Eurorest voucher review: Is it a scam or a good deal?

by Petr Novák, updated December 4, 2022

You may have come across such an email, which may have led you to this article. It promises you a voucher for free accommodation at selected hotels, by taking an online travel survey.

As is often the case with news on the internet, the truth is different. The voucher is not free – you must pay an issuance fee of 15.67 €. Accommodation in hotels is also not free but is subject to a meal charge. The rate varies from accommodation to accommodation, most often in the range of $16.03380 Kč–$25600 Kč per person per day.

Spam promises free nights, and clients pay hundreds of euros for them

In the age of Google, it is no problem for a distrustful reader to check the offer. Search for the name of the company, voucher, or survey– for Eurorest and similar voucher sellers; this means extra work. They frequently change the wording of emails, the name of the event, and everything else that is easily searchable.

In practice, you will thus encounter different emails that always lead you to Eurorest vouchers::

• EUCS 2024: 4th European Travel Preference Survey
• Geoplus Tourism Preference Survey
• Last chance to get 3 overnight stays matched to your invitation

As a rule, from all websites, surveys, and emails, you can click through to the umbrella website Eurorest.net, where they distribute the voucher.

Travel market preference research serves as a cover

To receive the voucher, one has to fill in a curious questionnaire, which the author of the article doubts. Questions such as “Do you eat in the place you stay?” act as a backdrop to make the visitor take the survey seriously. A more experienced Internet user will recognise other elements on the page that are typical of sites that try to put pressure on the user:

1. A countdown of the amount of time the voucher is “reserved.”
2. Counter of people who have already received the voucher.
3. Extension of the “free” voucher from three to five nights.
4. Confirmation that “The voucher reservation is valid.”

I would bet my dinner that the intent of the questionnaire is different. It creates an excuse as to why a site visitor should get a voucher. Namely, after completing the questionnaire, a voucher is generated for the reader, for which they must pay $14.76350 Kč. Distributed Eurorest vouchers are in PDF format; a few years ago, they sent them by post.

“Accommodation is free; only overpriced food is charged”

A Eurorest voucher is used for accommodation for two people in participating hotels for three to fourteen nights. The accommodation is free, “The only binding cost is the all-day meal rate”. Two hot meals per day are $15.61370 Kč to $551300 Kč per person per day.

It is basically the same as getting a voucher for ten free coffees for paying the issue fee. The coffee itself would be free, but you must buy a cup with each one for four euros.

You can only use Eurorest at partner hotels, which sometimes limits the voucher to a few months of the year. The offer includes around 400 hotels from Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Montenegro, and other European countries. This is indeed a small selection for the whole of Europe.

Is it worth booking accommodation through Eurorest?

We have enquired about accommodation for two people in several randomly selected accommodations from the Eurorest website. We then compared the prices offered with those on the Booking website. We always tried to compare the same dates, room, and meals. Although, the prices were approximately the same, it is impossible to write unequivocally that one way or the other would be better.

The problem is the accommodation offered by Eurorest. For the same cost, you can find better deals on Booking and other servers. However, there is a significant difference in the offer, for example, in the year-round popular Krkonoše Mountains:

Eurorest: The three-star hotel has a rating of 5.9/10 on Booking. The price of a 7-night stay in the cheaper Standard room is $50311935 Kč. This includes half board, city tax, and the cost of the Eurorest voucher.

Booking: We found about two dozen offers for the same dates at a similar or lower price. When they include breakfast and dinner, the rating is always higher.

Who is behind the Eurorest vouchers?

Eurorest’s site operators and client data managers change so frequently that it is difficult to keep things on top.

In November 2021, the data controller was the Polish company Universo Sp. z o.o., NIP: 8971749495, KRS: 0000326782 with registered office at ul. Św. Jerzego 1a, 50-518 Wrocław, Poland. According to the Polish Commercial Register, it is registered in the name of Tomasz Adam (born 1974). They list the same name as the administrator for the domain Eurorest.org.

In June 2022, the website lists Infinity Sp. z o.o., NIP: 8982242558, KRS: 0000726672, REGON: 369945246, as the information bureau. The registered office is at the same address: ul. Św. Jerzego 1a, 50-518 Wrocław, Poland. In the register, besides the same Tomasz Adam, the name Marta Krauza (born in 1976) also appears.

TLG Travel Group LLC, 108 West 13th Street, Wilmington 19801, DE, USA.

Note: This post about Eurorest vouchers was originally published on the Czech version of VPN wiki. This article is a translation of it, some aspects and procedures may differ for users from other countries.