2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
TechnographSpring break scams trap UI students every year
Student Legal Services urges caution when signing contracts for vacations
By Meghan O'Kelly
Posted: 11/11/07 Section: News
As students formulate their plans for spring break 2008, Student Legal Services encourages travelers to err on the side of caution when planning a trip.
Thomas Betz, director of Student Legal Services, said he sees students fall victim to spring break travel scams every year. He said a tell-tale sign of a potential scam is a suspiciously low price.
"A price of $450 for a round trip flight and hotel in Florida for all of spring break - that figure is really too low," Betz said, explaining that some companies advertise artificially low prices and then charge nonrefundable deposits upon arrival.
Many spring break travel companies do not operate all year and are based out of a post office box, and students should also be wary of companies that solely exist for the purposes of student spring breaks, Betz said.
"You should know what airline you're on. You should have a ticket number," he said. "You might pay a little bit more, but you get a lot of guarantees with that."
April Thomas is the manager of Travel Cuts, 618 E. Green St., Champaign. She said students who choose to use a spring break company should be sure the company is a certified tour operator with the American Society of Travel Agents and has proof they have been in business for a significant amount of time.
"You have to use good sense like you would with anything else," Betz said. "If you're going to buy a package to go to any of these spring break destinations, you need to find out who you're dealing with."
It is untrue, Thomas said, that a spring break trip is best booked with a spring break company, but students who make reservations on their own need to do their homework.
"The last thing we want them to do is for them to get down there and have the hotel say, 'Sorry, we don't allow spring breakers,'" she said. "Spring break tends to give hotels a bad reputation."
Thomas said many companies do not give travelers all available information. She said she works with a company that requires clients to sign a 17-page contract with terms that allow the company to change trip dates within two weeks of departure.
Thomas Betz, director of Student Legal Services, said he sees students fall victim to spring break travel scams every year. He said a tell-tale sign of a potential scam is a suspiciously low price.
"A price of $450 for a round trip flight and hotel in Florida for all of spring break - that figure is really too low," Betz said, explaining that some companies advertise artificially low prices and then charge nonrefundable deposits upon arrival.
Many spring break travel companies do not operate all year and are based out of a post office box, and students should also be wary of companies that solely exist for the purposes of student spring breaks, Betz said.
"You should know what airline you're on. You should have a ticket number," he said. "You might pay a little bit more, but you get a lot of guarantees with that."
April Thomas is the manager of Travel Cuts, 618 E. Green St., Champaign. She said students who choose to use a spring break company should be sure the company is a certified tour operator with the American Society of Travel Agents and has proof they have been in business for a significant amount of time.
"You have to use good sense like you would with anything else," Betz said. "If you're going to buy a package to go to any of these spring break destinations, you need to find out who you're dealing with."
It is untrue, Thomas said, that a spring break trip is best booked with a spring break company, but students who make reservations on their own need to do their homework.
"The last thing we want them to do is for them to get down there and have the hotel say, 'Sorry, we don't allow spring breakers,'" she said. "Spring break tends to give hotels a bad reputation."
Thomas said many companies do not give travelers all available information. She said she works with a company that requires clients to sign a 17-page contract with terms that allow the company to change trip dates within two weeks of departure.
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Matthew Roberts
posted 1/21/08 @ 11:46 AM CST
Me and my buddies stayed at the Chateau Motel in Panama City Beach, FL last year and had a lot of fun! Damage deposit was only $100 which we paid when arrived and got it back when we checked out of motel We already reserved a room for four of us for this March and it only cost us $44. (Continued…)
Post a Comment