School will be out for summer next month, making this a perfect time to start your vacation planning. You can help ensure your travel plans remain fun and relaxing by taking time to carefully research your options before booking.
Reports to BBB Scam Tracker ranked travel, vacation and timeshare-related fraud as the 10th riskiest type of scam in 2023, moving up from 13th in 2022. Reports on the schemes increased by 59.6% and held a median loss of $543 per case.
The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network reports that travel, vacation and timeshare-related fraud cost U.S. consumers $122 million in losses and accounted for 22% of all fraud reported to the agency in 2023.
When you're looking for a good deal for a family vacation or getaway, you want to be careful with tempting offers for vacation packages or other deals at unrealistically low prices. This includes third-party booking companies that offer to manage your vacation planning.
While some offers may be valid, you'll want to do considerable research and document all details to help identify the great offers from the bad deals. BBB.org is a great place to start. You can check out companies and find reputable travel agencies, hotels, rental car agencies and other travel-related businesses.
Here's additional tips to help you ensure an enjoyable vacation:
Plan ahead. Allow plenty of time to research hotels, flights and your stay area. Typically, the earlier reservations are made, the better the deals and the lower the risk of the destination being booked solid.
Avoid broad internet searches. Entering phrases like "best deals" into whichever search engine is used can sometimes bring up websites that look official or sound similar to well known, reputable brands, but are designed solely to get your money with little or no value in return. Be sure to double check website links and know whose site you are searching.
Be alert for travel scams. Watch out for phone calls or letters claiming a "free trip" or websites offering prices that appear too good to be true. It's easy to extend questionable offers like these, but most leave hopeful travelers in limbo — and out of money.
Do your homework. Ask family and friends to recommend a travel agent or website and visit BBB.org for free business profiles and to locate BBB accredited businesses offering the services. Research each business you're considering and read complaint details and customer reviews, including those for any rentals under consideration.
Get trip details in writing. Before making any payments, be sure you have all trip details in writing. This should include the total cost, restrictions, cancellation penalties and names of the airlines and hotels. If you're using an agent or booking firm, it's highly recommended you verify your reservations directly with the airlines and hotels to ensure the bookings are in place and confirm again just before your departure. Review and keep a copy of airline and hotel cancellation and refund policies, as well as the cancellation policies of the travel agency or booking site used.
Consider travel insurance. Travel insurance covers things like trip cancellations or medical emergencies. There are various levels of coverage based on what type of plan purchased. You'll want to ask questions and read the fine print to see what's covered and what's not before deciding if a plan is the right choice for you.
Pay with a credit card. Paying with a credit card provides additional protection if something should go wrong with the travel reservation.
No matter when or where you are traveling, take extra precautions to protect yourself:
Wait to post on social media. It's fun to post adventures with friends and family, but it's best to wait until you return from your trip as these posts can let thieves know your house is empty.
Check your home insurance. If your home will be unattended while away, make sure you know your responsibilities under your home insurance policy. You may want to ask family or a friend to check on your home, as some policies do not cover damage if nobody checks on your home for a while.
Keep safety top of mind. Use a hotel safe to store extra cash and keep valuables under lock and key and only use secure Wi-Fi if connecting your phone or computer to the internet.
Shred Day is April 13
A proactive step toward protecting your identity is to safely shred unneeded documents and/or hard drives that contain personally identifiable information and banking information. You can do this for free at BBB's next Shred Day.
The bi-annual event will be 9 a.m.-noon April 13 in the parking lot of Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 2111 W. Shepherd Road in Chattanooga. Location is near Exit 1A/Airport off Highway 153.
In addition to bringing paper documents and hard drives for destruction, electronics can also be brought for recycling and outdated or unneeded prescription drugs can be dropped off for safe disposal.
Please limit documents to three large trash bags per person and limit hard drives to four per person. For more information, please visit bbb.org/Chattanooga or call your BBB at 423-266-6144.
Thank you to our event partners: Resource 1 Tier 3 Data Security, Hamilton County Coalition, River City Shredding, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Cumulus Media Chattanooga, First Horizon Bank, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.
Staff photo / Chattanooga Better Business Bureau President Michele Mason