I’m sure by now most of you out there know what Groupon and LivingSocial are. If you don’t, here’s the simple man explanation. You create an account (which is free) and then you’re able to purchase deals on various items from food to hotels. In most cases you’ll score 50% off but I’ve seen some much higher. You’ll find deals in most major cities including San Diego, Chicago and New York City. Why should you care? Well, think of the extra money you could save by purchasing Groupons/LivingSocial deals for your convention trips.
Here are a few things to pay attention to though!
1. Expiration Dates
When you go to purchase your deal, make sure it won’t expire before your trip! That’s one thing to be careful of when making a purchase this far in advance. In most cases, it seems that you’ll find most are good for a year but always read the fine print! You don’t want to end up wasting money.
2. Locations
Again, fine print. I’ve noticed with certain deals, the coupon is only good at a certain location. This isn’t always the case though. Keep in mind too that a city like San Diego is fairly large and that deal for that yummy sounding restaurant might not be such a great deal when you see how far away it is!
3. Exclusions:
Yup, it’s back to the fine print. Some deals are only good for certain days of the week. I’ve seen some that are only good for lunch, and others that can’t be used on the weekends. Just be sure to read everything to make sure there aren’t any blackout dates and that you’ll actually be in town on the days you can use it!
Be sure to check out all the deals. While saving on food is always awesome, especially during a convention, you might find deals on exciting things like a spa outing or a segway tour. If you know you’re going to have extra time during your trip, it might not hurt to check some of those out as well. This advice is good for any city, any trip really! I know when I have a vacation planned I check the various deal websites daily to see if anything exciting has popped up.
Have any of you used any deal websites during a Con? If so, share with the group!
