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Tauck's Gift of Time in 2013
There has been some discussion regarding the Gift of Time offer this year.
Thanks to those who have shared their thoughts on this year’s Gift of Time offer. We view the Gift of Time as a nice way to express our appreciation to our past guests – a little something extra and unexpected.
The Gift of Time began just two years ago. A key reason why we were able to first offer the Gift of Time was the close cooperation of our hotel partners. Two years ago our hotel partners were particularly keen to partner with Tauck to give value to our guests and secure room-nights for their properties, given recent economic events.
As both the global economy and tourism have recovered, and as occupancy rates in our hotels have returned to normal, our suppliers have not been able to offer us the same availability of rooms as we’ve enjoyed in the recent past. Thus, this year’s more modest incarnation of the Gift of Time.
We’re very pleased to be offering the Gift of Time for the third consecutive year. But like every other company, Tauck is impacted by the events that shape our world. We encourage you to enjoy the Gift of Time for what we’ve always intended it to be – an opportunity to provide you with additional value and a sincere gesture of our appreciation.
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Cheers,
Jan.
Is sarcasm the best you have to offer?? Come on now Jan. You are the expert, come up with a workable solution to the problem.
Since 29th October, I have been focused on other things. I am much more concerned about all those poor people on the north east coast of the United States than I am with one company's past and present marketing campaigns and other people's purchasing decisions. I am much more concerned with the people who are suffering such grief, tragedy and terrible hardship. I have been more concerned with how I could do something to help. Their suffering puts all else into perspective.
Jan
I have compared some of the tours that we took with Tauck with other companies (item by item), both by itinerary and price. When you see how many amenities are included by Tauck, the qualities of the hotels, the quality and number of meals included and the places on the itinerary to be visited in depth against the options offered by other companies, including their perks, there is very little doubt that Tauck is the better choice.
We will continue to travel with Tauck with or without the "Gift of Time" for all of our travel needs.
Bev
You took the words right out of my mouth. We are going on our 19th Tauck Tour in July 2013 and the two free nights were very nice, but were NOT the deciding factor when we chose Tauck. It was the service and the quality of the Tour Directors and local guides. We have never been disappointed. My husband just compared the various top companies doing Antartica and again chose Tauck over them for 2014. When we were on the Danube in Romania this past August, Tauck came through with wonderful service so we the customers would NOT be inconvenienced due to the Danube getting very low near the Black Sea. They gave the passengers on both portions of the river cruise vouchers to use when they returned home. Thank you Tauck for one free hotel night on our next tour in July 2013! We appreciate your service very much!
Sheila
I enjoyed the gift of two days on three of my previous 18 tours (I have two booked for the future already and will enjoy my one day gift of time). When you discuss "perks" for returning travelers, I feel that there are things embedded in the tours that make them worthwhile. Getting a private before hours tour of the Georgia O"Keefe Museum in Santa Fe or one of the National Archives during the On Hallowed Ground tour are perks to me. I Have been to the Archives and had to fight through crowds to see our country's documents but on that tour, there were only 40 of us with docents in there at the time. I understand that if you go to the Sistine Chapel, you will also have this perk. There are other things, such as ordering anything from the menu and not restricted to a special one, having rooms with excellent views, such as looking out on Lake Louise from the Chateau, and having someone meet me at the airport are "perks."
Maybe other companies offer things, however on the whole I have found that the quality of service and extensive itinerary of the Tauck tours is my priority and not "things". I look at where the tour is going and if it includes what I want to see, then I will book it. As I said in a previous reply to this topic, if there is another tour company that will offer me two free nights AND includes the extensive itinerary without having to purchase extras, then please let me know.
I'll just add another few words. First of all, no one is criticizing those people who find what they consider to be a better deal for themselves. We all have personal ideas as to what we want on a vacation and each of us has the right to go with any company that we wish. If this wasn't so, we wouldn't have the multitude of travel companies out there.
With that said, as we know, Tauck does not advertize and depends on "word of mouth" for their new customers. In my opinion, the Gift of Time is not a perk or incentive, because new customers do not have it offered to them, so it is what it is meant to be; a gift. When we received the "gift" for the first time, I thought "Isn't that nice to reward those who have taken previous trips with them". It is unfortunate that this Gift of Time has caused so much complaint to a company that tried to do something nice for their returning customers.
I hope that this post ends this thread.
Bev
A Tauck representative started this thread. I didn't see any of the other discussions, so I commented on his post.
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My wife and I were thrilled about the 2-day "Gift of Time" for our French Waterways and Vineyards river cruise this year, and we are equally thrilled about next year's 1-day. It's a "gift" . . . and gifts deserve a thank you. Thank you Tauck!
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The additional day is not an entitlement. Look at it for what it is. I choose Tauck for the total experience . . . and I personally have found the experience with them better than with any other company I've travelled with. Others may have a differing opinion, and that's fine for them. For me, it's Tauck!