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Gift of Time
My travel agent has informed me that Tauck is discontinuing the GOT - we just booked a trip for Oct. 2023 and I was told I needed to book by the end of July in order to get the additional hotel night.
It's unfortunate that Tauck needs to take this away - there are so many loyal travelers who enjoy these perks. Plus, one really needs to arrive one day prior to any tour, given the airline/airport craziness these days.
Thoughts?
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They moved up the dealine for GoT this year, but are sure your TA didn't mean it's discontinued for the rest of this year, after 7/31 (for which a letter several months ago), rather than permanently?
Every year there is a deadline to book a tour and receive the gift of time.
Also you can always ask for additional days at the Tauck hotel pre or post tour. You pay their contracted rate which has always included breakfast anytime we've done it.
BKMD is correct. The booking date for the gift of time changed, not the gift of time itself.
Tauck made it clear months ago that the deadline for GOT was the end of July this year. In the past it was September. I think when we started traveling with Tauck, there was no gift of time. As far as I know, they have not discontinued it. Even if you book in the time, it is not guaranteed if all the rooms have gone. That’s why I still think it is better to deal with Tauck directly as you are their customer and and not the Travel agent. Some of us have already booked tours for mid 2024.
My TA always books the GOT when she books my reservation. Never a problem.
Our TA is a certified Tauck TA and we’ve always gotten the GOT also. They know how to deal with Tauck as it’s what they do everyday for a living - and it’s always been seamless
She knew about the canceling of all Xmas market cruises last year before anyone on this forum did and she had us rebooked for this year with loft rooms before anyone else even knew the ships weren’t sailing last year. If we’d have waited for Tauck to tell us the Xmas market cruises were canceled for 2021, the 4 loft rooms we got for this year would’ve been gone- us using a TA has always worked to our advantage
Some of my coworkers book directly with Tauck and I really never see the advantage of it compared to what we get by using our TA - I think it’s fine either way people prefer- but we’ve never ever missed anything by using a TA
We still get the Tauck emails- so we know when GOT must be used- but our TA always reminds us also
Yes Terrilyn, you have a good TA. But SGF”s TA gave her wrong information. We have three 2023 trips booked and all have gift of time
Sgf, may have misunderstood the TA. We booked a new tour for 2023 last night directly with Tauck and got our Gift of Time. The agent didn't say anything about it ending other than this year's book by date of 31 Jul.
Just booked Iceland 2023 this week and got the Gift of Time.had to be booked by July 31st. Booked directly with tauck.
Tauck just moved the dateline from the end of Sept. as it used to be to end of July this 2022. They have NOT, canceled for good... maybe next 2023 they might announce the future cancelation.. but for now, it's on and any trip booked before due day; for 2023
they give Tauck the one free night and they pass it on to us.
BTW (by the way), this is something offered by the hotels.. "book 3 nights 4th free.."
Tauck rarely stays three nights in one hotel these days
Are they at the beginning or end of the tours?
Dwarika’s is a wonderful property…we stayed there in the middle of our trip too. Loved Nepal…hope you get a great view of Mt. Everest when you go!
I seem to remember that in the past the Gift of Time for cruises expired earlier than land tours. The expiry date has not affected us these days since we book so far in advance. I know that when we had cancelled tours with a GOT and rebooked after the normal date, Tauck allowed us the GOT. :-)
We’ve never had a problem with GOT. But then, we book pretty far in advance. We already have 3 tours booked in 2023, and we are waitlisted for Iceland for 2024. Also, a nice thing that Tauck provides—if you book additional pre- or post-nights, the GOT is applied to the more expensive hotel.
GOT has changed over the years. At one time Tauck did not offer it for XMAS Mkts cruises.
It was interesting, last month when I was booking a tour for next year. Even before I asked, the Tauck agent reminded me I qualified for the GOT.
We have the Australia/NZ trip booked for next year. Our reservation shows the hotel in Melbourne as “on request” and no where is GOT shown. I was worried about the 7/31 deadline so I called yesterday (got thru immediately!) and they assured me that once the hotel contract is finalized, it would be listed. I with all this talk about the deadline, I wanted to be sure.
mfrancis - when are you traveling to Australia/NZ? I'm on the February 23rd tour with a friend.
gladysorlando984…October 23. Does your reservation show the Melbourne hotel confirmed yet?
I booked the Ireland trip for next year and was told the same thing. I was also worried and called back and got the same answer from another rep.
Routine- they won't put it on the Summary of Purchase if there is no contract or room rate. It is part of their accounting process. For the GOT, the SOP shows a charge, then a credit for the same amount, so if there is no rate yet they can't show it.
Totally understand, Alan, I’ve had “on request” before…but when GOT isn’t reflected on your reservation and there’s a deadline of 7/31, we needed to confirm they had it in our record to be sure there wouldn’t be an issue.
Yes, the summary doesn't always list everything. For our trip next year we asked for a night at the beginning and 2 at the end. They couldn't confirm there would be availability for the second night at the end so it isn't shown but the other charges and GoT rebate are.
Also fyi, in the past we've discussed situations where what happens when one hotel was more than the other would Tauck rebate the cheaper. Nope. One hotel is $424 and the other is $583. GoT rebate was $583. Though I'm not sure that charge will remain as is. We didn't notice it until after we got off the phone with Tauck but that hotel is nowhere listed as the hotel for this tour. Not on the website for this year or next, not in the 2023 catalog, etc. And at the bottom of the summary it actually says 2023 tours will be staying at the hotel we had expected to stay at. Oh well, a year to figure it out.
mfrancis - It's too early on my tour for the hotel to be confirmed, I do know I have the GOT.
It always makes me nervous when I see the Summary of Purchase doesn't show a GOT or other pre/post stay. "Almost" every time I called to verify when I didn't see it, I was told they had my request on file. I say "almost" because one time it wasn't on file when I booked very early in the process. I made my case and the GOT was added. I think they need to add a statement like "pre/post-stay on request" to the SOP.
FYI, I believe Tauck records every call, so if there is some question about what was said, agreed to, etc. they should be able to review and verify the call specifics. I was researching something Tauck related on the Internet and ran across a Better Business Bureau complaint against Tauck. Certain claims were made by a customer that were not true. Tauck Customer Service responded with quotes from the call transcript that refuted the customer's claims. They even offered to provide the customer with a copy of the audio!
Yes Alan, I read that on BBB ages ago!
Alan, I also sent an email to info@tauck.com so there would be a record of that. Plus the posts here. We think alike!
Funny, I just got the confirmation with the GOT. Coincidence that I called on Saturday!
If you do a before and after GOT, they automatically rebate the more expensive hotel. That’s their policy.