stayed in the same property.
By reviewing the customers’ feedback, you’ll be able to gain insights into both the positive and negative aspects of the hotel that will help you make a better decision when making a booking with that hotel.
5. Clear Your Confusion If Any
After doing all these things, if you still have any questions about anything, don’t hesitate to contact the customer support team of LY.com.
It’s advised not to make a reservation through LY.com if it doesn’t respond to your query or clear your confusion.
6. Be Diligent During Making A Booking
As making changes and cancellations is very challenging as well as incurring high administrative charges, you should be diligent enough to not make a mistake in entering your booking details.
Make sure that your name, passport ID, check-in and out dates, email, and other required details are correct to avoid any mishaps later.
7. Confirm Your Booking With The Airline
As mentioned above, one of the major concerns raised by customers is that they find difficulties in confirming their bookings with the airlines.
Therefore, you should not rely on the booking confirmation email but confirm your booking with the airline directly as it will be very challenging for you to sort out your issue when you’re informed at the airport that your booking isn’t confirmed by LY.com with the airline.
Here you’re!
So these are the 7 tips you should follow while making a booking through LY.com.
Conclusion
LY.com is definitely legit as it is a unicorn company, has made 6 major investments in different well-known organizations and has a business history of 20 years.
However, before deciding to make a booking through LY.com, you should keep the following things in mind:
- If something goes wrong, it may be challenging for you to resolve your issue due to the involvement of a middleman (LY.com)
- There’s a possibility that you may receive your ticket later than the given time and also may face a booking confirmation issue with the airline.
- LY.com takes high administrative charges for making changes and cancellations to flight bookings.
In addition to considering these things, you should follow the above-mentioned 7 tips when making a reservation through LY.com to decrease the chances of facing an issue.
So this was all about the legitimacy of LY.com and the issues some of its customers face.
If you still have any questions or want to share your personal experiences with this online travel agency, leave your comment below.
