Is it me, or do you feel like, along with the negative economic impact COVID brought on our society, came the money hungry scammers preying on innocent, vulnerable people. The HBO series Generation Hustle and the thousands of scammers that emerged during the COVID pandemic, inspired and compelled me to spotlight and share a few stories about travel host scammers on my podcast, The Salad Toss, how to recognize a scammer, and avoid being scammed.
Listen to the full podcast episode here.
Travel hosts plan, coordinate, and facilitate trips, usually abroad (or they can be local trips), for a group of people. Based on Travel Hosts planning, they are supposed to determine the total cost of the trip per traveler. The total cost usually includes the round-trip flight and accomodations, hosting fees, and sometimes the meals and excursions.
These are some pointers you should keep in mind if you plan to attend a group trip coordinated by a Travel Host.
Do your own research
Before you pay your down payment on the trip, take time to research the following: flight costs, daily room rates for the area(s) you will be staying, typical meal cost, transportation, and any excursion(s) you're interested in trying. Having an idea of what you might spend if you traveled solo will give you an approximate cost of what the travel host should be charging. Now compare your researched total cost to what the host is offering.
Where is the written agreement?
Ask yourself, would you buy a house or have work done on your house without a contract?With any service there should be a written agreement, a contract, of the terms of conditions. Make sure you are receiving, in writing, not verbal agreement, of your itinerary, flight schedule (if applicable), hotel details, meal plans and excursions (if included). Double check with the host, if not written in the contract, if there is a money back policy. Is insurance included or do you have to pay for your own travel insurance in case you are not to be able to attend the trip? Is there fine print that you might have missed? You should attend a trip nor pay for anything in advance without receiving a written agreement.
Always ask questions before you pay
Are you still unclear about some details about the trip? There is a difference between being cautious versus being a nag. What you don't want happening is, you get to another country with the travel group and everyone is asking the host questions that could have been answered prior to the trip and in the agreement. If the contract does not answer all your questions, you should ask them before you pay.
Here are a list of questions you may want to ask:
What is the itinerary?
What is the cost breakdown of this trip? (i.e. flight, meals, hotel, excursions, transportation, etc.)
Does the cost include travel insurance? If not, how much is it and what insurance do you recommend?
Is there a "money back" policy in case of unforeseen emergencies?
Who is attending this trip?
We want to hear from you. Have you ever went on a group that was put together by a travel host? What was your experience like? Have you ever been scammed?
Please share in the comments section below.
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