Travelzoo

Bought Chef Sed dinner which he scheduled, but cancelled without explanation or refund. Travelzoo offered no help in obtaining refund. Stay away!

RIPOFF! Purchased a voucher (this is the first. And last time I used/will use Travelzoo) that was supposed to be valid for an Oregon wine tasting pass for two. After purchasing the voucher, I was required to redeem the voucher at the vendor's (oregonwinepass.com) website. However, the vendor refused to accept the voucher. Also, I noticed that the vendor indicated that the passes are good through 12/31/14, even though Travelzoo advertised that the pass was good through 12/31/15. I called Travelzoo and was told that it was up to me to call the vendor and work out the problems with the voucher and the inconsistent dates. Of course, there was no answer at the vendor's phone number. Thankfully, Travelzoo honored my request to cancel my purchase since it was within their 7 day cancellation period. This is a very strange business model--purchasing a voucher from a third party and then having to deal with the vendor to get them to honor Travelzoo's voucher. This particular purchase was relatively small, $29 so the risk in dealing with Travelzoo was small. However, many Travelzoo offerings are much more expensive and the risk far greater. Buyer beware--maybe it's better to deal with the vendor directly and forget about Travelzoo and their shoddy business practices.

Travelzoo is the only company who refuses to refund me during the corona virus pandemic! I have a trip planned to Hyatt Andaz Riviera Mayakoba for June 2020 to celebrate my Anniversary. I booked this trip back in September 2019. The voucher travel dates are May 1- October 31 2020. I have no interest in going to Cancun in August, September & October because of the extreme heat as well as the fact Mexico will not be clear of the corona virus by then! The hotel has suspended normal operations and is not currently offering restaurant, bar, or other services at this time. The hotel itself is canceling reservations (including pre-paid non refundable rates). I called the hotel directly and they said there was nothing I could do other than contact Travelzoo directly since they are the ones who accepted and are holding my money! The hotel agreed with me that Travelzoo should give me a refund since that is what the hotel is doing. I have been a loyal and long time customer of Travelzoo and this is how I am treated? TRAVELZOO needs to change their name to RIPOFFZOO! Never again will I purchase from Travelzoo! I have referred a ton of friends to their website to share their great deals! I will make sure they all know to never ever use them again! Shame on you Travelzoo!

Would not have anything to do with them as been scammed £1020 by travel zoo so stay clear or you may loose money to be warned

This was awful. Lost $100 on Wine to Wall Street Journal Wine Travel Zoom Advertised. They won't make it right.

Stay away from Vacation Express. What a way to wreck your entire vacation. Booked through TravelZoo for Vacation Express's All-inclusive with Nonstop from Detroit to Riveria Maya in Dec 2013, piad for it in Jan14 and ready to go in 8 days,, except Vacation Express tells us today that the trip does not include airfair. Haha just the hotel stay and pickup/transfers from airport in Cancun, no air tickets, no nonstop from Detroit, unless we pay additional $492pp today! What a joke AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS

One should involve a lawyer. What this company is doing is barely legal and far from legitimate. Please don't use this service

I purchased a "local deal" from Travel Zoo on June 21,2013. The item was a winery tour, signature wine glasses, and a gourmet lunch for $29, "regularly $62".
We decided to use it on Monday July 29th so I called several days ahead and made a reservation for noon.
There was only one other couple in attendance. The young women took us on a trek of several hundred yards to view a withered collection of staked vines mostly not alive.
We then returned to the main building, a converted biker bar and viewed an empty room that was to have contained last year's crop which was eliminated by a cold snap in May.
We sat at a table and were presented with a tasting menu that cost an additional $24 a couple for three tastes of wine, about six ounces. They were very stingy in filling the glasses, about 1 ounce per taste!
We decided to not participate in this ad hoc wine tasting so they removed our two free glasses. There was also three microscopic pieces of cheese to taste.
Finally it was time for our $62 gourmet lunch. We each received one half a ham and cheese sandwich on rye bread. There was also two small pieces of bread crust with crushed nuts and a slice of cucumber.
Nothing else was offered. I did spend an
Additional $11 to buy my wife a half a glass of wine.
We drove 90 minutes up and 90 minutes back. This was the worst meal deal we have ever seen and we use Groupon all the time.
I called Travel Zoo that afternoon. Their number *******000 is a call center in Williamsport, Pa. The CSR assigned me a
Ticket number *******. She said that I would be called by "Merchant Services"
Within 24 hours.
I waited two days then followed up with a CSR named "Brennan" in the same call center. He told me he would escalate the issue but no one has followed up.

The short version is that I paid 20% more by using Travel Zoo than if I had booked directly with the hotel. What is the point?

Do not use this travel agency! They do not answer phones and I booked this before the pandemic. We are 1327. 27

Travelzoo offers outstanding experiences for all to enjoy. Introducing to viewer unique and interesting experiences.

Travelzoo Customer Service is worthless when it comes to resolving difficulties involved with redeeming a voucher.

We have purchased numerous vouchers over the years and had many great experiences. Always keep an eye out for upcoming deals.

Another flash travel deal site. The deals seem pretty good. But, you must act fast because a lot of times they will sell out quickly.

Misrepresented Parking - Not such a great deal after all. An additional $50 a NIGHT. Not specified by Travelzoo prior to arrival!

Love this site, Ive never had any issues with it. I have had issues with some of the middle men, like did=gital doorstep, but never travel zoo itself

I was a loyal Travelzoo fan for 15 years. Booked my honeymoon hotels in 2006 from Travelzoo and got hooked since!
Travelzoo is an advertiser for UTOVacations, and every week there is one Top20 deal that they recommend. So I booked a family vacation on June 21. I contacted UTOVacations within one week of booking to reschedule because my mother got diagnosed with late-stage cancer. However, they told me no dates are available, even though they were advertising new tour dates at the same timewith Travelzoo! (see attached screenshots). I was told by them to contact my credit card company if I'm not happy with the travel date. That's why I opened a dispute. However, UTOVacations then said we would have given you other dates but because you filed a dispute, we don't want to do anything with you, and you lose your security deposit. It was frustrating to hear this after 2.5 months of diligent follow up.
I checked the contract terms again that said free reschedule. The terms do NOT state anywhere that you will lose security deposit IF you file for dispute. That's when I started digging further into UTOVacations and read reviews where this company takes you on "mandated shopping trips" aka timeshare style. This was NOT mentioned anywhere in the Travelzoo advertisement! I realized that I booked with this merchant only because it was recommended by Travelzoo.
So I called Travelzoo and asked them why the merchant would NOT reschedule me. I even agreed to travel on the original date. After 6 weeks of diligent follow up with Travelzoo, I was told that the case is still being handled by upper management. Meanwhile every week, I continue to see UTO Vacation deals advertised in the Top20! There was more than one time when I heard the Travelzoo customer representative laughing as they reviewed my case notes, and I asked them "what is funny?" I heard back "Oh, I was just clearing my throat"

We are happy that we choose this company and next time we 'll definitly will be a repeating customers

I have absolutely loved using Travelzoo in the past and have referred many friends and business colleagues to Travelzoo. However, my most recent vacation which was booked through Travelzoo was a disaster. I booked a trip to Bimini for my daughter and I with the goal of enjoying a relaxing, quiet time in some warm weather. From the moment we checked in, we noticed that the hotel was filled with college students who were exceptionally noisy and obnoxious. We learned from the front desk clerk that 90-95% of the guests staying at the hotel were college students who were attending all night parties that the hotel or their colleges were sponsoring. Most of these kids were drinking and were up the entire night running in the hallways, banging on the doors of the other guests, screaming, playing loud music and even breaking windows and doors. Many complaints were lodged with the staff at the hotel who confided in me that many of the guests checked out of the hotel. We didn't get any sleep the entire 4 nights we were at the hotel and couldn't enjoy the pools and grounds because they were overrun with the students. We called security many times during the night asking for help getting the kids to quite down.
We were told that even if they got the kids to be quiet, they would just resume with their loud activities a few minutes later so what was the use? Travelzoo should have posted a notice on the advertisement for this special that that spring breakers are traditionally staying at this hotel during the month of March. Had we known this, we would have stayed somewhere else. Many other travelers who booked the same trip with Travelzoo were very disappointed for the same reasons. I feel like we through good money down the toilet. This trip was a disaster!

Bought 2 x Travel Zoo coupons for "Movie Night for 2 w/$100 certificate Restaurant.com bonus", good for "any Fandango movie tickets including IMAX and 3-D films", "including new releases". When I tried to buy the tickets for a Sunday morning showing of 'Gravity' on opening weekend Fandango site said "unable to process order please try a different showtime". In fact, all the showtimes on Sunday were unavailable, but Tuesday showtimes were all available through Fandango. I phoned the cinema directly and spoke to the manager - they had plenty of tickets for Sunday. After 30+ total min wait Fandango call center they said they were aware of problem - I had to clear my cookies and "Ray" showed me how, and that did work and I was able to purchase the tickets - but WHY would Fandango put a cookie on my computer to block a weekend sale for Regal Cinemas? Then using Fandango charges an extra 'convenience fee' (= more than a third of the price of the ticket!) to use the TravelZoo prepaid ticket... Lucky me - I spent $56 for $30 worth of movie tickets through Fandango!

The Restaurant.com certificate 'deal' was a total rip-off too - the said implied '$100 Restaurant.com bonus' which implies that the restaurants on restaurant.com are available. The ad also said "Dining options include Zagat-praised steakhouses and top-rated sushi bars". NOT and I live in a big city. The different 'restaurants' that were available were only places I'd take people to if I wanted to insult them. Plus, you don't get $100 Restaurant.com bonus per se - you get a credit towards $100 worth of coupons for sad restaurants that you can only use in, say $5 - $35 increments, depending on the restaurant, if you spend one and a half times that amount at the restaurant, and you can't combine coupons. My $100 worth of coupons would cost me $150 (at least) to use.

I phoned TravelZoo and to complain that the ad was immorally misleading and I pointed out that there weren't any "Zagat-praised" steakhouses etc., available and was told that was too bad for me.

I purchased two vouchers for a Korean Spa. When visited the business on Saturday, they wouldn't accept them due to Travelzoo system outage. I had to pay full price (almost double) because I was already there with friends and the Spa is not close to my home at all. When called customer service two days later, their first suggestion was that I could go another time when their system was on. How ridiculous? After arguing with the representative who wanted only to refund me for the vouchers and cancel them, she called her supervisor. After some wait time, I was offered by her refund of $30 and $20 credit from Travelzoo. When I couldn't use the vouchers, I had to pay full price of $50. You tell me if $20 credit is equal to $20 cash that I paid. I asked at least for $30 credit, which they actually issued to my friend earlier that day. I was transferred to a supervisor named Sean. He at first was telling me that if they give me $30 credit and refund me $30 it will cost them, to Travelzoo, $60. Perhaps he forgot that the $30 they are refunding are my money paid to them (they will cancel the unused vouchers, of course). He started arguing that I got the services. I explained that I had to pay $50 for those and I wouldn't go to that business for the full price. Then he tried playing me that he is authorized only for $20 credit and for $30 he needs to speak to his supervisor. I asked to be transferred to that supervisor of the supervisor Sean. Suddenly, he started saying that they are offsite and there is nobody above him he can transfer me. He asked me for my friend's name. I told him that I will write a consumer complain and hanged up.

I purchased two vouchers for two, two night stays at The Clevelands House Resort in the Muskokas, Ontario. The TravelZoo site said cancel within seven days for a full refund, after the seven days "the hotel policy prevails". Like a smart shopper I checked the resort's website and it said cancel seven days prior to your reservation date for a full refund. We had to cancel and I contacted The Clevelands House. They agreed that I was entitled to a full refund and I had to contact TravelZoo, which I did. I eventually ended up speaking to Jamie and her boss Lana (real names? I don't think so). They said I wasn't entitled to a refund because it was after their seven days. I told them about the resort's cancellation policy and they basically told me to "get lost". I said I would sue them in small claims court and Lana said "do whatever you want". I contacted the resort again, and they couldn't have been nicer. They emailed TravelZoo on my behalf and got no response. The resort couldn't give me a refund because they had not been paid by TravelZoo.

If you read TravelZoo's fine print it says all disputes have to go to their dispute resolution company. I called them but they had never heard of TravelZoo. SOOOOO I contactacted my credit card company, they investigated and charged back the amounts to TravelZoo. Looks good on you Jamie and Lana and whoever owns TravelZoo.

My advice? NEVER DEAL WITH TRAVELZOO. Go to Groupon or SkyAuction.com We have dealt with them many times and been very satisfied.

It's not worth trying to deal with the donkeys at The Zoo.

Beware: Travelzoo doesn't warn customers of risk of loss and won't offer a refund when its travel partner absconds with your advance payment.
Travelzoo promoted a Thailand trip in one of its "Top 20" emails sent to subscribers in December 2019. The Travelzoo "deal expert" for the trip promoted it as one of the best deals they've seen, and the email included a link to the Travelzoo webpage, which had another link to the actual travel provider, Phoenix Holidays. Trusting Travelzoo's recommendation, I booked the trip for Feb 25,2020 and paid $2,813.
Due to COVID the trip got postponed several times, and ultimately Phoenix Holidays stopped responding to my emails. A Travelzoo rep confirmed that the company was out of business, apologized, and asked me to send documentation from Phoenix Holidays for a possible refund. After I submitted the docs, Travelzoo responded that it had no responsibility for my loss because it was only an "advertiser."
Just because Travelzoo acts as an advertiser and front-end portal for its travel partners doesn't absolve it of wrongdoing of its travel partner. It has the responsibility to vet and ensure that its travel partners are financially secure and not scammers. Otherwise, it needs to let its customers know that it takes no responsibility in the event of loss and that there is, indeed, a real risk of loss.
Travelzoo did not make this disclaimer or indicate this risk. Had it not promoted the Thailand trip in its Top 20 newsletter and provided the link to the travel partner on its website, I never would have booked the trip. Had it stated that there was a potential risk of loss of advance payment because it does not take responsibility for its travel partners and does not vet them or hold back funds or a reserve for losses, I never would have booked the trip and lost my money.
Travelzoo now refuses to discuss restitution, EVEN FOR THE COMMISSION IT MADE from my payment. They simply provided a link to a Quebec gov't website to submit a claim (all in French) or contact the Travelzoo legal department.