itravel2000 - positive reviews?

[jwei]

Hello all,

Just booked through itravel and potentially regretting my choice. Went with them since they were the cheapest however it seems all I can find online are complaints about them yet they manage to stay in business. Only other thread was dated back a few years. Has anyone lately used them with a positive experience?

Thanks in advance

[Insider]

used them 2 years consecutively.
1st (2010) was able to score what I thought was a great deal. however, they forgot to send me my itinerary, had to follow up.
2nd (2011) was able to score what I've come to realize was an amazing deal. no issues with anything afterwards.

to make a long story short. second year, I told the sales rep I would think it over (his offering), I ended up calling back saying that I would be going with someone else, as at the time he wasn't able to match the price, but within 5 minutes after we hung up, he called me back and offered a lower price than the competitor. I was quite pleased. turns out the price I paid trumped any I've ever come across for this resort and destination.

not sure what kind of issues you've read, but they've been helpful to me thus far.

[bilingualmk]

Even if they went out of business your booking is passed on to the tour operator once you have purchased your package. For a group package that I organized last fall, the CC charges all came from Nolitours rather than the reseller (RedTag). Tickets and hotel vouchers are also issued by the tour operator, not the aggregator. A colleague booked through itravel2000 for the same package that we booked through RedTag and had no issues at all. It seems that complaints start to come once people try and get "Price Protection" on their package.

[jacksorbetta]

I've used them for various things, most recently to book flights to Cancun. The prices are in line with everyone else, but I was able to redeem Petro Points to save some money. Painless process. An agent phoned me the next day after online booking to confirm I actually ordered/purchases those tickets before submitting to AC. I like how they don't just issue without verifying (saves on fraud!). The only downside I can see is that if you have to make changes, it's a bit of a hassle. They need to email their 3rd party and wait for responses. This part annoyed me, because when AC had an upgrade deal on Feb 29th, they never called me back to let me know if I could change my tickets. I'm guessing I lost out. :(. Otherwise, no problems.

[TMR7]

I've used this site about 4-5 times in the last 2-3 years and never a problem...and earning PP points for a future vacation is an added bonus!

[transitguy1]

I was able to find a great airfare on their website, the price went on a discount from $1200 to $890. I was surprised. I think the price was there for like 5 mins. After that iit went back to 1200....although there was a 950 available but bad travel timing,schedule.

Booked on their website, they email you a confirmation reservation number, although the booking reference by the airline is different, so had to call them to get the actual reference number, eticket number, etc........i booked at night so I called them in the next morning to get the information.
No issues yet though.

[royalbluff]

I just called iTravel2000.com today to inquire about a Cosmos tour quote and got a person named Steve. Since I know exactly what tour I wanted and for what date, and the tour code, I thought it was going to be a quick call. I was surprised when it was taking a long time for him to pull up the tour. He did not even know what Cosmos was, although the tour group is right on their web site. He said that he was unable to find it and even tried to Google "Cosmos" and could not find it, saying that the tour company probably does not exist any more or merged with someone. I was surprised by this and told him that I was just on the phone with four other agency's and they all gave me quotes for the same tour. I politely said that it is okay and that I would call another agency and he tried to keep me on the phone. I kept saying no thanks, that I would call someone else, and he flat out yelled "get out of here!" and hung up. Never once I have received this bad of a customer service from anyone. I can only imagine what kind of service they offer once you book anything through them.

[dawgbone]

I just called iTravel2000.com today to inquire about a Cosmos tour quote and got a person named Steve. Since I know exactly what tour I wanted and for what date, and the tour code, I thought it was going to be a quick call. I was surprised when it was taking a long time for him to pull up the tour. He did not even know what Cosmos was, although the tour group is right on their web site. He said that he was unable to find it and even tried to Google "Cosmos" and could not find it, saying that the tour company probably does not exist any more or merged with someone. I was surprised by this and told him that I was just on the phone with four other agency's and they all gave me quotes for the same tour. I politely said that it is okay and that I would call another agency and he tried to keep me on the phone. I kept saying no thanks, that I would call someone else, and he flat out yelled "get out of here!" and hung up. Never once I have received this bad of a customer service from anyone. I can only imagine what kind of service they offer once you book anything through them.

The escorted tours (Globus, Cosmos, Contiki, etc...) aren't nearly as popular in Canada as they are elsewhere and for the most part, agents in Canada know about the standard tour ops and not the escorted tours. I mean yeah it looks bad for him not knowing (and his reaction), but the fact of the matter is they sell so infrequently it's possible to get a junior to mid level agent who has never heard of them (or who did in training at one point but completely forgot about them).

And good luck getting the travel agents to know what is on the site (aside from promos and that). Most of them use a completely different system than the one the website uses.

[coolspot]

I had a bad experience making a group booking for 25+ people. The sales agent was rude and obnoxious (you would think he would care more considering that's like $40,000+ in sales). I ended up not booking with them and went with an independent travel agent.

That's my extent with iTravel2000 for what its worth.




The escorted tours (Globus, Cosmos, Contiki, etc...) aren't nearly as popular in Canada as they are elsewhere and for the most part

I've been on several of these tours, 30 - 40% of the travellers are Canadian. Rest are American and Australian and a couple Asians thrown in. I would say these tours are very popular in Canada. Problem is, iTravel2000 seems to focus on high volume, low cost, trips to the Caribbean... Tours that require more work to sell (such as these escorted tours) fall to the wayside at iTravel2000.

[royalbluff]

The escorted tours (Globus, Cosmos, Contiki, etc...) aren't nearly as popular in Canada as they are elsewhere and for the most part, agents in Canada know about the standard tour ops and not the escorted tours. I mean yeah it looks bad for him not knowing (and his reaction), but the fact of the matter is they sell so infrequently it's possible to get a junior to mid level agent who has never heard of them (or who did in training at one point but completely forgot about them).

And good luck getting the travel agents to know what is on the site (aside from promos and that). Most of them use a completely different system than the one the website uses.

Thanks, yes that what I figured. Anyway i immediately wrote a letter of complaint to their customer service and copied the CEO. I was surprised they replied right away. It is a nice gesture but it kind of ruined it for me already. I booked through someone else.

Good afternoon,

I thank you for taking the time to write to us. *I have since reviewed the
call. I have to agree with you that the call was not handled professionally.
He is a new agent and is still learning. I have had a meeting with him and
he has been reprimanded. I can assure you that this is an isolated incident.
I do apologize on behalf of Itravel2000 for the way the call was handled. I
would love to help you on your current inquiry and I sincerely hope that you
would give Itravel2000 another opportunity to serve you. Looking forward to
hear from you.

Thank you,

Kal
Sales Manager, itravel2000.com

[i6s1]

I used them for my wedding, about 35 people going to Los Cabos with Air Canada Vacations. Mostly great. Our wedding person had a car accident, and while she was away, we couldn't get anything done, my wife kind of had to freak out at them before anyone would do anything. Once our wedding person got back, everything was good again.