Georges Jacques Danton, revolución, corrupción y muerte.

Travelocity, Others Dive Into The Flash Sale And Coupon Game

Just about every week, somebody new starts offering flash sale and coupon deals. And the deals can be very good, but be careful: Calling a price a big discount doesn't make it one.

Travelocity is the latest big OTA to get into the flash sale game. Like most such deals, it concentrates on hotel and resort accommodations. But rather than just another "me, too" copy of Jetsetter or SniqueAway, its approach is unique: Every day, it lists a single new "dashing deal," available only on that day, but valid for travel for up to several months. The deal on the day I'm writing this is for a room "plus upgrade" at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, starting at $35 a night. A calendar display shows the dates on which this rate is available, and, in this case, that includes a limited number of Sunday-Thursday arrivals in mid-December, with quite a few more dates available at $40 or $45 during October and November. When I checked, the Hotels.Com rate for one of the $35 nights was $59, so the discount promise seems legitimate.

Clearly, no matter how good the price or how popular the destination, a one-off daily deal can serve only a limited market. Accordingly, I assume that dashing deals will focus on only the most popular destinations. And, at least so far, the agency does not offer you an option to ask it to notify you when a deal appears in someplace you want to visit. But if you're shopping around for a good spur-of-the-moment vacation idea, Travelocity' new offering should be on your list.

Another new-to-me coupon site features deals in Europe, and especially in the United Kingdom. As with U.S. Agencies, VoucherCodes (www.Vouchercodes.Co.Uk) offers a wide range of coupons across the retail spectrum. International visitors will probably be most interested in three categories:

— Restaurant coupons offer the same sorts of deals you get with U.S. Coupons and Entertainment books: second-entree "free," percent- or pounds-off, and twofers. Most participating restaurants are large chains, and many are either fast food or mass-market eateries, but a few cover more upscale options. Most vouchers have a short life, so you needn't bother to check what's available until you're about to leave home or even after you arrive.

— Most travel vouchers cover package tours originating in the UK, of little interest to visitors. However, a few cover local hotels, car rentals, and air tickets.

— Ticket vouchers include a mix of twofers and discounts at a wide range of theme parks, cinemas, bowling alleys, and zoos. Not much of this will interest visitors, although you can get small-discount coupons for the London Eye and the Tower of London.

As with any self-styled "discount" operation, watch out for misleading "discount" claims. A few weeks ago, I touched on the problem and here's more detail that illustrated the problems you face. For a recent report, I checked for what looked like a good hotel or resort deal at seven of the largest flash sale sites. And the results can give you pause:

— All seven showed "list" or "regular" prices that were higher than the prices at which anyone could get the accommodations through Hotels.Com. SinqueAway's "regular" posting was only a little higher, others ranged up to close to double.

— The "sale" price was, in fact, a substantial discount from Hotel.Com's rate at JetSetter, Off and Away, SniqueAway and Voyage Privee.

— But the supposed "sale" price was actually higher than Hotel.Com's price at Spire and Trip Alertz, and essentially the same at Vacationist.

This is not to say that some of the offers at the last three agencies were not good, or that all the deals at the other three were good. Instead, it shows that you absolutely have to check with an independent source — typically one of the big OTAs — before you commit to a purported discount deal.

Send e-mail to Ed Perkins at eperkins(at)mind.Net. Perkins' new book for small business and independent professionals, "Business Travel When It's Your Money," is now available through www.Mybusinesstravel.Com or www.Amazon.Com

Originally Published: October 4, 2011 at 4:00 AM EDT

Travelocity's Price Guarantee Less Than Prompt - NBC News

When the price of Steven Estrella's Cancun vacation takes a nosedive after he's already paid for it, he tries to make a claim under his online travel agency's price guarantee. But for some reason, the company never processes his claim. What's going on? And will he ever see a refund?

Q: I am writing to complain about poor service I received in connection with Travelocity's price guarantee. We recently returned from an 11-night trip to Cancun, Mexico. Our package, which included airfare and accommodations at the Valentin Imperial Maya all-inclusive resort, cost $4,615.

About a week before we left, I found the exact same package on Travelocity for $1,170 less. I filled out a form on its site and followed up several times by email. I sent screenshots as proof. Each time they responded they claimed to have not received the proof. Finally, I posted the proof to a website to be sure they could see it.

Last night, I called Travelocity and was told they would get back to me in a few hours by phone. They did not. I have always been happy with Travelocity's service — until now. Why is this such a problem? Travelocity has a guarantee. Is it asking too much for them to honor it?— Steven Estrella, Fort Washington, Pa.

A: You qualified for Travelocity's price guarantee, which promises a $50 coupon and up to $500 back if you find a "qualifying" lower rate up until the day before you check in. Travelocity should have processed your claim — or at least responded to it — promptly. (You can read the company's full guarantee.)

It appears that the proof Travelocity needed never arrived. You say you sent the files several times, but Travelocity's representatives say they never saw them. Rather than simply resending the files, you might have considered reducing the size of the files. Often, email spam filters block large images.

Still, it's unlikely that the files sent through the form, email and finally posted to a website, were all rejected by the system. Instead, it's far likelier this was an electronic hiccup on Travelocity's side.

I'm given the impression from dealing with many price guarantee complaints (not just Travelocity's) that these types of requests aren't assigned a high priority. As with any travel business, a lot of effort is expended on quickly processing your purchases. It takes only a few seconds to remove the money from your credit card account, but weeks, months and even years to return it.

What incentive — other than making a customer happy — does an online travel agency have to expeditiously refund the money under a price guarantee? I can't think of one.

You took all the right steps by sending your request through the site, then by email and finally posting the evidence of the bargain online. I have a few contacts at Travelocity on my site that might have been useful.

I contacted Travelocity on your behalf. A representative emailed you and offered the maximum $500 refund, plus a $50 voucher toward future travel.

Travelocity's Sweet 16 Booking Come With A Gift: Travel Coupons

Travelocity turns 16 this year with a birthday offer for fans: Make a hotel reservation or book a vacation package for three days or longer and receive a travel coupon for up to $200 for a future trip.

The deal: The Sweet 16 Birthday Celebration works well for those who are willing to reserve at the list of selected hotels or vacation packages. Here's how it works: Stay three days at a GoodBuy Hotel (they're listed on the website) or take a three-day flight and hotel vacation package and receive a $100 coupon for future travel. Extend either to four days, and you receive a $200 coupon. To get the coupon, use the promotion code "SWEET16" when making a reservation.

When: The offer is good for reservations made by 9:59 p.M. PDT Saturday and for travel through May 31.

Tested: I found some good rates on GoodBuy Hotels to score the Travelocity credit. Some examples:

--St. Anthony Riverwalk Wyndham Hotel in San Antonio from May 27-31 averages $59 a night plus tax. The four-night stay with tax comes to $275. (Best available rate starts at $119 a night plus tax for the same dates.)--Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers from April 5-8 (over Easter weekend) averages $119 a night plus tax. The four-night stay with tax comes to $552. (Best available rate starts at $149 a night plus tax for the same dates.)

A four-day booking at the hotels cited above qualify for the $200 travel coupon. The coupon arrives by e-mail and must be used between April 30 and Dec. 31. There's a bunch of other fine print you can read on the website too.

Contact: Travelocity Sweet 16 Birthday Celebration

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