Watch the small print
Publishers of the Exhibitors Directory for Fairs and Exhibitions in Mexico are asking Thai hotels and travel companies to assist them to update facts for their latest edition of the Expo-Guide.
But there is a catch. There is always one. If a company representative signs off on the form to confirm the validity of the data shown, they could be liable to pay a US$1,571 annual fee over a three-year period, depending on how you interpret the publisher’s offer of a “free listing.”
It comes under the category there is no such thing as a free lunch. So why do publishers bother to dabble in a not so transparent sales practice? Oviously, the world is full of suckers who don’t read the small print.
Based in Mexico, the company is emailing PDF documents that purport to be the ITB Berlin related pages prepared for an annual online directory that hotel and travel companies need to verify for accuracy before publication. So far, so good.
But confusion surfaces when customers attempt to identify what data is considered free and needs updating and what could require an advertisement fee.
The small print at the bottom of the PDF page provides the hint that travel executives should approach this unsolicited “free offer” with caution.
Hidden in the last couple of paragraphs is a statement that explains that the person, who signs off on the form, has agreed to pay an annual publishing fee of US$1,571. It even claims that it is legally binding under the laws and statutes of Mexico. We quake in our shoes.
While it is not illegal to ask for a publishing fee for a guide or directory, the manner of presentation leaves the authors open to criticism.
Actually, free listing updates can only be completed on line, while the PDF document is actually part of a sales pitch to convince the reader to buy an advertisement.
You can safely mark a cross against all the correct data shown on the page and email it back. Just don’t sign on the bottom line.
The link to ITB Berlin is a mite obscure, too. We can only assume that Mexican publisher ferreted through the ITB directory and decided to bulk mail a begging letter to every hotelier and travel company attending the show. Desperate times, desperate measures?
On the bright side, if there are travel agents or hoteliers in Thailand, who feet the urge to secure a freebie from a Mexican publisher, take heart. Even if you unwittingly signed the innocent looking document, this particular sales technique hasn’t got a hope in hell of gaining traction in a court of law anywhere except in Mexico City.
