Activating your free BookVIP vacation

[text_block style=”style_1.png” align=”left” bottom_margin=”30″]Here are more details about your free vouchers from Book VIP.

These are not “my” vacations, and I can’t answer questions about them, but I can tell you this:

• Voucher fulfilled through BookVIP.com – an “A” rated company with BBB
• NO timeshare presentations required
• Your voucher is for 5 nights at the Mayan Palace – which can be researched on BookVIP itself, but I recommend using trip advisor for a more unbiased set of reviews.
  • Good for 2 adults (aged 30 to 70) and 2 children under 12. Over 12 require a small fee you’ll have to ask them about.
  • Update – I just found out that although voucher is for Cancun, but it can be exchanged for Puerto Nuevo, Acapulco, or Mazatlan. I recommend researching those locations before calling he reservation line in case your desired dates aren’t available.
• If your voucher is for Las Vegas, it can be exchanged for if desired for Orlando. Either are good for 4 people with no age restrictions other than at least one in your party must be at least 21. The Vegas location is off-strip, but on free monorail line – which will take you to several other prime location casinos.
• You have to pre-pay taxes of about $19 per day, and it can be used for 18 months after that (subject to availability).
• There is a resort fee of $10 to $20/day due at checkout (both are fees you typically pay on top of a typical reservation anyway). (Vegas is a little more.)
• Both resorts get 4-star ratings on Trip Advisor, and if you research rates, you’d pay $200+ (Vegas/Orlando) to $750+ (Mexico), so it’s still a great value.  (I’ve visited Mayan Palace in Puerto Vallarta, and it’s amazing. Everyone (including my wife who went several years ago) says Cancun is even better.)
• When I checked during two different months, they were unavailable about 25% of the time, so be sure to have flexibility on dates/destinations you reserve your dates.

Here’s the rub: They will want to tempt you into upgrading to an all-inclusive package by agreeing to sitting through a timeshare presentation (which I DO NOT endorse unless you have a desire to spend a half-day of your vacation saying “no” about 50 times.) Politely say “no” to a timeshare presentation when activating, and that’s the strongest pitch you’ll ever get.

PS – BookVIP’s call center barely speaks English and activating through them can be quite cumbersome, but don’t let that dissuade you. They are in no way representative of what you get at Mayan palace. They are just authorized dealers. I’ve got friends who went there on their honeymoon, and I’ve been to their Puerto Vallarta location. It’s GORGEOUS – even if you paid $200 a night.

Just as any hotel you book, I always recommend reviewing them first on TripAdvisor.  (Especially in this case. That way, you can avoid the painful discussion with the barely-english-speaking call center by just activating online. Their reservations department is far more educated and helpful, and they’re the ones who can actually answer questions about dates/destinations. The activation department’s job is solely to painfully fumble through their script designed to collect your taxes.)[/text_block]