Are Love2Travel vouchers good value?

borrenots

I've been trying to find some information about these vouchers and I'm not having much luck elsewhere online. My partner and I are planning a holiday and may have the opportunity to claim some of these vouchers with points that have been saved, about £750 worth.

Having looked into it further though I see that we can't use these at a Travel Agent and instead have to call Love2Shop's own booking line. This has me thinking that we won't quite get the same deal as we would by booking directly through an agent as they could potentially give us an inflated price.

Does anybody have any experience of using these and if they were happy, etc? I'd like to know a bit more before we possibly go down this route.

Thanks!

stephb34

As you say you have to ring a special booking line so there's no face to face contact, they know you have the vouchers so can charge you what they want. If its like some other voucher lines you pay the full brochure price and don't get any discounts, but for these reasons I have never used them so I don't have any actual first hand experience of them.

Alan_Bowen

The booking line appears to be run by 'Park Travel' who are linked to Park Christmas Hampers, possibly the most expensive way of paying for Christmas known to mankind, so the chance of the holidays being sold being good value seems very remote indeed.

jcpearson

I was given a £100 Love2travel voucher as a gift from work. When I phoned, everything I suggested I was told it would be cheaper to book online. I was quite frustrated as they did not seem able to answer what I could use the vouchers for but sent me by email a list of which operators they worked with!!! When this arrived, two of the operators I had asked to use the voucher s against were on the list!!! I am about to do battle again now I have the 'list' in front of me. If no success, I think I will go to Fair Trading as this has clearly been missold.

Moto2

jcpearson wrote: »

I was given a £100 Love2travel voucher as a gift from work. ...................... If no success, I think I will go to Fair Trading as this has clearly been missold.

I suspect as a gift, it'll be a tad difficult to claim you were mis-sold anything at all

DocProc

I think these Love2travel holiday vouchers need a bit of further explanation.

I am now trying to use one of these voucher cards to buy a cruise. Obviously, I fully appreciate, that the holiday companies themselves do not accept Love2Travel vouchers as part payment towards a holiday.

What does happen is that many holiday companies deal with travel agents and do not deal directly with holidaymakers - as is the norm. A typical travel agent is ATOL bonded, etc, etc, etc, etc.

So:
1. I am a holidaymaker and I want to have a holiday with a holiday company.
2. The holiday company don't take Love2Travel vouchers direct as part payment.
3. Love2Travel is the name on the holiday gift voucher (similar to Love2Shop).
4. Instructions on the back of the voucher tell voucher holders to book their holidays through the Love2Travel hotline 0845 77 4444 (or speak to their experienced travel team).
5. The actual travel agent is Park Travel Limited. This is the travel agency who are used to 'cashing' in the voucher. Park Travel Limited is a subsidiary company of Park plc.
6. See Park plc at http://www.parkgroup.co.uk/ and also notice on that web site page the mention of Love2Shop's business reward services.
7. See all the Park Group's products at: http://www.parkgroup.co.uk/productsaspx.aspx

Job done. Cruise booked. And importantly, the Love2travel voucher used as part payment to Park Travel Limited, the travel agents who boked my cruise.

You will appreeciate, how I spoke to both the cruise line sales lady to get my details all ready before I then spoke to Park Travel Limited as travel agents to tell them all my holiday details.

Actually, the lady at the cruise line, hadn't heard of Love2travel vouchers. So she asked her manager: "No. We do NOT accept Love2travel vouchers."

A few more bits of explanation from me: "Oh yes, We DO deal with travel agents. Yes, we have heard of Park Travel Limited (the travel agents in Liverpool) and the Park Group plc. Sorry for the misunderstanding and confusion. Yes. We now understand you will be using your voucher to pay the travel agent, not us. The travel agent will be paying us (after no doubt deducting their commission) and processing all of the paperwork."

Thank you, Stuart at Love2Travel. Actually I should say, that's Stuart at Park Travel Limited. Tel: 0151 4887109, the Liverpool travel agents.

DocProc

One other important comment:

We actually are paying for our own travel direct to the ship. We therefore got a discount for not requiring the cruise line's car and driver.

We also have our own travel insurance, so we got additional discount for not requiring the cruise line's holiday insurance.

We've travelled with the cruise line several times before and qualified for a further £300 per person discount for this.

ALL of these discounts added up and were kept for us against the total price. We didn't lose out on anything.

Don't forget that the Park Group plc are exactly that: "namely, a plc". They do have to deal honouraby and fairly with holiday makers who use their Love2travel holday vouchers.

richardw

DocProc wrote: »

....Don't forget that the Park Group plc are exactly that: "namely, a plc". They do have to deal honouraby and fairly with holiday makers who use their Love2travel holday vouchers.

....and not competitively.

So why bother?

DocProc

I'm a retired business man so i haven't been in front of the sales rep from Park to hear what the sales pitch is.

But there has to be some benefit to the companies and business who buy these vouchers to give to their employees.

I would guess, that Park's corporate customers can buy the vouchers at a discount to face value. The more they spend, the higher the discount, etc. A bit like buying £50 notes for, say £48 sorta kinda, but they have to be spent on specific items like, well in this case, holidays. The list of holiday companies that Park Travel Limited, as travel agents deal with is extremely large. Check it out for yourself.

When these firms in turn dish them out to their employees for bonuses or in house sales competitions or for whatever reason, then there just has to be some remunerative benefit.

Do they count as remuneration for Employers Liability for National Insurance? Probably not. I don't know and I could be wrong. Can anyone confirm on this?

Are such travel vouchers classed as an alternative to financial remuneration and therefore, NOT subject to Income Tax for the employee concerned who has received them? Probably not. I don't know and I could be wrong. Can anyone confirm on this?

Link to HMRC: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employee-incentive-awards

Anyhow, the point being, that there has to be some benefit to the corporate customers who buy them from Park Group. And surely, there has to be some benefit to be gained in giving these things out to employees too. Yes? No? Surely, it's a Yes.

Park Travel Limited are the sole travel agents for these travel vouchers. So in turn, they are earning the typical travel agent's commission of between say, 10% and 17% on each holiday they sell, that has the Love2travel vouchers to go with the purchase price of the holiday.

So the list of people benefiting from the use of them has to be as follows:

The Park Group on the profit they make selling them.
Corporate buyers.
Employees who receive them.
Park Travel Limited as travel agents.
The holiday companies.

The employees are encouraged to get every detail on the holiday they want before they confirm all of it to Park Travel. Then Park Travel do all the paperwork, deal with the holiday company and arrange the actual booking as an ATOL registered travel agent . They act as the vehicle to cash in the voucher for the holiday maker and then pay for the holiday as any regular and reputable travel agent normally would. They are part of the Park Group plc, who are also very well known for Love2Shop gift cards too. These latter are accepted by all the big stores, such as M&S, Amazon, Tescos, Sainsbury's, John Lewis, B&Q, etc.

Park Travel Limited seem to be doing such a ton of business from the use of these holiday vouchers, that they don't need to open a high street shop. The voucher sales volumes are now obviously massive.

DocProc

richardw

As a potential holiday maker:

Find out the holiday you want from the list of holiday companies who Park Travel Limited deal with.
ie. the list of holiday companies on the Love2travel list numbers 200.
Get all your details:
Holiday Ref;, Room number/Cabin number; Reservation reference number; the price of your holiday deal and what in includes (eg. full board, drinks included, car hire for a week, return flights, departure airport, arrival airport, class of seats, etc, etc)
Now you can talk to Park Travel Limited, tell them EXACTLY what your holiday is and what it costs and let them book the holiday for you as your travel agent.

What is in it for Park Travel Limited?

Well, you've just about done ALL the work at the stage yuo start to talk to them. You can give Park Travel, who are ATOL registered, etc, ALL the details. They then take your Love2travel Voucher Number and Security Number from you, calculate the balance owing on the holiday and tell you about it, do all the paperwork, book your holiday and send you the Statement and the Final Bill.

I guess they are then going to earn around 10%-18% (it could be more, it could be less - I'm guessing) in commission on your holiday.

You then get the holiday and you've cashed in your voucher. In the doing of it, you've dealt with a VERY REPUTABLE company too.

fifeken

DocProc wrote: »

I think these Love2travel holiday vouchers need a bit of further explanation. <snip>

I realise you've dug up an old thread, but you're description is similar to what I've picked up recently, although I wasn't aware of the Parks link.

I have several hundred pounds of e-vouchers, there's nothing I really need from their regular retailers, and like to thnk of these vouchers as supplying a treat, so hope to spend them on flights/holidays.

As I got them for nothing essentially, even if I pay a few quid extra by dealing with Love2Shop holidays, I'm overall paying less than I would otherwise have done.