We purchased a Travel Service Network membership in May from Roark Travel Service Network in Branson, MO.
The presentation was pretty high pressure but they made it look like you couldn't go wrong. We even asked them to tell us what a certain cruise would be (down to cabin category). It was one we had recently considered using. They were gone for a while then came back with a bunch of print outs & said we could get the cruise by being a member of TSN for $XXX. It sounded great—in fact too good to be true & we know how the rest of the saying goes. It was. We realize now we never saw anything that showed the figures were from THEIR website.
And, about the website. The FAM trips are (1) mostly to weird places that many people would not want to travel to (2) many are outdated by months & unusable (3) good rates require licensed/full time travel agent status.
After nearly a year & numerous tries at using the system for hotels, airfare & cruises I have received the following benefits:
1 wk. 50% disc. Rate at Holiday Inn Express & 1-night $20 disc. At a Ramada Inn. I have called many, many places which either say they've never heard of TSN or are only willing to discount their rates 10% which is the same discount we received through a senior or AAA rate (without spending thousands of dollars).
One of the selling points at the presentation was that we could save a great deal through TSN on airfares, specifically mentioning "bereavement fares". This fall I had occasion to need such a fare so I called TSN. They informed me "bereavement fares" can only be given by airlines. Hmmm!
At other times I have called to check on rates for cruises & airfares—their rates are always higher than those I can get myself on the internet. When I called and complained about their airfare quote being over $50 higher than what I found on the airline's website I was told they can't match internet specials... And the "Price Match Guarantee" is not applicable to airfare only quotes.
So, to any of you who are looking for a discounted travel service, my advice is just get on the internet & find your own cheapest rates. When you're told how much you can save over x number of years to pay for the membership, stop & think—you aren't saving thousands on a cruise or trip which will " soon pay for your membership". You are only saving the difference between what your rate would be & the travel club/membership rate & it is most likely going to take you a very long time to justify the thousands you spend to "save".in the meantime, what happens if the company goes out of business? Think about it!
Richard
California
U.S.A.
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