Should You or Not Use Viator for Your China Tours - A Must-Read - A Critical Review
Are you in China or are planning to visit China for a tour and plans to use Viator.com to book some china tour package and are wondering if you should or shouldn't? Or, are you contemplating whether or not they're reliable, trustworthy or competent? If you were, then patiently continue reading as the article is informed by extensive actual testimonies of tourists who have used Viator. We will in the article, thus, address issues like: does Viator guarantee you wonderful tour experiences; what is their pricing, handling of tour problems, communication or response to complaints, refund attitudes and tour descriptions like?
We start the exposition with a quick talk on what Viator is - this is important and relevant. With over two million (2,043,691) Facebook likes at the time the article was published, Viator is an international tour company in affiliation to TripAdvisor, finding tourists tour packages in destinations worldwide, covering popular destinations as Paris, Rome, Las Vegas, Sydney, New York and China. They promise tourists skipping the long lines at popular attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building as well as getting them VIP treatment with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like private viewings of the Sistine Chapel reference. All that have been said here about Viator have been said for a purpose and none of them were intended to praise or tout them with, especially what they promise tourists. Hence, we'll make reference to them later, the reason for which we have touched upon them.
Viator.com is clearly a tour company as we have seen above and/or as you may have known, but that's only apparent - it only appears to be so but is not actually so. This is because, contrary to what many people assume or know, though Viator offers tour packages worldwide, they are not tour operators. What this means is that they do not run or organize tours; they don't organize the tours they display themselves but work with companies that do so - these companies are the tour operators. So, Viator only list tour packages by different tour companies or operators. The assumption that Viator organizes tours is understandable however.
Those who have used them time and again in their review at TripAdvisor.com have revealed that Viator is only a consolidator, put differently, a booking agency; it is only a website or company that resells tour packages by tour companies (operators). The implication for addressing this shall be touched upon shortly. It is indeed important to have stressed this because it is a basis for what tourists who want to patronize them on China tours must really know about them.
Does Viator have quality control over the tour - can they guarantee quality?
Our first point will be the quality of tour experiences. Since Viator are only resellers of tour packages; since they are only consolidators, it stands to reason that they can't guarantee you how the tour experience will be - good or bad. In other words, they have no control over the quality of the tour experience. Of the tour operators that work with them, some are excellent and some are less so. They run the tours; all Viator does is link you and them. In this way, since Viator are not directly in charge of the tours, logically you can't blame them or hold them responsible if the tour experience weren't satisfactory to you or if it weren't good at all as this is in the hands of the tour operators. If you booked a tour at Viator.com and you got it, then Viator has played its part. Whatever comes afterwards cannot be blamed on them. And, when you lay a complaint to them, you'll be referred to the company responsible for the tour. Please note that it doesn't mean something must go wrong when using Viator. We have only said 'if'. But what's important is that Viator has no control over the tour experience.To reiterate somewhat, referring now to what Viator has promised their customers, can Viator guarantee tourists a VIP treatment and once-in-a-lifetime experiences as they have promised? Clearly, the answer is no. It is no because as we have said, Viator is not in charge of the tour (the tour guide for example do not come from them) but is only a website where you can book tours run by other tour companies which Viator does not disclose to you. Some of the tour operators Viator work with are excellent; some are not. Thus, the treatment you'll be given will depend on the quality of the tour operator you are linked with.
Let's see some real comments:
#Username-removed · May 11, 2014, 3:43 PM
Le Marche, Italy · 37,713 forum posts
#33 of 275 ·
As we've said over and over, Viator does NOT offer tours. They are a reseller of tours operated by other tour companies.Often they have good discounts, especially if the company that's really operating the tour is stuck with a lot of unsold tickets.
The quality of the tour depends entirely on who's operating it. Some of the companies who list with Viator are excellent and others less so. It's not easy to figure out from the description on Viator's web site who's really running the tour.
#Username-removed · Apr 27, 2014, 11:12 AM
Los Angeles, California · 5 forum posts
#31 of 275 ·
It seems they delete all reviews which are not positive.
I posted some on several sites, they were not posted (Viator post) or deleted after a short period of time (here).
Viator is in fact just a reseller without quality control and without any kind of after sales service.
We will for sure never book with them.
#Username-removed · Jun 23, 2014, 10:14 PM
Townsville, Australia · 129 forum posts
#44 of 275 ·
Here is what I do with Viator:
Use it as a search engine, asthey gather a whole lot of tours together on one convenient website and resell them. As previous posts noted, some will be good, some will be bad.Viator don't really care either way, and once they have your money it's all your problem if something goes wrong.
Is Viator's pricing cheaper than that of the actual tour operators or not?
Our second consideration is pricing. Sometimes, usually most cases, Viator's prices are cheaper; sometimes they are just the same as those of the direct tour operators. And, sometimes they are screamingly higher than the operators' prices. Viator's price gets lower among other reasons when tour operators consign them batches of tour packages at striking discounts. And, the benefits they get are a hint to why they don't disclose actual tour operator they might be linking you up with. Below are actual comments made by those who have used them in this regard.#Username-removed · May 11, 2014, 3:43 PM
Le Marche, Italy · 37,713 forum posts
#33 of 275 ·
As we've said over and over, Viator does NOT offer tours. They are a reseller of tours operated by other tour companies.Often they have good discounts, especially if the company that's really operating the tour is stuck with a lot of unsold tickets.
#Username-removed · Jun 24, 2014, 1:27 PM
Le Marche, Italy · 37,713 forum posts
#46 of 275 ·
It's not usually easy to find who the real operator is. I've tried several times when trying to help users of this forum, but only once did I find the real operator.
Viator often has better prices than the real operator, though, because tour operators sell them batches of tours they haven't managed to fill, at a deep discount. They can sell them below the usual price and still make money. That's actually the reason they're so secretive about the tour operator: it's part of the deal they make.
#Username-removed · Jun 23, 2014, 10:14 PM
Townsville, Australia · 129 forum posts
#44 of 275 ·
...
If you find a tour you like, do a separate Google search with the name of the tour to find who is actually the operator of that tour and deal with them directly.It [dealing directly with the tour operators] will usually be cheaper, and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the operator knows you exist. Once you know the name of the tour operator it will also be much easier to check TA and see if other travelers think that the tour is good.
#Username-removed · Sep 14, 2013, 11:30 AM
Quebec · 11,901 forum posts
#11 of 275 ·
If you book directly with the tour company it is always cheaper. Viator is simply a reseller of tours, they charge a fee for this.Viator has no control over whether a tour is good or bad. If you have complaints they redirect you to the tour provider.
#Username-removed · Sep 14, 2013, 6:30 PM
Australia · 8,790 forum posts
#14 of 275 ·
#Username-removed - The Colosseum tour + underground cost $125 USD!
I've done this tour last year and will go again soon - it's costing me 22.50 euros booking directly with the Coopculture (the official site but by phone). I'm happy you were satisfied with Viator but that is a lot of money for exactly the same tour as the official one.
Does Viator handle tour problems?
The third point that will be made in this connection is troubleshooting or fixing a tour problem. The tour thing is not always a smooth sale. Sometimes certain things go wrong and would need fixing. At such times, customers can get really frustrated. Why? One, Viator are not in charge of the tour and, hence, cannot give you necessary assistance, although they assist as best as they can. Two, the tour operator doesn't know you one-on-one and you don't know them; so, say, you missed them (the tour), you might miss them (the tour operators, or the tour) for good. In sum here, it is indubitably easier, faster and much more effective to get your problems addressed directly and by those in charge of the tour, rather than by a third party.#Username-removed · Sep 14, 2013, 11:30 AM
Quebec · 11,901 forum posts
#11 of 275 ·
If you book directly with the tour company it is always cheaper. Viator is simply a reseller of tours, they charge a fee for this.Viator has no control over whether a tour is good or bad. If you have complaints they redirect you to the tour provider.
#Username-removed · Jun 04, 2015, 5:56 PM
Galway, Ireland · 1 forum post
#120 of 275 ·
Hi
...
Another issue I encountered in Rome is that the tour I booked on didn't end up operating due to having too few people sign up. However, Viator made NO effort to let me know this and in fact I didn't find out until I went to the meeting point for the tour (which was the tour office of the agency), leaving them to tell me that I had come across town in vain as there was no tour. They did not want to refund my money but tried to sell me a different tour that I did not want.All in all, this wasted more than 2 hours of my time in Rome and could have been avoided had Viator done the right thing and emailed me about the cancellation.
How is their response in times of difficulty like?
Our fourth consideration is about Viator's response to complaint. These days, clearly, companies, no matter how big, contrive to give their customers great customer experience. Communication or prompt response to complaint in this regard is very important, especially in times of difficulty. How is Viator with communication when customers complain? Many, nearly all, reports we got in our research on this matter showed that Viator's response to complaint is at the nadir - customers either don't get any response or get them very late. It is a big company indeed and this is understandable, although not felicitous.#Username-removed · Jun 04, 2015, 5:56 PM
Galway, Ireland · 1 forum post
#120 of 275 ·
Hi
I was in Rome two weeks ago and we, my boyfriend and I, booked on to a Vatican tour with Viator tours which cost roughly €60 each. Firstly they held two sets of payments on my card and I had to ring them from Rome which was expensive. On the tour In the Vatican I got lost and missed the tour plus the radio they gave me did not work. I wrote a complaint after and Viator did not respondso I would advise against using them.
...
Does Viator Refund customers' money when necessary?
Our fifth consideration is about whether or not Viator refunds customers' money when necessary. We're not sure what the terms of service (TOS) of Viator are as regards making refunds to customers, but these days, it is a common practice that service and product websites give customers refund guarantee and actually give the refunds if the need arises -- say, if the service or product customers opted for were not what it should be. I got a refund from a Nigerian product website called Jumia (at Jumia.com) when I complained that what was delivered to me was not exactly what I opted for; they retrieved the product and paid the money into my account. That's how it should be. Whether or not Viator has refund guarantee in its TOS, our concern here is what is in practice -- what they actually do. It has been found that Viator refunds customers' money, although in our analysis we found that complaints about their not refunding were more. Thus, their refunding customers' money can be judged, to be fair, to be 50/50. Let's see some.#Username-removed · May 28, 2013, 1:47 AM
Melbourne, Australia · 8 forum posts
#4 of 275 ·
I used them for my family's 5 week vacation across Italy and France. All our tour and hop on / hop off tickets were arranged through them. Had no issues or drama. I was surprised to having received a refund for the hop on / hop off ticket we had not used in Pisa.It is a booking agency but I had the peace of mind of organizing my requirements 2 to 3 months ahead of schedule.
#Username-removed · May 27, 2014, 9:07 AM
3 forum posts
#36 of 275 ·
Do NOT use viator!!
They are a middleman, but they are the weak link! I wouldn't use them not because they product they are selling is variable, but, because what I consider the product is their booking service not the tour itself.
They oversell or overbook tours, won't refund, low/lack of communication.
They are supposed to ease the booking transaction but it's pretty Much just a scam.
I've booked two tours and paid fully right away had confirmations and evouchers, no tours and no refunds!!!
#Username-removed · Apr 22, 2015, 11:01 AM
1 forum post
#99 of 275 ·
I would strongly NOT recommend Viator Tours.We bought a tour from them in Mexico and they withheld information that made us cancel [that is, opt out of the service], but they refused to give us our money back.
#Username-removed · Jun 04, 2015, 5:56 PM
Galway, Ireland · 1 forum post
#120 of 275 ·
Hi
...
Another issue I encountered in Rome is that the tour I booked on didn't end up operating due to having too few people sign up. However, Viator made NO effort to let me know this and in fact I didn't find out until I went to the meeting point for the tour (which was the tour office of the agency), leaving them to tell me that I had come across town in vain as there was no tour. They did not want to refund my money but tried to sell me a different tour that I did not want.All in all, this wasted more than 2 hours of my time in Rome and could have been avoided had Viator done the right thing and emailed me about the cancellation.
Does Viator give detailed information of the tour?
The sixth point in this connection is that of tour description. Viator gives you details about the tour you're booking. However, a tourist who has used them believes that they don't always describe the tours fully. This may be very true as they are only resellers and can't give details as the actual operators can, but are limited to the amount of information they're given. Basically, the information they have is usually about the tour packages; and tour arrangements of course. Thus, it is the operator that has detailed information of the actual tour and its arrangements -- for example, information on change of plan, however slight. It is important a tourist knows every detail of the tour package, and that of the destination they are paying to visit. The foregoing paragraph gives a hint to their lapse as regards giving information about the tour. You should read it (the immediate foregoing paragraph) in this light and consider the thought shared just below.Tourist's thought:
I don't feel they fully describe the tours well enough in all cases, and you don't have the ability to ask questions of the vendor.
Conclusion
We have tried as much as possible to be objective, writing disinterestedly, striking off subjective views on the cited comments and not going as far as even suggesting what readers must do, so that they can make their own conclusions and decisions as regards using Viator for their china tours. We have seen that Viator cannot guarantee the quality of a tour experience but such is dependent on the tour operators they use (Kindly note they work with different tour operators even on the same tours). So, what they have to do is vet the tour operators they're working with, because as we know they seem not to be doing this. We touched upon their pricing and it was shown that in some cases, usually most cases, their prices are cheaper, in some, the same; and in some, screamingly more expensive. We have also touched upon whether or not they handle tour problems and we have seen that they do indeed but the handling of the actual tour operator can be more effective and felicitous. We also touched upon the nature of their response to complaints and said with reason that they are not very responsive; we have also looked into whether they refund customers' money when necessary and found that this, to be fair, is 50/50. And finally, we saw that while they give all necessary details about tours, they can't do so as much as the actual tour operators can.Fifty percent of why Viator can't give ninety nine percent or so experience is that they are middlemen. This article notwithstanding, it doesn't mean that a problem will necessarily erupt while using Viator but you should consider the points addressed here in your decision-making. We wind up this article with the advice given by someone who has experience with websites like Viator:
When choosing sites like Viator you must do further research to see which companies they are booking you with and find out about that particular company. Viator is just a consolidator-they don't do any tours!
0 comments :
Post a Comment