Groupon Ireland Bed and Breakfast Vacation with Rental Car and Airfare from $999

We've all seen the deal over-and-over again, Ireland for under $1000 for the week and it includes a nice hotel, car, airfare...

On this 8-day, 6-night Ireland vacation from Great Value Vacations, you’ll create your own itinerary, freeing you to explore the rolling Irish countryside or its cliff-laden coasts. After spending 1 night at the four-star Nuremore Hotel & Country Club in Monaghan—about 54 miles outside Dublin—you’ll choose from any of the bed and breakfasts listed on B&B Ireland. You could pick an inn for its superb location near the awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher or its culinary prowess—it’s all up to you. Just be sure to book all of your bed-and-breakfast accommodations before leaving for Ireland. This vacation includes:

• Round-trip airfare from JFK, BOS, ORD, LAX, or MCO
• Manual-shift-car rental for the duration of your stay
• 1 night at Nuremore Hotel in Monaghan (room only)
• 5 nights' bed-and-breakfast vouchers
• Upgrade for $99 per person and add on breakfast at Nuremore hotel & the following tours: Guinness Storehouse Tour, Jameson Distillery Tour, House of Waterford Crystal Tour, Cliffs of Moher admissions, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, and Blarney Castle. Visit here for more details.
• Extend your vacation by 2 nights and get an extra night at Nuremore and an extra night at a b&b for $150 per person. See details here.

If It's Too Good to be True...

You know the saying but you ignore it because you want a deal that is too good to be true. 

The hotel is outside of Dublin and in the middle of nowhere so you'll spend the first night seeing and doing nothing -- exactly what you want to do on vacation, right?  Many of the specials we see listed online include hotels in the middle of nowhere because they are cheap and they're cheap for a reason -- no one wants to stay there!  That's not to say the hotel is bad, but if you're coming to visit Philadelphia -- would you want a hotel IN Philadelphia or in Bensalem?  The hotel in Bensalem will be a fraction of the cost... for a reason!

Off-Season Ireland Rates

You'll notice that the season available for this special is Nov - February, the absolute lowest season which is fine, there is a certain charm we like about the off season including cozying up to a fire in a pub.

Some sites will close and you'll have very limited daylight so buyer-beware if this is your first trip, you'll likely be disappointed.  Second or third, you'll probably see Ireland with a new light and a better appreciation for the locals.

Car Rental Exclusions

Read the small print and find out that taxes are not included in the car but the main text also doesn't indicate that car insurance is included -- which is required and expensive.  Take the following rate example Nov 7 - 14 Manual Economy Car Rental: $18.39 is the rental rate, $76.21 is the Limited Liability Insurance and $38.13 is the Collision Damage Waiver.

Ireland Airfare

One of the biggest clauses in these deals is "availability" and airfare is always the biggest contention we have with those who list unattainable specials online.  Running airfare for the JFK $999 deal, we're finding airfare around $700 for a direct flight and slightly less for a connecting flight.  That leaves $299 for 5 nights B&B which runs $265pp... so $34 for a car rental and the hotel?

We don't care how big (or small) of a company you are... you can't put together packages like this at the rates advertised.

This is where the small print comes into play because it gives everyone the "out" they need to say that they didn't advertise falsely:

Additional fees: Airfare subject to availability. Additional fees may apply for some departure dates.

That lowest possible airfare rate used to calculate the package -- WILL NEVER BE AVAILABLE!  When you go to book you'll be told the lowest-priced seats are no longer available but for an additional $xxx you can get your departure dates.

Not All Travel Cancellation Policies Are Equal - Or Fair!

Not all Travel Cancellation Policies are equal ... fair ... or even close to being fair!  As a traveler and an agency owner, I know this all too well and have done some considerable research into them to make the best recommendations to clients.

When we worked with Tour Operators for our Ireland Self Drive Vacations, the cancellation policy was ... you couldn't cancel.  This seemed to be more common lately as Tour Operators pushed travelers into purchasing travel insurance rather than a sliding-scale fee for cancelling.  Cruise Lines and our Caribbean Tour Operators still offered sliding-scale cancellation fees which make more sense because it becomes increasingly harder to sell a room or cabin as the departure date approaches -- and an unsold room means lost revenue.

Tour Operator Double-Dipping Cancellations

Years ago we had a client who did not purchase Travel Protection Insurance and, you guessed it, she couldn't travel due to a fractured foot -- the day before departure!  Again, Murphy's Law kicks in and she was perfectly healthy with no medical issues at all and a small trip before vacation and she cannot travel.

We immediately notified the Tour Operator that she was not going to make the trip and they advised the advised it was non-refundable... but, in the same breath, advised me they would switch it for her if she rebooked it right with the next few weeks?  Of course there would be fees involved but it made me dig deeper. 

The fees charged were for the airline to change the tickets and that makes sense, all airlines do it and the fees are all about the same.  That means that the Tour Operator wasn't going to charge to change the hotels and car rentals so there were no fees involved.

So why are their packages advertised as "non-cancellable"?  That would be to ensure their profitability and for those that do cancel, they make a huge profit!  Think about it - you purchase insurance to protect your vacation and you have to cancel... file a claim and receive a refund.  Notifying the tour company and they cancel your hotel and car rental and never have to pay them... but you paid them for those items.  Double-dipping and huge profits!

Mind you, travel agents don't get paid when you cancel -- so tour operators don't pay us the commission that they already have!

Protecting The Costliest Part of Travel ... Airfare

Airfare remains the costliest part of most vacations for those traveling from North America to Europe and it is the one part of air travel that is non-refundable.  In that case you most certainly should purchase insurance.

With that in mind we decided to keep Enchanting Ireland's Cancellation Policy very simple and cost-effective.  Small cancellation fees up until 2 days prior as well as any fees transferred onto us.  With such a policy, you can purchase insurance to cover the airfare and the cancellation fees only... but remember, anything the day prior will not allow you to receive a refund.

So, in the case of the woman who sprained her foot ... she cancelled the day before and would not be entitled to a refund because all cancellation policies for cars and hotels require at least 48-hours notice.

Enchanting Ireland's Fair Cancellation Policy

Taking all of above into consideration, we sat down to review our supplier's cancellation policies and come up with our own... something fair for everyone.

As of right now we allow you to cancel 7-days or more prior to departure with just a $100 fee. This fee covers the cost of planning your vacation as well as cancelling each part to ensure a refund.

If you cancel 2-7 days prior then the charge increases to $200 as we are now against the clock to call Ireland and make sure we cancel your reservations in time to avoid penalties.

If you are less than 48-hours from departing for Ireland, we're sorry but there are no refunds.

Please keep in mind that credit cards charge us 3% for all payments, which we can refund within 3-months when cancelling.  If you paid for your trip more than 3-months prior, we cannot issue an electronic refund and have to issue a check.. which means the 3% credit card fee is non-refundable.

How Does Enchanting Ireland and Travel Agencies Get Paid?

The first question raised, after clients receive a custom Ireland self-drive price quote, is, "How much do you charge to plan an itinerary?"

Nothing! 

"Well how do you make money?" is typically the very awkward follow-up question, awkward for potential clients but not awkward at all for us to discuss.  You walk into any business and buy a product or contract for a service and you know that there is a certain profit built in.  Some products have large profit margins while others are quite small.  We are a business and we need to make money so it's a fair question.  What are you paying extra for us to stay in business and help you?

All travel agencies are paid a commission which is built into the cost of everything from Irish B&Bs, hotels to castle rentals and cars.  That commission ranges from 5-10% on average with specials running on certain properties that may increase the commission or offer bonuses.
 
The cost of each piece of your vacation itinerary contains a few more costs than you are aware.  Many accommodations include fees to a 3rd party including booking engines, GDS (global distribution system) or websites that offer reservations.  These fees are built into the cost of all hotels rooms to allow agents and clients to book the same room through many different means.

If you book your travel through a tour operator then you'll have another layer of commission which will typically add another 10% or more to the cost of your trip.  Tour operators offer packages through their company which you can book direct or your can purchase through a travel agency ... and they have to pay the travel agency a commission.

If I Book My Travel Direct, Will I Save Money?

Throughout the years we've helped hundreds of people plan their trips to Ireland, spending countless hours via email and phone to go over routes, accommodations, sites and more.  In the beginning we would find that clients would trail off toward the end without notice and when we checked back in to book their trip... we'd get an email, "Something came up and we're not going" or "We booked it ourselves."  Mind you, we didn't charge which means we didn't get paid -- and we almost went out of business because who can sustain that business model?

We had regrouped, had meetings and came up with the idea about explaining the Travel Supply Chain upfront to folks to ensure they knew how we got paid.  Part of that discussion was to let people know that the Travel Supply Chain benefits everyone but the travel agent and the client.

All fees built in ensure the the client (you) pays one rate for a hotel room or car rental so when a travel agent quotes the rate, it is the same if you try to book it directly.  We book direct with our suppliers, bypassing the technology and costs associated with them yet the rate is the same.  The supplier keeps those costs as profits.  Book that same Irish hotel or car rental and they keep our commission as profit as well.

When to Use Tour Operators

We used to partner with a very well-known Ireland tour operator for all of our Ireland Self Drive Vacation Packages.   They offered a very nice booking engine which helped us create customized packages for our clients with one form of payment.  We did this for years and everyone seemed very happy, ourselves included because we felt the services and costs were competitive.

Over time we started losing clients due to price and that is when we started to compare our packages with this tour operator based on what we could offer by booking direct.  This is when we found out the tour operator's price was slightly more than what we could offer with direct bookings ... because the tour operator was building in a commission to pay travel agencies.  In the long run it did cost more to book through us because we had a layer of commission being added on to every package.

We promptly re-examined our business, decided to work direct with our suppliers and save our clients the 10% the tour operator was padding to pay us.  Again, you could book the same package direct with the tour operator and it was the same price we charged... but they would keep that extra 10% for their own profit.

So, when do we work with Tour Operators?  When they offer bus tours or distinct packages which we cannot offer ourselves.  There are some tour operators which have fantastic contracted rates with hotels and we know to book with them to save money because their bulk buying power outweighs the commissions built in.  Sometimes you can only book with a Tour Operator but in the case of Ireland where the Irish Self-Drive Vacation is completely customized... we do better by booking direct!

$100 Ireland Itinerary Deposit

When we found that clients were booking direct to save money -- and we almost went out of business -- we decided to implement a $100 Ireland Itinerary Deposit.  When we explained the Travel Supply Chain, how we got paid and that booking direct doesn't save money ... the $100 deposit was welcomed and fair.  The deposit was applied toward the final cost of the trip.

This ensured that the time we spent creating itineraries with potential clients would result in a booking and thus a profit for our company. 

While researching our competition we found that many agencies were charging fees from $50 - $200 to plan itineraries which was in addition to the commissions received from booking the vacation.  We are refraining from doing that because we really enjoy what we do and don't consider it work...

Save Credit Card Charges - 3%

There is one way to save on your vacation and this is typically only available from small- to medium travel agencies... pay by check and save the 3% credit card fee!

Everyone in the Travel Supply Chain builds in 3% which is the typical credit card fee paid to the credit card company for accepting their card(s).  We offer our clients that discount if they pay by check ... after all we're paying our suppliers by cash so why not take that discount and offer it back to clients?