Coupon books
Jun 9th, 2005, 08:40 AM
#1
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Coupon books
I've noticed that many Fodorites refer to coupon books and wondered what others' thoughts were. The two times I bought the Entertainment book for my city I was VERY disappointed - in particular with the restaurants. Years ago we socialized with someone who would only eat out at a restaurant that had a coupon in the book - and we rarely enjoyed the meal.
Have others had better luck with coupon books? I'd rather pay full price for a meal I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy then get use a "buy one get one free" meal that is a disappointment. Am I missing out?
Have others had better luck with coupon books? I'd rather pay full price for a meal I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy then get use a "buy one get one free" meal that is a disappointment. Am I missing out?
Jun 9th, 2005, 08:46 AM
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I have to agree with you - I've bought the Entertainment book for two different cities and found both to be disappointing. The selection of restaurants was very limited. I guess the truly good restaurants don't need to give away free meals! On the other hand, if you love fast food, and use the service coupons (dry cleaning, car wash etc) then the books are a bargain.
Jun 9th, 2005, 08:53 AM
#3
Depends on what you like and where you are located. I just got the local Entertainment Book for $9.99 + 5.00 shipping and I agree that the places are not the most upscale or even midscale places. The book's better places are ones that also run coupon deals in the local throwaways, but there are twofers for mass market places, too.
The main reason I got it was that they include national discounts for car rentals and motel chains and we can use those for an upcoming vacation trip. If that doesn't work out, there are still the Burger King coupons.
The main reason I got it was that they include national discounts for car rentals and motel chains and we can use those for an upcoming vacation trip. If that doesn't work out, there are still the Burger King coupons.
Jun 9th, 2005, 08:57 AM
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I bought the Hawaii coupon book and won't say I was disappointed, but used very few things out of it.
Used one restaurant punch(not coupon), gave away a coupon to some folks I met that were going to the USS Missouri. I am also giving the book to my friend who leaves next week for Hawaii. And then she is passing it on to another friend. So, hopefully a few coupons will be used.
The best savings I found by purchasing the entertainment book was coupons for car rentals. And they are good for any area and all until 2006 sometime.
Some places don't honor the coupons they put in the books and then some have small print - like Hilo Hattie's.
I would think locals would like the book for their areas because there are a lot of fast food coupons in there.
Just my 2 cents.
Used one restaurant punch(not coupon), gave away a coupon to some folks I met that were going to the USS Missouri. I am also giving the book to my friend who leaves next week for Hawaii. And then she is passing it on to another friend. So, hopefully a few coupons will be used.
The best savings I found by purchasing the entertainment book was coupons for car rentals. And they are good for any area and all until 2006 sometime.
Some places don't honor the coupons they put in the books and then some have small print - like Hilo Hattie's.
I would think locals would like the book for their areas because there are a lot of fast food coupons in there.
Just my 2 cents.
Jun 9th, 2005, 10:21 AM
#5
I buy the Entertainment Book for my local area every year and have actually discovered many GREAT restaurants by trying the ones in the book. The book here also includes a lot of my favorite restaurants. There are also coupons for the movies and local attractions. I've also used the hotel discounts in it. I have definitely gotten more than my money's worth out of the book.
Jun 9th, 2005, 11:50 AM
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I'm with schmerl on this one. I buy one for our area every year and get my money back several times over. And, as schmerl said, we've found several of our favorite restaurants by using the coupons. And I occasionally use one for our local grocery store chain or some other retailer.
I actually started buying them when our eldest was in middle school as the school sold them as a fund-raiser every year.
We also had good luck with the New York City one we bought before our trip there a couple of years ago. We had gotten the book late enough to get it half-price. And, while we didn't use *a lot* of coupons, the ones we did use (the Circle Line Tour, one of the museums, Madison Square Garden Tour, etc.) added up to well over what we'd paid. However, I don't think we used any restaurant coupons.
When we went to New Orleans in 2001, we bought a book full-price. We didn't use enough coupons to get back the price. But we went to a restaurant that we really enjoyed that we would never have found had we not had a coupon.
I actually started buying them when our eldest was in middle school as the school sold them as a fund-raiser every year.
We also had good luck with the New York City one we bought before our trip there a couple of years ago. We had gotten the book late enough to get it half-price. And, while we didn't use *a lot* of coupons, the ones we did use (the Circle Line Tour, one of the museums, Madison Square Garden Tour, etc.) added up to well over what we'd paid. However, I don't think we used any restaurant coupons.
When we went to New Orleans in 2001, we bought a book full-price. We didn't use enough coupons to get back the price. But we went to a restaurant that we really enjoyed that we would never have found had we not had a coupon.
Jun 9th, 2005, 12:02 PM
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As a Hawaii resident, I always have access to several free brochures that have coupons for many things.
But, I always buy the Entertainment Book because it has many more coupons and gives me a lot more to choose from.
As AJPeabody mentioned, the books are only $9.99 + $5.00 shipping if you wait until around May 1 to get the book.
I save around $40 every year just on Polynesian Cultural Center tickets.
I can't speak for other cities, but the Hawaii book is well worth the price.
But, I always buy the Entertainment Book because it has many more coupons and gives me a lot more to choose from.
As AJPeabody mentioned, the books are only $9.99 + $5.00 shipping if you wait until around May 1 to get the book.
I save around $40 every year just on Polynesian Cultural Center tickets.
I can't speak for other cities, but the Hawaii book is well worth the price.
Jun 9th, 2005, 01:12 PM
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starrsville ~ have you used the "Variety Entertainment of Atlanta" book? It costs a bit more than the Entertainment book for Atlanta because each book is valid for 7 months rather than a year, but (for my money) the restaurant selections are much better.
Jun 9th, 2005, 01:17 PM
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I've been buying the books for many years now and have seen the quality go consistantly downhill. This year there are very few coupons in my local book for restaurants that are conveniently located. I bought the book again this year for the car rental coupon only to find it wasn't honored (perhaps because I was booking a one-way rental, I'm not sure).
That said, I still think we'll get our money's worth in fast food and a few other restaurants. Not sure I'll buy it next year, though.
That said, I still think we'll get our money's worth in fast food and a few other restaurants. Not sure I'll buy it next year, though.
Jun 9th, 2005, 02:10 PM
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We purchased the book this year, for the first time in ages, because it was a fundraiser for one of our childrens sports teams. I was pretty leery at first, but it has not been a bad deal. We do not eat fast food, so those coupons do not get used. I agree that the other coupons for restaurants are for places that I have no desire to go to. There have been some nice attractions though in our area that we have benefitted from the coupons.
I did have one very frustrating experience with a hotel though. They are affiliated with the book, yet when i called and made reservations and met all their requirements, the manager said they would not accept it. She would let me use it for one of the lower end rooms, but not the nicer ones. I double checked all the requirements, and then called the EB and filed a complaint with them.
I did have one very frustrating experience with a hotel though. They are affiliated with the book, yet when i called and made reservations and met all their requirements, the manager said they would not accept it. She would let me use it for one of the lower end rooms, but not the nicer ones. I double checked all the requirements, and then called the EB and filed a complaint with them.
Jun 12th, 2005, 10:10 AM
#11
I have just reviewed the EB rules for the hotel discounts (50% off rack rate or 10% off best public rate, whichever is lower, at participating hotels) and I'm afraid MMS got caught by one of the weasel-out clauses.
The hotel does not have to honor the deal if they project 80% occupancy on the whole hotel or for any class of room. So, if they think they will be more than 80% full or if they think that suites or premium rooms will be 80% full, the deal won't go. And they get to do the calculations.
And, since the worst a hotel will rate a room is "standard," well, that explains what happened to MMS.
Just as an aside, would a hotel sell a room as "sub-standard" any more than a menu would list "almost fresh" fish?
The hotel does not have to honor the deal if they project 80% occupancy on the whole hotel or for any class of room. So, if they think they will be more than 80% full or if they think that suites or premium rooms will be 80% full, the deal won't go. And they get to do the calculations.
And, since the worst a hotel will rate a room is "standard," well, that explains what happened to MMS.
Just as an aside, would a hotel sell a room as "sub-standard" any more than a menu would list "almost fresh" fish?
Jun 12th, 2005, 01:15 PM
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AjPeabody--Yes, that is definite what we got caught in, lol! Love the term "weasel out clause"! The manager though even told me that they did not anticipate being very full, but rather she said that they are probably not going to be in the EB next year. Also, the nicer rooms, which we wanted, were going to be filtered out and would become a separate property, but that would happen about a month after our visit. So basically she weaseled out of everything, without realizing she still was not abiding by the rules. Anyway, she lost a potential customer and of course I tell everyone about what business practices this place engages in. In case anyone wants to know...it is the Riverside Inn in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Jun 12th, 2005, 02:04 PM
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Someone gave us one of those books for our area -- Naples/Ft.Myers/Marco a few years ago. It was a total bust -- not a single restaurant in it that I like. But being adventurous we tried a few. Twice we got to places and found out they no longer honored the coupons -- seems they had a change of ownership and were no longer obligated to accept them. So not only did we have lousy meals -- but we had to pay full price for them. Another one we went to had simply gone out of business, and the couple of places we did get to use the coupons were OK considering we got a free meal, but as starrsville says, I'd have rather paid full price for two really good meals!!
