Is Holiday Factory a SCAM??

My husband and I want to travel the world. Of course, like any other Filipinos, we are supporting our families back home. We have to be wise when it comes to spending money for travel. So far, we have been to Thailand and Georgia. We wanted to go to Tanzania to experience the safari but our set travel dates is around our wedding anniversary and we did not plan in advance. We were running out of time! I looked into Holiday Factory hoping to have an alternative plan. I said to my husband that my 2 colleagues from work have tried them already plus they are advertised in the radio. So I thought, let’s just buy their voucher.

It has an easy terms and conditions (so they say).

You can even decide the travel date (There's a catch at the end)

They have a countdown on their online deal so I hurriedly bought a voucher. There were 5 hours left before the deal was gone. I filled in my information and proceed to payment. Lo and behold, there is an administration charge fee of AED 72. Hmm… So our total was AED 7,270 for the Paris and Amsterdam holiday trip for 6 nights including the admin fee. I received an email shortly after with a booking reference number.

Excerpt of the email below:

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Inclusions: - Return flights from Dubai or Abu Dhabi with Royal Jordanian - 3 nights stay at Median Paris Congress hotel in Paris with breakfast - 3 nights stay at Ozo Hotel in Amsterdam with breakfast - Holiday Factory representative in Paris - Schengen standard Travel Insurance

(Upgrade to train Paris - Amsterdam: 999 AED: Travelling at speeds of 300 km/hr between these cities in just over 3 hours. (By bus it takes approx. 7,5 hours) Thalys offers speed, comfort and excellent service. If you wish to travel in luxury and save as much time as you can for sightseeing, then the Thalys is your best choice!)

Validity: Voucher is valid until 30.11.2018.

Notes: A) How to book your voucher: You can decide on your travel dates now or later, but before the expiry of this voucher. After deciding your travel dates, click on the link (www.holiday-factory.com/book/voucherbookingrequest) and write the traveler/s name/s and the desired travel dates in the form . We will send you the travel documents within 72 hours of completion of the form.

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Here's my timeline:

• 6 August - So I booked the voucher right away because I had already set an appointment with VFS Global for the Schengen visa application. It says they will get back with confirmation in 72 hours, right?

(Spoiler: They gave us a different date from what we have requested)

Preferred travel dates: 09 September 2018

Alternative travel date: 15 September 2018

• 9 August - I phoned their customer service line because there was still no confirmation. This is getting sketchy. My husband already submitted his annual leave and it is difficult to set a holiday in their company. Their customer service said they will get back to me in 25 hours because our ticket is still being confirmed with the airlines. I sent an email to their general email address the same day. (BTW, I sent a nice email.) They called me at 7:32 PM but I was not able to answer so I wrote them back via email.

• 11 August - I received a call from their customer service line saying that the available travel dates is 17 September - 23 September 2018. I need to provide confirmation by 11 August, 12 PM so they can book the ticket as there are only limited slots available. Seeing this is the only option provided to us, we said yes.

• 13 August - I sent a reminder email as there was no response from Holiday Factory if they were able to book our flights. I think I called their customer service as well. I don't remember anymore. Anyway, so we got our flight confirmation and travel documents for our Schengen Visa application.

Our flight:

That is right! So we have one stop over in Jordan.

• 6 September - I created a follow up on the bus ticket to Amsterdam as this should have been included in the travel voucher.

Hotel Booking:

Median Paris Congress Hotel (Paris, France)

Right, so I was very tired already with all the flights and travelling. So when we got to our hotel it was already night time. We also had to walk 10 minutes from the train station to our hotel with our luggage! (Taxi is too expensive!) We have wasted a day travelling.

Guess what? The elevators in this hotel is not working! Our room is in 4th floor! Let me break down the pros and cons.

Pros:

• The room is really clean.

• The staff are friendly.

• There is a proper coffee machine included with breakfast

Cons:

• You have to pay for tax before check in.

• Elevators are not working!

• It is 10-15 minutes walking distance from the train station

• The room space is too claustrophobic

• There was no refrigerator

• There was no shower curtain so the water goes to the bathroom floor that does not have drainage.

• There is no bidet!

• The breakfast menu does not change

• No kettle inside the room

• You will have to deposit money for borrowing the Iron and hair dryer. (My eyes are rolling!!)

Ozo Hotel (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

This hotel is 25-30 minutes away from the Central station which is the main attraction in Amsterdam. We had to make sure we are back in the hotel before the train station closes otherwise, our money would have been spent to taxi.

Pros:

• The room is very clean.

• There is a proper coffee machine included with breakfast

• They have a kettle with tea and coffee (I love drinking tea before going to bed)

• They have a small refrigerator

• They have a hair dryer, an iron and an iron board! (thank goodness!)

Cons:

• You have to pay for tax before check in

• There is no bidet!

• The breakfast menu does not change same as our hotel in France (But they have bacon!)

• It is far from the central station

I will post a separate blog for the hotel in Paris and Amsterdam.

Conclusion

Is Holiday Factory a scam? Maybe not, but there's a catch when you purchase their holiday voucher. When you are spending your hard earned money into flights and hotels, you want to make everyday count. You will only spend a few days in these countries. But because other people booked your flights, then chances are, they will give you the cheapest flight regardless of the time and how many transfers it takes.

• I did not like that the hotels are far from the main city or main attractions.

• When they advertise that you can choose your preferred travel dates but in reality, you won't, then that sucks. What if you are working in a company where you can't just easily take a holiday.

• It is also sometimes difficult to get through their customer service line. You will spend lots of minutes waiting.

• There was no Holiday Factory representative as they advertise. They come with a separate fee. They sent a brochure after the hotel and flight confirmation with the cost of travel tours in Paris. (Don't buy that! Just buy a Paris Pass)

• There are fees for this and that. So take time to read the terms and conditions before buying: http://www.holiday-factory.com/common/terms-conditions

I didn't like the feeling of uncertainty. This is probably the last time we will ever purchase from Holiday Factory. Yes, they have cheaper rates but they are a little sketchy. We can only travel a few times with our hard earned money and we, as a couple want to make every minute count.

If you have tried their services before, how was the experience? Was it good? Was it bad?