Groupon, the daily deal website that has exploded and generated many clones, has become shorthand for inexpensive deals. Their brand is ubiquitous. I have found myself referring to my “groupon” for a deal, when in reality it was a LivingSocial deal. But I admit, I do love my groupons. Daily deals, whoever is offering them, are a great way to try new things, explore different cuisines, and even take a vacation with.
Since I love to eat, the opportunity to try out restaurants is very appealing. Through these daily deals, I have had the pleasure of fine dining on my beer bottle budget. I also get to explore new neighborhoods since deals are offered all over town. Living in a large city, the possibilities can be endless, but these deal sites have now branched out into smaller communities as well. They truly are worth checking out.
When I travel, if I have enough lead time, I keep tabs on the deal sites for the location I am visiting. It’s a great way to experience a city like the locals (daily deals are targeted at the local population primarily). On a recent trip to Chicago, I had a groupon for a river architecture tour and speed boat ride on the lake….it was worth every penny (and I made sure to tip the staff).
The key to doing daily deals when traveling this is to make sure that the deals you are looking at are in proximity to where you are staying or easily commutable for you. It’s easy to see a great deal for the greater Chicago area and buy it, only to find out later it’s out in a suburb far from where you are staying.
Groupon and Living Social are also now offering travel deals: Groupon with its partnership with Expedia; and LivingSocial with its Escapes. While I have yet to avail myself of these offerings, they do offer substantial savings to resort and tourist destinations.
One BIG caveat to these daily deals: they DO have an expiration date on them. Unlike gift cards, which generally do not expire, daily deal coupons have set redemption dates. Use it or lose it. I’ve learned this the hard way and wound up throwing money down the drain (arrrgggg).
No comments:
Post a Comment