To Groupon Or Not To Groupon: Booking Vacations?

Have you ever been scrolling through Groupon and you come across deals for resorts or hotels that seem totally unreal? That was me earlier this year when I was trying to find affordable options to book for my spring break trip. I came across an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic that was as low as $108 a night, and took a leap of faith and booked for five nights. Well... I actually did a lot of research before booking the trip, so I am going to share with you what I learned and if I would book through Groupon again.

I actually discovered that there were hotel and resort listings on Groupon from a travel TikTok influence I follow. Her username is @travel.w.lex and she focuses on finding ways to travel on a budget. She posted the listings on Groupon and I immediately downloaded the app to check them out. I spent the next couple of months revisiting the listings until finally deciding to do some research and seeing how legit these listings were.

Admittedly, I did not find a ton of information about booking a resort through Groupon outside of Reddit. At the time, no one really seemed to be talking about this. I did find a couple comments on TripAdvisor asking about booking with Groupon, but the ones who responded were the hotels that created the listing.

After reading through several Reddit posts, I found that most people seem to have success when booking with Groupon. However, it is advised to call the hotel after making your reservation to confirm that they received your information. There were some instances that Groupon confirmed, but there were no records on the hotel's end. So calling to confirm can help eliminate that issue arising.

Another thing I discovered is that if you are worried about booking through the Groupon site or app, you can call the resort or hotel and see if they will honor the deal listed on Groupon if you book directly with them. It may also be helpful to call to ensure the listing is not too old and therefor will not be honored anymore, because sometimes hotels forget to take them down.

Also on Reddit, former Groupon employees commented that explained how to see if a listing had a high success rate. One user wrote:

"I worked for Groupon for two years. They are all legit, just make sure to read reviews for deals. Also when you’re looking at the URL, check out the end of the link. If it says (for example) ga-china-18, that means the trip has been offered 18 times — usually a sign that it’s a pretty buttoned-up and successful trip. If it just says ga-china-1 or anything like that I would maybe wait for a different deal." Sarcasm_itsagift

Overall, my experience booking with Groupon was a breeze. I was incredibly nervous on my way to the resort up until we were actually checked in. But we were able to check in with out any problems and truly enjoyed our stay. The resort also knew we booked with Groupon, so there were no surprises on their end.

If you want to book with Groupon, I suggest doing your research first. Read reviews on both Groupon and for the hotel. See if you can find others who have purchased the Groupon on TripAdvisor, Reddit, or other platforms. The more research you do and precautions you take, the better off you will be booking your next trip with a Groupon!