“It sounded like such a wonderful deal,” Ann Gray says ruefully, shaking her head. “Ten days in the capitals of Europe, first-class lodgings, meals included - for only $699. How could I turn it down?”
She certainly would have done so had she known the hotels were “first class” only according to the tour company's standards, that breakfast was a dry roll and weak coffee, and lunches weren't among those meals included. “And the dinners! We were lucky the nights we were on our own because the dinners that were provided were nearly inedible.”
The Back Page
Although trips like hers give travel a bad name, and deservedly so, Gray herself should accept part of the blame. The tour company's brochure wasn't all glossy color pictures and enticing prose. On the back page, easily ignored, was the fine print. If she'd read it carefully, she would have learned which meals she'd have to provide for herself. She would have discovered the meaning of “breakfast.” And she probably would have found the tour company's statement that it may substitute hotels “compatible with” or “equivalent to” those listed in the brochure.
Actually, she was spared some of the trade's crueler surprises. For example, most tour operators reserve the right to increase a tour's price - even after a customer has paid in full. They do this for their own protection, as hotels, restaurants, and airlines sometimes raise their prices despite the “firm” rates they initially offered the operator. Also, it's important to check the travel arrangements carefully - what looks like a nonstop flight could offer unexpected stopovers.
But it's not always “traveler, beware.” Some tour companies gout of their way to provide complete information. Maupintour, for example, includes extensive “what-if” details in its literature and publishes Speaking Frankly, a brochure that takes much of the typical travel hype out of its destination descriptions. American Express warns candidly of health concerns, among other things, in its five pages of fine print. And Olson-Travelworld even prints its “Terms and Conditions” in type larger than that of the rest of its brochure.
Its size notwithstanding, fine print can't cover everything. It's even possible that the company will go out of business, taking your money with it. And it's not only the fly-by-nights that today's traveler has to watch out for. Old-line companies like Hemphill-Harris and Caribbean Holidays recently have been forced into bankruptcy by cash-flow problems.
But if the company you've paid goes bankrupt before your trip, all may not be lost. It may attempt to make restitution. Also, if you've bought trip-cancellation insurance, your policy may partially reimburse you, although such policies are designed primarily to cover cancellations due to illness or accident. And even if you receive a full refund, it's often too late to make other arrangements, so your Hawaiian idyll may turn into a week at the local campground.
Some corporate failures are virtually impossible to foresee, but beware any tour operator that offers benefit too far in the future. Former travel agent Marian Stones recalls one cruise line (no longer in business) that
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