In the days of internet travel deals, packagers and companies vying for your last travel dollar, vacationers must take care in "too good to be true" travel deals. In fact, I have even been listing some amazing deals for spring break recently. Great travel deals are out there, but I always try to use legitimate sources, which are well established in the industry. But, be warned, even a savvy travel exprt like myself takes head, and with this challenging economy, scammers are looking for travel bargain hunters they can take advantage of. So, what does this mean? Traveler beware. Here are a few points that I came across from World Voyager, which I think can offer vacation seekers looking for a bargain, some information on how to better protect themselves.
- If you are doing business with a company out of your local area, check with your State Consumer Protection Agency for any complaints that may have been filed. Also check the Better Business Bureau for complaints.
- Go on the internet to the State Consumer Protection Agency that the agency is based in to see if there are complaints on file there.
- Ask the company to provide proof that they are Licensed Sellers of Travel in the State they are based in and the states they are doing business in.
- Ask the company to provide proof of Professional Liability Insurance.
- Verify professional membership affiliations of the company you are dealing with. Are they members of ASTA, ARTA, CLIA, IATAN, ICTA. Most agencies won't belong to all, but will belong to the ones most appropriate for the type of travel they sell. They will have member numbers that can be verified.
- Ask yourself why you want to do business with a company outside your area. Is a similar package available locally. If you have a problem it is much easier to deal with it locally than several hundred or thousand miles away. If it is not available then don't be afraid to purchase from a vendor out of your area, just be sure to do the appropriate checking first to make sure you don't get burned.
- Do the math. If you see claims like "stay in a world class deluxe resort for as little as $298 a week", ask yourself why a world class deluxe resort would do that. You can barely (and maybe not at all) stay in a Motel 6 for $30 a night. What's the hook? The only exception to this might be with ownership exchange companies like Interval International or RCI that offer member owners periodic specials that are not available to the public. Not just anyone can be a member of Interval or RCI.
- Nothing is free. You may not pay for one thing, but I guarantee you are going to pay for something somewhere. Legitimate businesses don't stay in business giving things away or not producing a reasonable profit over time.
Claims that you are going to get the same kind of travel for 50, 60 or 70% less than travel giants like Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia are ludicrous on their face. With all the buying power those travel giants have, how can some little company you've never heard of get prices that low. Anyone who believes the profit margin or markup in travel packages is that big simply knows nothing about travel. - Countless travel clubs have been created by scammers as a means of getting your money. You pay them a membership fee and they promise you extraordinary benefits. If I had a nickel for every tale of woe I've heard from people who joined and found those claims not to be true, I would be a rich man.
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