More funny TVI Express announcements

Back in October 2010, TVI Express announced that they have opened their 4-day 3-night booking portal, with 95000 hotels to choose from.   You can read the announcement here:  http://www.tviexpress.com/announcement1.php?id=116

Some interesting tidbits are hidden in the cheery language:

"We are excited to announce that the free 4 Days & 3 Nights booking portal, the latest move in our incessant endeavor to serve you the best, has gone live."

Oh, really, you call reducing the offer from 7-day 6-night down to 4-day 3-night "incessant endeavor to serve you best"?  Or does that just prove that they are out to screw people over?

[book at] any of the 95,000 hotels in 11,000 destinations across 190 countries and out of these, most are business hotels.  

And not a name in sight. They don't DARE naming any of the hotels because like previous announcements, if they actually NAME any of them, you'll know they lied because you can call them up and they say "TVI Who?"  Instead, they just name a nebulous number that cannot be verified or disproved. It's only a bit later they decided to borrow a few names, but not tell you WHICH ONES in those chains will take TVI Express offers. Clearly, the same hotel chain in Malaysia or India would cost a lot less than the same hotel in Paris or San Francisco, yes?

business and luxury hotels from all across the world, including names like Meridian, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton etc.

Again, no exact names. You don't really expect me to book ANY of those hotels and they take TVI Express, yes? Yet that is what THEY want you to believe... But you have go to through THEIR system. Ah, but the good part comes later...

Modes Of Payment – The taxes can be paid either through LR (Liberty Reserve) or by using Booking funds.

1. Liberty Reserve – You can pay the taxes through LR online at the Payment page while making the reservation.
   
   
2. Booking Funds – We have added a new section by the name of Booking Manager in your backoffice which further comprises of two sub-sections – Booking Funds and Booking Vouchers. As you progress through the booking process, you reach Payment page, where you are provided with the option of paying your taxes through Booking Funds. If you wish to do that, you will have to first fund your Booking Funds eWallet.

In other words, what you earned in your regular eWallet is no good. you have to put money in your "Booking Funds eWallet" in order to use the trips, or pay via Liberty Reserve. And they don't tell you how much taxes you have to pay until you book. Given that they tried to charge $150 USD for the 7-day 6-night for "taxes and processing fees", you'd have to pay AT LEAST $80 USD (or the equivalent in Indian or Indonesian currency).

Also, taxes should be paid to be hotel directly, NOT through the booking agent. This sounds like a conveniently hidden way to levy a "surcharge" by hiding it under "taxes".

Someone should book a trip to a particular city, find out what the hotel tax in that city is, and see how much is TVI Express making.

Please note that previously, I've discussed how TVI Express financial situation is untenable. It is mathematically IMPOSSIBLE for it to fund all the board payouts AND the trips, AND re-entry. Its only hope to continue to operate is to deny and delay the trips and payouts as much s possible, while continue to sign up members, and hope a lot of members quit after paying in the $250 (+ fees) without redeeming anything while recruiting even more members. This is just another attempt to stave off the inevitable collapse: by halving the trip costs, and to levy a hidden surcharge as "taxes" (which is NOT funded by your eWallet, but by your REAL $$$).

It sounds good, on the surface, just as all scams do. This one is a bit more elaborate than the rest.