Students have just a couple more months of school left before the summer break, but many Calgarians are already looking for great summer vacation deals, but they are being warned to watch for stressful pitfalls.

The Better Business Bureau serving Southern Alberta and East Kootenay is reminding people looking for vacation destinations should do their homework before booking anything.

"Vacations are an investment of people's hard-earned money and labour," says CEO Sandra Crozier-McKee in a release. "Deciding on a destination and sticking to a realistic budget will prevent headaches and hassles when traveling."

The BBB is offering the following list of the most common problems and potential solutions to ensure your vacation is as stress free as possible:

Potential pitfall

How to avoid it

Your Groupon or LivingSocial or other travel voucher/deal/discount isn't honoured.

Contact the business ahead of time to verify the offer, price and inquire about special terms and conditions including travel restrictions and cancellation policies.

The hotel or location is not what you expected.

If you can't visit the location beforehand, seek out reliable sources that are familiar with the area. When viewing online visitor reviews, be wary of locations with only positive reviews and for photos taken by visitors - not just marketing pictures.

Your "free" vacation comes at a price.

Sometimes hidden fees and charges surprise guests, but most often, a free stay comes with an obligation to attend a high-pressure timeshare sales presentation.

Your vacation was never reserved because a scammer has committed wire fraud.

Do not wire money to strangers or businesses you don't know or trust.

If you are asked to wire payment ahead of time, ask to use your credit card instead. If they refuse, move on to another option.

 

The BBB also has a directory where people can check out businesses to make sure they’re all they’re cracked up to be. You can access the directory on their website.

More information and consumer tips can be found on bbb.org.