A company offering luxury cruise vacations for almost nothing. An invitation to spend three free nights in Myrtle Beach, just for attending a brief sales presentation. A beautiful rental apartment in Madrid for a shockingly affordable rate.

If it sounds too good to be true… well, you know the rest.

The lure of free or discounted travel is a powerful one. Many people are willing to agree to almost anything in order to win a free flight or a free hotel stay. But often, the reward is only an illusion. Here's how to identify and avoid three common travel scams.

How to identify vacation club scams

You attend a presentation at a local hotel where the sales team gives a convincing pitch. You can join an exclusive travel club that gives you access to low-cost flights, discounted stays at high-end resorts, and a free vacation just for signing up!

Except the free vacation isn’t free. Membership costs $10,000, and you have to sign a contract right away if you want to join. Is this vacation club a scam?

Unlike the classic timeshare setup, vacation clubs don’t involve buying real estate. Members pay a down payment, plus monthly fees, to get discounted resort stays and more. The offer can sound enticing: Salespeople will show you photos of luxury rooms at five-star resorts and tell you that you can book an entire week there for less than the cost of a typical one-night stay.¹ If you’re hearing the pitch while you’re on vacation, the salesperson may even offer to upgrade you to the nicest room at the fancy resort for the rest of your stay—once you sign a contract.

Beware. Vacation clubs are notorious for deceptive sales practices, even when they’re attached to a recognizable name. When you read the fine print, you may discover that your promised free week in Vail can only be booked in the summer. Or that you’re signing up for a 20-year commitment to pay $500 per month. In some cases, the club doesn’t exist at all. The scammers just take your money and run.

In general, travel experts advise against signing up for a vacation club. As enticing as the discounts sound, they often come with restrictions, blackout dates, and other hurdles that prevent you from booking the vacation you want. Factor in the high fees, and the deals offered are usually no better than what you can find through legitimate travel websites.

Some warning signs of a vacation club scam:

• False urgency: If the sales person says you have to sign up immediately, without taking time to think about it or do any research, run away.
• Alcohol: Are salespeople plying you with free drinks during the presentation? They’re trying to cloud your judgment.
• A confusing contract: Are they pushing you to sign a thick contract written in tiny print, without even taking the time to read it? That’s a bright red flag.

How to identify timeshare scams

Great news! You won a $250 gift card in a sweepstakes and a free 3-day, 2-night vacation at a nearby beach resort. All you have to do is attend a 90-minute presentation during your stay. No problem. The sales guy seems nice enough, and he reassures you that this isn’t going to take long.

He has an offer for you: a timeshare membership at the resort. “It’s an incredible deal,” he says. “For a low initial fee, plus yearly membership and maintenance costs, you’ll get a guaranteed vacation stay each year. You’ll even save money in the long run, if you factor in inflation. Whaddaya say?”

A timeshare vacation interval option means committing to pay for repeated stays at a particular resort or family of resorts. “Some timeshares give you the right to stay at the property for a specific length of time and with a specific frequency — for example, one week every year,” the Federal Trade Commission explains. Other timeshares are ‘points-based,” which means you can use points to book stays at multiple properties.² Deeded timeshares mean you actually own a fraction of a property. These aren’t as common as they used to be.

Are all timeshare offers scams? Not at all! There are plenty of legitimate companies, and you can also find deals on the timeshare resale market. But is a timeshare a good investment? Generally not, the experts say. In most cases, you don’t actually own any real estate, so your timeshare purchase doesn’t appreciate in value. The costs you pay will go up, however, as the company increases maintenance fees and other charges. And timeshare contracts can be difficult to escape.

In fact, timeshare exit scams are a whole other type of travel fraud! Criminals target timeshare owners and offer to purchase their timeshare for more than it’s worth, or to help them get out of an unwanted contract. They often charge $2,500 to $10,000 in fees, or more (one couple had $900,000 stolen) and do nothing at all.³

Some warning signs of a timeshare scam:

• Fake math: Timeshare salespeople love to use numbers to try confuse prospects. They’ll ask you about your yearly vacation budget, then spin that number into all kinds of projections to convince you that purchasing a timeshare is a good financial decision.

• A small upfront financial ask: Timeshare sales sharks know that all they need is for you to say “yes” once. So they’ll say things like, “We’ll offer you a special deal. Pay just $500 today and we’ll waive the $5,000 signup fee.” That $500 locks you into a long-term financial commitment.

Vacation rental/Airbnb scams

You’re looking at vacation rentals in Dubrovnik, and they’re a lot more expensive than you thought. Then, you find a gem: a spacious penthouse apartment with views of the Adriatic Sea. And it’s just $100 per night. What a deal!

When you arrive, however, the code for the door doesn’t work. The host won’t pick up the phone. Then, the apartment owner shows up. “This is my home,” they say. “I’ve never listed it on a rental site.”

Vacation rental scams—often called “Airbnb scams”—can take many forms. Listing a fake property is one common approach. Sometimes, it’s a real property with fake or misleading photos that make the place look much nicer than it is in real life.

In a bait-and-switch Airbnb scam, you book a rental and then find out at the last minute that it’s not available, whether because of maintenance problems or some other issue. The host offers an alternative place to stay that’s a) more expensive, b) not as nice, or c) both.

To avoid being tricked, do a little homework before you book. Try a reverse-image search of a few photos from the listing, to see if they’ve been grabbed from Zillow or a stock-photography site. If the photos look a little too polished, they may be AI-generated. Ask for the address and search for it to see if the location and photos match. You can also rent from Superhosts, who have a history of excellent reviews, or opt for a verified property that has been vetted by Airbnb.

Some warning signs of an Airbnb scam:

• The property owner asks you to pay them outside of the vacation rental platform. Paying the host directly is a big risk, because you may not be protected by the Airbnb/VRBO anti-fraud policies. It’s almost impossible to get your money back from an international wire transfer.

• The property owner wants to communicate via email. Once they have your email address, it’s easy for them to send a fraudulent phishing message that looks like it came from an authentic company. This message may offer you a discount for paying directly, but it’s just another way to take your money and run.

Does travel insurance cover travel scams?

Allianz Travel Insurance plans are designed to protect you from common travel mishaps, covered trip cancellations, and covered medical emergencies. They don’t cover financial losses due to fraud.

However, you can always call 24-hour assistance if you end up being the victim of a travel scam. Our assistance team can provide language interpretation, if needed, and help you cancel credit cards, file a police report, or get money sent from home in an emergency. Learn more: When You’re the Victim of a Crime, What Does Travel Insurance Cover?

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