Travelzoo

Travelzoo

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Overall Rating2.1 out of 5
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Travelzoo Reviews

ConsumerAffairs has collected 88 reviews and 350 ratings.

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Page 2 Reviews 10 - 40

Reviewed March 29, 2023

BUYER BEWARE!! UTO is a scam and is not reputable, don't buy a tour with them. We purchased a tour to China through a link from Travelzoo in November 2020 and planned to travel the following year. Obviously, China and the world shut down due to covid. UTO was unable to fulfill their part of the contract so they kept a credit for future travel. China continues to be a mess and have outbreaks of covid, lockdowns, travel restrictions, etc. I have no desire to travel there. UTO has had my money, interest free, for 2 1/2 years and they are refusing to refund my $1300. Their customer service agents tell me to use the credit toward another of their trips rather than a refund. UTO is unable to produce the trip to China, they need to refund my money. Why does Travelzoo continue to showcase such a dishonest and disreputable company like UTO?

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Mary,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with UTO Vacations and that your trip was cancelled and you have been unable to use your credit yet. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Verified purchase

Reviewed March 15, 2023

Wanted to warn others in case you fall for this company’s scam. I booked a trip with UTO vacations in July of 2022 to travel to China and Japan in January 2023. After reaching out to them to see if they plan to update my reservation given the China travel restrictions I was told to look for an alternative trip or wait and see if their restrictions are lifted. After trying to get a refund and being told the reservation is nonrefundable I asked if the trip was still on when the quarantine restrictions were lifted and got no answer. I reached out to UTO vacations via phone, chat, and email to see about rescheduling the trip and haven’t heard back from them. Basically I am out $1,400. The whole thing felt like a scam. As they sold the trip without mentioning the quarantine requirements in China. And then never responding to reschedule my trip.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Leya,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with UTO Vacations and that you have been unsuccessful with rescheduling your trip. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Reviewed Feb. 19, 2023

I made a Travelzoo booking for 2 nights at a montreal hotel for late october. I later called travelzoo to cancel while within the “no penalty" time. I was charged (booked, later cancelled) 1 night by the hotel despite documented proof from travelzoo that they had properly cancelled the reservation in time for there to be no charge. However, I was still billed by mastercard for 1 night by the hotel. I advised travelzoo of the error and they “forwarded” my complaint to the hotel. The hotel denied I was charged so I provided a copy of my mastercard statement showing the improper charge to travelzoo, which “forwarded” the documentation to the hotel. No advocacy despite documentation- just “forwarded”.

The hotel then told both travelzoo and me that that there was no record in their system of my credit card being charged (which was incorrect and travelzoo should have known that after reviewing my credit card statement). Undeniable proof positive yet travelzoo chose to accept wrong information from their business partner rather than the absolutely correct and documented information from both your customer and mastercard. Shame on travelzoo and more shame for pretending travelzoo was advocating for me (which is what travelzoo called “forwarding”)..

There was no advocating from travelzoo. All they did was forward my issue to the hotel and then nothing helpful. How could a reasonable business not confront the hotel demanding how the $$ were shown billed to the customer by mastercard with that hotel making the charges and receiving the $$??? Travelzoo certainly did not advocate for me at any time! Eventually, after I made a formal mastercard dispute, the hotel admitted I had been charged and refunded the $$ two months after they took it! Travelzoo did nothing than “forward

So, the hotel gave us wrong information about my being charged, I gave you correct information and travelzoo essentially washed its hands and said “not our problem”! I spent over a month getting it fixed while travelzoo did nothing other than forward my complaint and left me (and mastercard) to take the time and effort to resolve a travelzoo's customer's issue. And I got the travelzoo's customary response from lisa oswald (vp travelzoo) how I would rate my dealings with their customer service. As soon as I hit unhappy and unresolved, I got a page saying no sense completing. Travelzoo (lisa oswald??) would follow up with me. Never happened - no travelzoo followup.

So, I have used travelzoo before and yes, you may get a good product and a good price. However, if you run into any issue, don't expect help. In my case, they ignored my documented proof I was wrongly charged and accepted wrong information from their business partner. So, enjoy your travelzoo. Just pray nothing goes wrong because I could not count on travelzoo for support when I was absolutely right (and mastercard and later the hotel agreed I was). What makes you think they'll support you???

Ps. Lisa oswald, vp travelzoo. I'm still waiting to hear from you.

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Reviewed Feb. 12, 2023

Travelzoo website promoted UTOvacation for Asia travel and I booked a trip to Japan in 2021 from UTO. However the trip had been cancelled by UTOvacation and the money paid turned to credit. When asked for a refund they said no. Rebooked a trip but at a higher price. In December I attempted to contact a rep for assistance but received none. This was to do a possible name change, or rebook the trip as the other person going could no longer go. I had previously purchased the UTO Assurance Program in which gives no penalty to rebook/reschedule, but you would have to pay a certain fee and wanted to use that. After not receiving satisfactory assistance or being able to talk directly to someone through phone I filed a dispute.

In the first week of February a rep (Amy) from that company promoted by Travelzoo called back to back, irritated that I would go through a dispute and demand I cancel it. Telling me I cannot do that because they have purchased the tickets, I have no proof that they did purchase anything as they hadn’t said anything nor sent anything. When told about the UtO Assurance that was purchased, Amy told me it was not guaranteed despite there being no writing detailing that it wouldn’t. And that it was too late despite me contacting the company multiple times within the 90 days before departure. She gave possible solutions that were unsatisfactory.

Why would they offer to purchase a service they cannot provide? After this call they changed their UTO Assurance Progam policy to fit their own agenda. Travelzoo is promoting a company that does not render purchased in services that they promise. They are also promoting an unreliable/dishonest company that has terrible customer service.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Marie,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with UTO Vacations and that your trip was cancelled and you've been unable to receive satisfactory assistance in regards to this. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Verified purchase

Reviewed Jan. 6, 2023

Jetline advertised an Eastern Europe vacation package on Travelzoo. 11 family members booked this package to be together for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe for Christmas. What we actually received was a mixed bag of terms and conditions that do not apply, unresponsive Jetline agents, system down, medical emergency, managers that were to step in and help us without any resolution to date and credits that are never processed.

The "upgrades" Jetline sold us were overpriced and never delivered. We paid upgrades for for 1 checked in bag for flight per person. Jetline booked the cheapest flights possible of LIGHT FARES that do not include a checked in bag but they surely charged us for the more expensive flights! Our upgraded train vouchers for Business/1st Class were actually booked as SUPER SAVER fares the cheapest train ticket possible, not keeping our family together. Jetline actually booked us on different trains, different times and even different stations for senior citizens!

Lufthansa changed our departure flights to and from and gave Jetline 4 months notice but they never adjusted our trip or notified us. Their terms & conditions note they are not responsible for flight changes. I totally understand last minute flight changes, but 4 months in advance, and not processing it or even attempting to adjust our packages had us in 2 countries for less than 12 hours a piece! AND paying for 2 nights additional hotel stays that we could not use! I will NEVER book another trip on Travelzoo or Jetline in my lifetime and will shout from the rooftops to try and save any other family the heartache, stress, worry, and wet blanket put on our trip.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Siscily,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Jetline and that you had so many difficulties with your experience and trip. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Reviewed Dec. 4, 2022

Received travel specials from Travelzoo. Travelzoo advertised for Exoticca Tours and I booked a trip leaving on October 27th 2022 to Petra Jordan. This tour company is awful. I went as a solo female traveler and they had no concern for my safety or my well-being. They advertise a good special for four star accommodations and after you arrive you are given a revised hotel accommodations that inform you that you've been placed in a one-star Hotel. Travelzoo should be held partially responsible because they advertise for Exoticca Tours. Travelzoo should investigate Exoticca Tours and make a strong decision on whether to continue to advertise this company on their website.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Regina,

We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Exoticca. We understand how upsetting it can be when your hotel accommodations are changed upon arrival as a solo traveler. We are notifying our Deal Experts. Thank you for sharing that feedback.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Reviewed Nov. 25, 2022

TravelZoo has been sending me emails without my permission for years now. I have tried and tried to get them to stop but they won't. They have an unsubscribe at the bottom of the page but you have to make an account with them, including password, before you get into the site to unsubscribe. What kind of nonsense is this? I have blocked them time and time again but they keep getting into my inbox. Now I am getting emails almost every hour. Today, I did some research and found a phone number, I called to be told it will take time to remove my email since there are already many emails going into my inbox. I asked for a supervisor and their rep, Yamal, started arguing with me. Any company that has to keep someone hostage to keep up their numbers is a company you should never trust. Run from this nightmare. There are companies out there with good reputations.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Lynette,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience unsubscribing from our emails. I can confirm that you have been unsubscribed from our email communications. We do schedule emails to be sent out and these cannot be stopped. Due to this we always ask members who are unsubscribing to allow 3-5 business days for any previously scheduled emails to filter out of our system.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Reviewed Nov. 14, 2022

Travelzoo website promoted UTOvacation for Asia travel and I booked a trip to Japan for Oct 2022 from UTO and made a deposit of $1200.00. However the trip has been cancelled by UTOvacation despite the fact that Japan has been fully opened earlier Oct. As specified by their customer service rep Amy on June 28th. I was assured during the call that my refund would be processed in next few days and was told not to worry about my money; however, it has taken more than four months with continued radio silence on their part despite consistent attempts to contact them regarding the refund.

On August 3rd I was sent an email saying the refund "was still pending approval" with no further elaboration. This company seemingly scams customers of cancelled trips by keeping their money and either refusing to refund or completely ignoring all requests for refunds. Upon further research, there have been an extensive number of complaints of the same issue, with some calling for a class action lawsuit. How could Travelzoo continue to advertise UTOvacation and more customers are trapped.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello June,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with UTO Vacations, and that your refund is still pending approval. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Price

Reviewed Oct. 19, 2022

So far we have had great experiences booking off Travelzoo, this was an exception. Saw a very low price for 7 day trip to Jordan offered by Jetline Vacations. After calling we had a slight upsell in flights but were ready to book. Terms were 2/3 down and 1/3 due in 7 months. Jetline tried to charge the entire amount to my credit card. Fortunately, the credit card flagged it as fraud and we were able to get out with no financial damage. Run away from the company, they are dishonest.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Hank,

We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Jetline Vacations. We understand how upsetting it can be when the payment is collected contrary to the payment terms for the deal. I'm glad to hear you were able to resolve this with your credit card company. We are notifying our Deal Experts. Thank you for sharing that feedback.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Verified purchase
Customer ServiceStaff

Reviewed Oct. 14, 2022

This company has zero integrity and rips off its customers. I made a booking and 3 weeks before travel they advised me the hotel would not be open and therefore I had no accommodation. After many days of back and forth, they then offered me compensation for the hassle and issues and advised me to send in my invoice once I'd picked and stayed at a new hotel. When I submitted my invoice after my stay they are now refusing to honour the agreed upon amount even though it is clearly written in an email and recorded on the call. They have the worst customer service and dishonest employees. Do not give this fraudulent company your money. They have zero integrity.

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Response from Travelzoo

Dear Adrienne,

Thank you for sharing. We understand how frustrating it can be when a hotel has an unexpected closure. I see our team has been in contact with you directly and has provided a refund for the difference in cost for your alternative accommodations. I'm sorry we weren't able to provide the resolution you desired.

If there are any other concerns, please call us at 877-665-0000, 7 days a week, 9 AM - 9 PM ET.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Customer ServiceContract & TermsSales & MarketingStaff

Reviewed Oct. 14, 2022

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 Top 20 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 time with 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 Top 20!! 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.”

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Response from Travelzoo

Dear Poonam,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry you had to cancel your trip due to your mother's illness and for the following difficulty you had trying to reschedule your trip with UTO Vacations. I see our team is still advocating on your behalf with UTO Vacations and will be in touch as soon as there is an update.

I'm sorry we haven't been able to negotiate the resolution you desired thus far. If there are any other concerns, please call us at 1-877-665-0000, 7 days a week, 9 AM - 9 PM ET.

Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

Reviewed Oct. 7, 2022

I am so angry with Travelzoo. They sell their own holiday directly which I have so far had a 5* experience with. The last holiday I booked with them was from a 3rd party, but as it was on their website I naively presumed it would be a reputable company. I booked the holiday, I was told no less than 15 times on the phone when booking the holiday that it was ATOL protected, received an email a few weeks before the holiday saying my flight had been cancelled. I got this email from the airline not the travel agent, only because I registered with the airline on their website and added the booking, if I hadn't done that I would've got to the airport and been told then the flight was cancelled, Jetline didn't even bother to let me know.

Called them, said I want to cancel, OK if you do that we can't refund you anything!!! I blew my top at him. After going absolutely ballistic and saying fine I will do a charge back on my credit card, they immediately decided they would refund some money! The flight!! Said fine I'll do a charge back, then told ok we'll give you a refund minus £150!!! Jetline is a bunch of scam artists, they're all buttery when selling the holiday but then as soon as they have your money goodbye to any service!! Sorry for the long review just wanted to explain the whole experience, bottom line it's disgusting that travelzoo are advertising jetline holidays all over their website, especially after coming on here and seeing circa 300+ complaints about them!!

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Jetline, and that your flight was cancelled without Jetline notifying you and that you had a difficult time receiving your refund. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at +44 (0) 20 3564 3000 or email us at support_uk@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

Customer ServiceSales & MarketingStaff

Reviewed Sept. 18, 2022

Bait and switch by Jetline Vacations through TravelZoo. We attempted to book a advertised trip on TravelZoo for a trip to Greece. The website advertised by TravelZoo was with a company called Jetline Vacations. The trip was advertised at $899. Sounds like a deal. Wrong! After an add on it went to $1299. The agent at Jetline Arthur was polite but soon became shady. After he and us agreed to the add on and the cost of $1299, Arthur advised that he would need a minute to confirm the flights. He came back and said the flights were long with long layovers to which we said that we could manage. He then said he was going to see if he could find better flights and would call us back, after a few minutes he called back, and said he found better flights but that it would cost $1799. We declined and said we would be fine with the $1299.

He then proceeded to say the $1299 flights were now no longer available after only a few minutes of telling us they were and we had agreed. We said then we would not be purchasing the trip to which he replied, "Let me check with a a manager." He then came back on the line and now said he could do the trip for $1599. What the heck is up with these shysters. Shame on Travelzoo for continuing to work with this company. I am not alone, look at all these sad disgruntled customers. Please TravelZoo consider your reputation as using these types of unsatisfactory companies is damage your reputation too. We did not book and will never consider Jetline Vacations.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Robert,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Jetline Vacations and that you were unable to book the $899 rate we advertised. We are notifying our Deal Experts. Thank you for sharing that feedback.

Thank you,

Amanda

The Travelzoo Team

Reviewed Aug. 3, 2022

I've had great luck booking trips with offers I've found through Travelzoo. I've read some of the bad reviews, but it seems as though people expect things that this company doesn't do. As far as I can tell, they're an information clearinghouse; they exist to gather information about *other companies* that offer travel deals. It's not a travel agency itself. I've found great deals they've turned me onto, and the experience I had once I followed the link was the responsibility of the company offering the tour or travel deal. So far, they've been good - but if I have a bad experience, I won't be blaming it on Travelzoo. It's just like having a bad airbnb experience and blaming AirBNB. I might feel obligated to report a bad experience, host, or company - but I don't blame the company that doesn't have control over it.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you so much for the great feedback. I'm excited to hear you had great experience. Happy travels!

Thank you,

Amanda

Verified purchase
Sales & Marketing

Reviewed June 5, 2022

Unclear travel time disclaimer (dates and times supplied 10 months after booking) is an omission that mislead us into buying an advertised PERU IN 9 DAYS trip advertising 8 nights AND 7 days in Peru, the 9th day allocated for travel to/from Peru. Exoticca’s actions to choose a flight to Peru that arrives at 23:30 EST and an early a.m. flight from Peru, erase 2 of our days in country and will have an extremely detrimental effect on our trip, purchased via Travelzoo advertising.

Three days before departure, multiple contacts with Travelzoo and Exoticca and no resolution. Offered us an option to purchase 2 extra days (we’ve already paid for those days) in Peru and different flights, for a $500.00+ USD up-charge! Our intention is to pursue all avenues of USA consumer protection, BBB, FTC, DOT and State of Florida Consumer Protection. >

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Mcat,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Exoticca and that your tour in Peru was not booked for the correct number of days. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

Customer Service

Reviewed June 4, 2022

Like many others, I do not know why you continue to include Jetline Holidays in your Top 20 Deals. We had a nightmare experience with this agency and are now trying to obtain reimbursement for a rental car we had to hire after Jetline canceled our reservation. We arrived in Rome, exhausted, to find that the rental car reservation that was part of our package had been canceled. Many phone calls to Jetline with various explanations: "We did not cancel reservation." "Oh yes, we did cancel reservation because you did not pay for the rental car." SAY WHAT? WE PAID FOR A PACKAGE DEAL AND HAD THE VOUCHER FOR THE RENTAL CAR.

Then they told us to rent another car and they would reimburse us. Fortunately we have this in writing. After much research, we were able to find a car and salvage our holiday. Now they are saying they are not responsible and are "looking into it" as a courtesy. I loved TravelZoo before and recommended it to many people. Now I have lost complete respect and will never use again.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Suzette,

Thank you for sharing. We're sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with Jetline and that your rental car reservation was cancelled. We'd like to review this further. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with your trip details including your booking number so we may better assist you.

Thank you,

Amanda

Customer Service

Reviewed May 1, 2022

We booked a trip with Travelzoo only to find out that we had really booked a trip with Jetline Vacations in the UK. We were supposed to go on a boat trip around the island on the 2nd day and were not given any notice that it was canceled until we got to the port. No refund was given, we were simply told it was canceled. Then I tested positive for Covid and couldn't fly home as planned. I called Roger/Jetline who we had been working with and was told that all of the arrangements were up to me to make, I was in a foreign country and didn't speak the language.

I called Travelzoo and they were no help either. It took many phone calls and hours on the phone to reschedule my flight. Luckily I was able to stay in my current room at the hotel. When it came time to fly home I was told that I had to pay for the shuttle/ferry/shuttle to the airport even though I had already paid for it because it had to be rescheduled. I think it is unacceptable and found that dealing with the booking companies was fine until you needed their help - then they tell you that you are on your own to make arrangements. We won't be using Travelzoo again and are telling everyone of our experience.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Sue, I am sorry to hear you contracted COVID-19 & hope you've made a full recovery. I see our team has been in contact with you directly to follow up on your concerns and has advocated on your behalf with Jetline. While we weren't able to negotiate the resolution you desired, we recommend filing a claim with your travel insurance provider due to the unexpected interruption. If there are any other concerns, please call us at 877-665-0000, 7 days a week, 9 AM - 9 PM ET.

Sincerely,

Amanda

Reviewed April 9, 2022

Booked a Travelzoo offer for a May trip to the island of Ischia in Italy. The travel company is Jetline. They have changed our flights three times already, extorted an additional $2,700 to book new flights, and rebooked our hotel from the one identified in the offer. We had added two nights in Sorrento and just learned that our hotel there is a 4-hour walk to Sorrento. A tour company that I booked privately for a tour of Pompeii won’t even pick us up at our hotel because it is too far away. Why would Travelzoo front a company that extorts, lies, evades, bait-and-switches and steals?

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Mark,

Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear that this has happened, we would like to take a closer look. Please email us at support@travelzoo.com with the purchase details so we may better assist.

Thank you,

Amanda

Verified purchase
Customer ServiceContract & TermsOnline & AppStaff

Reviewed April 6, 2022

I received the top 20 email from Travelzoo like anyone else. I see an advertised vacation on Travelzoo’s website for $499 to Porto, Portugal through Jetline Vacations. I call, set up a date for my honeymoon, pay, and receive my receipt and information in my email. I sent an email inquiring about rescheduling fees. 8 days before leaving, on my wedding day, I get a call from Jerry. He said my flight was moved by 24 hours (no paper trail). With the new dates, I couldn’t go, so I asked for a refund. After much bickering, I was only offered a credit. After getting back from my wedding and having time to look through the terms and conditions, clause #7 states that I am in the right for a refund.

After calling Jetline today, I was told that is impossible and that the terms and conditions on Travelzoo’s website “clearly” stated it was nonrefundable. The link I used to redirect me to Jetline’s website is no longer active and so there is no tracing the conditions that way. Travelzoo has nothing about refunds concerning this scenario. At the end of the day, I was provided terms and conditions from Jetline’s website and they will not honor the situation warranting a refund which is a fraudulent behavior. I was told to contact their admin team, but they have not responded to my emails.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Sabrina,

Thank you for sharing this information. I'm sorry to hear that has happened, we would like to know more. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 with the purchase details so we may better assist you.

Regards,

Amanda

Staff

Reviewed March 14, 2022

I purchased an Afternoon Tea Voucher for 2 people prior to first lockdown so was unable to use it, the voucher was extended to Sept 2021 but due to pandemic lasting 2 years and the fact that we live 100 miles away from venue (we were going to use it when holidaying there), work commitments, etc., we have been unable to use it. Today I went to book into the venue as we are returning to the area only to find voucher has expired. I rang Travelzoo about this. The person I spoke to was unsympathetic and unhelpful and said, "Well the venue has been open." I have paid in good faith and asked if it could be renewed but he wasn't interested, and tried to say the fault lay with me for not using it!!!!

Given the upset and misery to our lives the past 2 years and the fact we were told NOT to travel unless it was strictly necessary, I think an Afternoon Tea would be frowned upon, how was I supposed to use this voucher. I am not happy at all with Travel Zoo. Why can't they refresh this voucher which they have been paid for???? I certainly will not recommend them or use them again, they could have easily refreshed this voucher. The sentence BUYER BEWARE springs to mind.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Helen,

I'm very sorry to hear that this happened. We would like to take a closer look, please provide us with your voucher number so we may review further.

Regards,

Amanda

Verified purchase
Price

Reviewed March 9, 2022

Was unable to make the trip and had to cancel a few days before the trip due to illness during a pandemic. Since it was less than 7 days, we were charged a penalty fee which was the price we paid. So $685 is what we paid + $685 penalty. Plus we were told we couldn't use it at a later date. So $1300+ down the drain on top of the airfare. Never heard of such a practice and no one is willing to budge on their policy. Buyer beware if you use Travelzoo.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Kari,

I'm so sorry to hear this happened and understand your frustration with the penalty for the late cancellation of your stay. I apologize for any confusion in regards to the hotel's cancellation policy, however their policies do prevail and they applied your voucher towards the penalty for the late cancellation. I am notifying our Deal Experts and thank you for sharing that feedback.

Regards,

Amanda

Sales & MarketingPunctuality & Speed

Reviewed March 1, 2022

I got a voucher to the Maldives in Sept, 2020 during Covid but it's fully refundable. Finally able to travel there without restrictions and went to book and they only have 2 months available Aug/Sept and it expires Oct, 2022 for vouchers. It’s only 2 months into the year and they have already hit their limit for vouchers. They limit the amount people can use them apparently. They’ll refund if they can’t fit the dates- So basically they got a free loan for 2 years! Support just says- sorry for the misunderstanding. They do NOT tell you that there is a limit to how many vouchers these places will book ahead of time!! Total false advertising so don’t buy one of these unless you can try and book it immediately!

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Jennifer,

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't get the dates you wanted. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with the purchase details and your desired dates so we may assist you.

Regards,

Amanda

Customer ServicePriceStaff

Reviewed March 1, 2022

I love getting the Travelzoo emails and fantasizing about the holidays! I have to tell you, it's turned into a giant Nightmare! Travelzoo should not do business with or promote this company in my opinion. We have had by far the worst experience with Jetline Holidays. Jetline has today requested a refund for our flights from French Bee airline and are trying to charge us additional retail market value for the new flights we would like. We are already $3000+ into this vacation "package" (aka SCAM) and they are wanting to charge us an additional $1900+ to change our dates. I will never do a "bargain" trip again. The customer service is terrible. You have to deal with only your own travel agent. Ours name is Robyn; who has a thick accent and communicates only by phone. I honestly don't even want to go on this trip anymore. Jetline Holidays has turned this into a nightmare! DO NOT BOOK A VACATION WITH JETLINE HOLIDAYS!

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Rebecca,

Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear that has happened. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at 877-665-0000 or email us at support@travelzoo.com with the purchase details so we may assist you.

Regards,

Amanda

Customer ServiceSales & Marketing

Reviewed Feb. 28, 2022

I never do this, but I felt like I really needed to warn others about this scam. I booked through TravelZoo on Jetline Vacations, and the trip had to be cancelled due to Covid. Since then, they have refused to refund the money, call me back when they promised, or accommodate a rescheduling in any timely manner. I called them multiple times a week for several months, and still, nothing ever changed. I am going to try to file a claim in court to get my money back, but whether I get it or not, I just want others to know never to trust them. They make TravelZoo look terrible, and I'm honestly shocked that they would continue to use them as a vendor.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Grace,

Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear of the experience you're having with Jetline Vacations. We'd like to take a closer look. Please email Travelzoo Customer Support directly at support@travelzoo.com with your purchase details so we may better assist you.

Regards,

Amanda

Customer Service

Reviewed Feb. 22, 2022

I purchased a Brewdog Beer & Cheese voucher just prior to the first lockdown. It was extended till November 2021 by Brewdog & Travelzoo claimed it was 'Fully Refundable'. I was not able to use it until after the second lockdown so when I contacted the pub, I was told on two occasions that it was too busy & I should try again when it was less busy. Because of other commitments, a couple of isolations, Christmas etc... I could not use it but I thought it would be safe because of the 'Fully Refundable' claim.

Hmmm... clearly I did not read the small print. When I contacted Travelzoo they said they would not refund because of company policy... They have not taken into account the pandemic & it's as if it is a robot replying to their emails. Brewdog themselves said I should contact Travelzoo & ask them to reconsider - so I did... & got the same reply. I will not use Travelzoo again & would recommend to others to think very carefully before using them. Read some of the other reviews first.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Ian,

Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear that has happened. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support directly at +44 (0) 20 3564 3000 or email us at support_uk@travelzoo.com with your purchase details so we may assist you.

Regards,

Amanda

Verified purchase
Customer ServicePrice

Reviewed Feb. 21, 2022

We booked a trip offered by Travelzoo through Jetline Holidays for a seven-day trip to Paris and London for September 2021. After we paid $3950.00 for three people for this trip, Jetline Holidays told us the airline cancelled our flight due to covid-19, but that we shouldn't worried because, even though they don't refund the money, we had until December 31, 2021, to book another trip to be taken during 2022. When I called in the beginning of December to book our new trip, they wanted $3,000.00 more, arguing that the airplane fare had increased. After I told them that they were delusional if they thought I was going to pay a total of $7,000.00 for the trip, they started emailing me "offers". They went from asking an additional amount of $3,000.00, to $2000.00, then $1,850.00, $1,000.00. I said no.

Their "final offer", paying an additional $550.00 (which would've been $4,450.00 total) included only six nights, not seven as we had paid for, and no visit to London. The hotel they were giving us was in a bad neighborhood of Paris, and it looks more like a hostel than a hotel. I checked online and the airline tickets were $570.00 per person. The hotel is advertised online for $70.00 a night. Total cost $2,130.00. I had already paid $3,950.00, and they wanted me to pay $550.00 more! I didn't pay and they said I lost my money for not booking the new trip. By now, of course, my credit card company cannot reverse the charges because it has been too long. I trusted Travelzoo thinking that they only advertise reputable companies in their website. But now I know that I was wrong, and that mistake cost me $3,950.00.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Evangelina,

Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry to hear that has happened. We'd like to take a closer look, please email Travelzoo Customer Support at support@travelzoo.com with the purchase details so we may assist.

Regards,

Amanda

Price

Reviewed Jan. 14, 2022

We trusted Travelzoo to research their recommended vacations. A beautiful trip to Bali with 100% refund if you can’t go due to Covid restrictions. *** Jetline Vacations & Travelzoo will say anything to get your money. *** Bali is requiring a 14 day quarantine in their quarantine hotel. I’m not flying all the way to Bali to stay locked up in a government hotel only to fly home 10 days later for gobs of money. Jetline says they will not refund my money. They require I reschedule and I have to pay more to do that because the prices have gone up since we booked. We just want our money back.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Mary,

Thank you for sharing, I'm very sorry to hear that this happened. We would like to know more about your experience with Jetline. Please contact Travelzoo Customer Support at 877-665-0000 or email us with the details of the trip you booked so that we may better assist you with this.

Regards,

Amanda

Verified purchase

Reviewed Dec. 20, 2021

Booked a trip to Russia through Travelzoo with one of their partners Exoticca. It was one of their top 20 deals of the week. Long story short, we were in Poland (from the US) about to travel to Russia on an Exoticca fully paid trip. Exoticca notified us less than 24 hours before leaving that the trip was cancelled. Refunded approximately 1/3 of what we paid. Spoke to Travelzoo and they were absolutely no help in recovering the rest and continue to highlight Exoticca on their website. Exoticca has done this or similar to many people and yet Travelzoo continues to highlight them. Very disappointing, I thought Travelzoo cared more about their brand.

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Response from Travelzoo

Hello Barbara,

I'm very sorry to hear this happened and that you did not receive a full refund for your cancelled trip. I see that our team advocated on your behalf and received confirmation that Exoticca is in contact with you and that they have offered to refund you. Thank you for sharing that feedback.

Regards,

Amanda

Reviewed Dec. 14, 2021

We've used TravelZoo for 5 vacations so far (Maldives 2x, Thailand, St Vincent, Aruba) and have been VERY pleased. But keep in mind, ALL of these were vacations where we paid TravelZoo DIRECTLY and were with REPUTABLE, WELL-KNOWN hotels or companies (like Affordable World Tours or CheapCarribean). I don't know why TravelZoo continues to allow scammers like JetLine and Exoticca to offer deals when TravelZoo KNOWS they are not reputable. If your booking is not directly with TravelZoo (where they collect the $$ from you) then be sure to Google the travel agent/company FIRST.

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Verified purchase
Customer Service

Reviewed Dec. 2, 2021

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.

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