This past weekend I blogged about a $200 off coupon at Travelocity for air and hotel vacation packages of at least three days. You could book the hotel in a separate city from the air travel meaning that there were amazing deals to be had. Some folks found hotels in South or Central Asia that were about $10 a night, yielding $170 off airfare using the coupon.
The deal had been around for several weeks and was in its last days when it became publicly known.
The terms and conditions said:
The promotional code (the Promo Code) for $200 is valid between 12:01 a.m. Central Time on July 2, 2012 and 11:59 p.m. Central Time on August 4, 2012 (the Promotion Period) or until it reaches the redemption limit of 3,500 redemptions.
Your use of the Promo Code on the www.travelocity.com Web site (the Site) is subject to the Travelocity User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
The Promo Code is valid only for qualifying purchases made on the Site. A qualifying purchase means a three-night or longer Hotel+Flight Vacation Package which is offered on the Site during the Promotion Period. Travel dates must be between July 2,2012 and December 31, 2012.
Qualifying Hotel+Flight Vacation Package purchase requires a minimum spend of $200 and should be booked immediately following your qualifying air booking.
To redeem the Promo Code, you simply type NFB2012 into the Promotional Code field on the Checkout Review Page of the Site, and $200 will be automatically deducted from the final price of your qualifying Hotel+Flight Vacation Package .
You may only redeem the Promo Code once and only during the Promotion Period.
You may not redeem or exchange the Promo Code for cash. You may not use or combine the Promo Code with any other promotional codes. If lost or stolen, the Promo Code will not be replaced.
Travelocity prohibits posting the Promo Code on the Internet or any public forum, or forwarding the Promo Code to any other person.
In the event of any violation of these Terms & Conditions, Travelocity reserves all of the rights and remedies available to Travelocity including charging your credit card for the amount of the Promo Code not to exceed $200, canceling your reservation without a refund to you, and all other remedies available to Travelocity.
TRAVELOCITY MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO PROMOTIONAL CODES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN THE EVENT A PROMO CODE IS NOT FUNCTIONAL, YOUR SOLE REMEDY, AND THE SOLE LIABILITY OF TRAVELOCITY SHALL BE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE NON-FUNCTIONING PROMO CODE.
Travelocity reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time in its sole discretion.
The terms said they reserved the right to cancel reservations that were booked outside of these terms and conditions. But as far as I can tell, everyone with a successful booking complied with the terms and conditions.
Commenter Mad Mad Mad shares the text of Travelocity’s cancellation email:
Recently you booked a vacation package at http://www.travelocity.com using the promo code NFB2012. Based on our review of the details of your reservation, we have determined that you were not eligible to use the promo code and, therefore, we have cancelled your reservation.
If you received the promo code when you attended the 2012 National Federation of the Blind National Convention in Dallas, and feel you have received this message in error, please contact us at 1-866-211-1731.
Sincerely,
Travelocity Customer Care Team
Except that nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that one would have to have received the promo code by attending a Dallas event.
And in fact, that wasn’t Travelocity’s position when the coupon was introduced. They even tweeted publicly about it! Here’s a Google cache of their tweet:
(And while it was clearly intended for members of the National Federation of the Blind, the terms and conditions did not so limit it,and many folks who read about the deal here joined the NFB concomitantly.)
Reports in the comments of my original post suggest that reservations are actually still intact, though Travelocity has indicated their intention to cancel them.
It will be interesting indeed to see how this plays out.
Update: Here’s the link to the original Tweet above from NFB_Voice, which the graphic suggests to me was re-tweeted by Travelocity.
Update 2: It just gets stranger and stranger. Travelocity seems to be sending out cancelling emails indicating that they aren’t providing full refunds, but rather imposing a cancellation fee. That has to be an error on their end. I wouldn’t get too worked up about those emails just yet!
Update 3: Funniest thing of all? It looks like the promotion code is working again! Perhaps after cancelling reservations they are back below the maximum usage cap for the discount. And it was supposed to be valid through August 5, after all…
The question is what we should do?
Call Travelocity or just wait
Interesting new detail about that Twitter post!
I’m all for going after airlines/OTA’s for not honoring mistake pricing but I wont bother with this one. It felt wrong booking it in the first place and I’m not entitled to the coupon. Would just let it go.
“The question is what we should do?
Call Travelocity or just wait”
Suggest just wait. and by the public twitter message, you could also join NFB afterwards to become a member to be “eligible”
My reservation was cancelled this morning.
The tweet clearly said it is for NFB members: “National Federation of the Blind”, not anyone and everyone.
Got a cancellation notice too. I didn’t know it was for NFB members when I booked it so I won’t feel bad with it gone.
Do you really think they cross referenced the names to the NFB member list? I doubt it. They really can’t cancel this one.
There has to be a point when the mileage/travel game becomes an addiction, and I have to think mapping out strategies to take advantage of a promotion specifically targeted for the blind is a sign you are crossing that line. Chill everyone, there will be more deals 🙂
@Ren I am quite certain they did not cross reference names of folks who are NFB members since they apparently cancelled some people that joined!
My theory is that they didn’t cap the usage to 3500, and that would be a very, very bad thing for Travelocity if true.
The code worked for far, far too long to have only been redeemed 3500 times.
Travelocity prohibits posting the Promo Code on the Internet or any public forum, or forwarding the Promo Code to any other person.
Looks to me like this was violated, and is likely how most people found out about the code.
It’s $10 to be a NFB member at large.
@LV – (1) it was violated by me, then, for posting this. Not by the people who booked (2) I wasn’t a party to any agreement on use of the code, since I didn’t book with it. (3) They then violated their own T&C when they tweeted it, no?
anyone filed a DOT complaint yet?
I tried calling. The guy at the Indian call center said I was confirmed. He said he hadn’t received any cancellation on his end.
they tweeted the code, and NFP also published it on facebook. Thus, it was available to everyone. Nowhere in the terms & conditions did it say you have to attend a convention. I am feeling really strong about having the law on my side on this one.
(if it is ethical correct, that is another question)
I was told they will have a decision in an hour (would be after 11 am PT).
Is that tweet from travelocity or NFB?
>>Travelocity prohibits posting the Promo Code on the Internet or any public forum, or forwarding the Promo Code to any other person.>>
Perhaps their position is that any use resulting from a violation of this T&C is invalid.
@sb – it appears the tweet came from the NFB_voice twitter account which is the official NFB one.. Not quite sure how to interpret that one.
I read the terms. Used it once. Met all the conditions and now they are going to cancel? Seriously?
Tells me to never ever use Travelocity again if they would pull this kind of @#$%.
@huh – Its a great way to make sure they don’t EVER have to honor the promotion! Travelocity offered the discount to gather goodwill but never intended to honor them! 🙂
What if someone who used this promo and use one of the portion (either hotel or air) before they cancel it?
Screw Travelocity.
My mother in law and father in law are both members, and since the twitter message says “offered to members of the nfb” it should be fine to use. It doesn’t say it’s only for them, only that it was offered to them, what those members decided to do with that information (the promo code) is up to them. Nowhere does it say you MUST have attended the Dallas conference, just sayin
Just got my email saying it was cancelled.
Just another conversation to follow:
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/dead-travelocity-com-200-off-3-nights-greater-air-hotel-package-no-min-spend-1206688/20/
But I am a senior citizen . . .
Just called. The indian agent said there will be a further decision in two hours.
I did not realize it was for the Blinds when I booked, so I don’t feel bad if it is cancelled… this being said, if there were more than 3500, all the ppl who had the “right” to the deal could use it, so I don’t know whether I should actually feel bad about using it…
I dont think its easy as they make it seem. I am sure the airlines would not allow travolcity to cancel reservations without charge
Apparently The Roaming Gnome needs to use his reading glasses before approving promotions…
…or using Twitter
I just called and got the same answer, to call back in 2 hours as there is a “TEAM” working on it. He said right now the reservations are still intact but to call back in 2 hours when a decision will be reached. I am ok if they make me pay the $200 discount I received, even though I did become a member of the NFB to use this code, I just don’t want them to cancel my reservation! The flights are more now 🙁
@bluto
That’s a good one!
@gary
Point taken
It was a scam to begin with. how can blind people see the code, nonetheless book the trip.
This whole issue would have been completely avoided if Travelocity hadn’t been lazy and had just given each NFB member a unique code instead of a generic code. It is the internet, what did they expect was going to happen?
+ 1 for frequent flyer university comment
So, can you even book a hotel that isn’t even close to where you are flying to anymore? I just went to look at it and tried, and it won’t let me at all…keeps bringing up the city i’m flying to…cleared cookies and everything.
I spoke to one airline in Pacific NW about this after I received the email from Travelocity.
Apparently, according to this airline representative at the elite desk, Travelocity could cancel the ticket and not have to pay the funds to the airline. Interesting how Travelocity never takes that position when it would help me out.
Hard to know exactly what will happen, but I sure like the way Travelocity handled Vegas $300 off coupon better.
@Mad Mad Mad — the Vegas $300 off was Expedia.ca, not Travelocity
“Except that nowhere in the terms and conditions does it say that one would have to have received the promo code by attending a Dallas event.”
Comments like these is why some T&Cs and Agreements are 40 pages long and results in no one reading it. What happened to the good old days of not nit picking over every single word. This promo was not for you. Pure and simple. Move On. Don’t wait “to see how this plays out.”
@DrSifu – I have no stake in this, I didn’t book any tickets with the promo. My point is that they are telling people they are cancelling unless the people who booked tickets were present at a specific event in Dallas. Which makes no sense because not only do the terms and conditions not say anything of the sort, they even tweeted the discount, at at least retweeted it.
Why don’t your guys use Social Media to PUSH them open their mouth?
I don’t get it. Travelocity sent out an email and say they will cancel everything. Now their call center said they will hear final decision in 2 hours. Does it mean Travelocity is reconsidering their statement?
Or they are too lazy to tell their people to cancel
+1 Bluto (post 27)…that was marvelous!!!! An absolute gem!
Them twitting the code is against their own rules ……. They are beyond clueless
Them twitting the code is against their own rules . They are beyond clueless
looks like they might be fully charging our credit cards before the 200 discount
they are cancelling now, charging 200 USD as panalty. unbelievable.
Yo, Dr. Sifu, nice! Blame the consumers. That’s genius. You work for the travel companies?
Remember that its the companies who designate these these terms and conditions–often for their own benefits–and the reason we as consumers have to nit-pick is to temper large companies’ false advertising and/or taking advantage of customers. For instance, if a consumer looks to cancel a reservation or return a product, companies will point to specific stipulations in the terms and conditions contracts to point out why they are allowed to keep the consumer’s money (when, let’s be honest, one less customer means very little to a large company). If companies can hold consumers to certain contracts, shouldn’t consumers be able to do the same? Moreover, as Frequent Flyer University said, Travelocity could have avoided this with unique promo codes, easily generated for and distributed to the specific customers.
I’m not looking to take anything away from those who “deserve” the promotion and I think the whole affair is iffy, but I, for one, am tired of always being at the mercy of corporate dictations. It is important to build in protections for individuals and we, the individuals, have to enforce these (or “nit-pick”, as you put it) to avoid being taken advantage of. It is called “checks and balances” and American Capitalism is predicated on it. It is a far from a perfect system, but as long as companies are benefiting from it, we might as well, too.