Find last minute tours using the fortune system. Tour "Fortune": how to save on travel without sacrificing your vacation. Tunisia "Fortuna" system

Do you know what vacation according to the *FORTUNA* system means?

A VACATION THROUGH THE *FORTUNA* SYSTEM is a great opportunity to prepare a surprise for yourself, relax abroad and save money at the same time. The "Fortuna" system means that you select only the hotel class (star rating), type of food, tour duration and departure date, and you will find out a specific hotel only upon arrival at the airport of your chosen country.

If you choose a hotel, for example 4*, according to the “fortuna” system, then you will be accommodated in any of the 4* hotels participating in the “fortuna”; Accommodation in a hotel of a different category (higher or lower) is not expected. The price of tours with accommodation in hotels offered under the “fortuna” system is 15-20% lower than the regular cost of tours. This depends on the fact that a few days before the start of the tour there are still rooms available in hotels for which Special offers. At the same time, the group of hotels offered for each category includes several hotels of different service and price (under normal sales), and under the “fortuna” system the price for these hotels will be the same.

Thus, you always win, since the price of your hotel will be lower than the price of the cheapest hotel provided. “Fortuna” is your option if you “don’t care” where to go, the main thing is that it is cheaper, and there is not much time before the expected departure date. During the high season, there may be cases of relocation, i.e. when purchasing a tour, you booked one hotel, and when you arrive in the country, you are accommodated in another, explaining that there are no rooms in the hotel you chose (unfortunately, sometimes such cases happen). Or, even when purchasing a tour, hotels do not confirm to you for the same reason. In this case, the “fortuna” system comes in handy!

One of the most common ways to buy tours to Turkey at the cheapest price is to take part in a promotion called “Fortune”.

What is hidden under the word “Fortune”? Is it really so profitable and if there are any pitfalls when purchasing such tours?

“Fortune”, or other names are possible - “Express”, “Bingo”, “Roulette” - is the purchase of a tour in which you go to a hotel whose name is unknown to you. Tourists choose only the hotel category and the region where they would like to relax. Everything else is decided for them by Fortune, or random choice. Travelers also have the right to choose the type of hotel meals and travel dates. But the main intrigue - which hotel the tourists will relax in - remains a mystery to them until they arrive at their vacation spot.

The intrigue is compensated by a rather noticeable difference in price. When purchasing a tour to a given region to hotels of your chosen category through Fortuna, you can save up to 20-30% of the regular cost of a vacation. In some cases the discount reaches 50%, but this is rare.

Many tourists think that travel agency employees know in advance which hotel is hidden under the Fortune promotion, and for certain “bonuses” they try to extract this information from them. This is not true at all; travel agents are as ignorant as the tourists themselves. Even large tour operators find out about the name of the hotel only a day or two before the group’s departure.

The Fortuna system is ideal for that category of tourists who turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of hotels such as distance from the beaches or proximity to a construction site for the sake of additional discount for tours. No one guarantees you the first coastline, the absence of sewage on the beach or broken plumbing in the bathroom. All that the tour operator can guarantee you is the maximum favorable price for tours in this direction.

Our advice is that if you decide to try your luck and buy a tour to Turkey using the “Fortuna” system, choose hotels of a high category. The star level of the hotel must be at least 4, and preferably 5. You will not be able to make a claim to the travel agency from which you bought the tickets if you are not satisfied with something at the hotel. It will be possible to change your place of accommodation only if the star rating of the hotel does not correspond to that stated on the tour. Be prepared for the fact that for your money they will take you to the worst hotel from the category you have chosen.

However, the Fortuna system also has its advantages. It’s not for nothing that it is very popular among tourists, and if there is demand, then there will be supply.

The advantages of purchasing a tour using the Fortuna system include:

Tour price;

A pleasant surprise if you are lucky and end up in good hotel;

The disadvantages of the Fortuna system are obvious:

Under the guise of promotions, tour operators sell tours to the most unpopular hotels, the pages of which are dominated by negative reviews from tourists;

There is a high probability that your vacation will disappoint you;

At the same time, the chances of a good rest are quite high. Tourists are not exactly buying a “pig in a poke”. The “Fortuna” promotion includes a list of hotels that participate in it. As a rule, among the list of ten hotels there are 7-8 really excellent hotels on the Turkish coast, and 2-3 hotels with not the best recreational conditions. Of course, with a 90% probability you will be taken to these 2-3 bad hotel, but there is always a chance for luck! In addition, you know the worst case scenario in advance and can mentally prepare for it.

Before you decide to give in to temptation and buy a tour using the “Fortuna” system, remember again that cheap cheese only comes in a mousetrap. Weigh all the pros and cons well, and then no one and nothing will be able to overshadow your long-awaited vacation!

When choosing a tour, you can often see the designation “Fortuna”, Roulette, Bingo or Express instead of the hotel name. Usually the number of stars is indicated next to these designations. What does this mean and what hotel will a tourist end up in after purchasing such a tour?

Fortuna system- This is a fairly commonly practiced type of selling travel packages. It differs from ordinary tours in that its description does not indicate a specific hotel, that is, you are going “for luck”: hence the name – Fortuna. However, without knowing the name of the hotel, you can find out its class - on the Fortune tour they always indicate the star rating (category) of the hotel.

Thus, Fortuna 5* will mean that you will be accommodated in any 5-star hotel. The same goes for the other number of stars. The level of service (food, etc.) is also agreed upon in advance. That is, you don’t just know the name of the hotel and where coastline(distance from the beach) it is located. The tourist finds out the name of the hotel 1-2 days before departure, and sometimes even at the airport after landing.

Each tour operator has its own variants of the name for this system, which is why such tours have so many designations - Fortune, Roulette, Bingo, Express, etc.

As is known, the same level of hotels in different countries may differ significantly. This has already been discussed in the article “”

Holidays according to the fortune system in Egypt, Turkey, Europe and Asia

The trend is that the more cheap accommodation options there are in a country, the greater the chances of ending up in a less than stellar hotel.

Fortune (Roulette, Bingo, etc.) in Egypt 2* and 3* are the most unpretentious option. This may include hotels with a fairly low level of service. But Fortuna 4* and 5* in Egypt is an almost safe and win-win choice.

In Turkey The situation with tours using the Fortuna system is special. Here, a tourist may not know not only the name of the hotel, but even the resort itself where he will relax. In Fortuna in Turkey you can get into a not very good hotel if you take the Fortuna 2*-3* tour. More star hotels mean less risk.

Fortune in Spain the most profitable, since all the hotels there are similar in the quality of the service provided. You can safely order Fortuna and be sure of have a good rest, because living conditions are approximately equivalent everywhere in Spain.

In Thailand, the situation with Fortuna is the same as in Spain. You can safely take such a tour.

In Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia) you should be careful with Fortune– after all, there are still many operating hotels there that were built 20-30 years ago. Therefore, both completely new and high-quality hotels and hotels that resemble Soviet sanatoriums both in appearance and in service can fall into the same category of Fortune (especially for 2*-3*).

Fortune in the UAE also has its own characteristics - there 2*-3* hotels do not have their own beach, but the level of service in them is higher than in Turkish or Asian and even some European two- or three-star hotels.

For Cyprus, Greece, Italy and many other European countries, you will hardly find offers of Fortuna tours.

Advice for tourists about Fortuna:

When choosing a Fortuna tour, focus exclusively on trusted, well-known tour operators, and choose rooms in 4-5* hotels. This way you will reduce all risks to a minimum.

Advantages of the Fortuna system:

Lower (compared to other tours) cost. At the same time, for the price of the most inexpensive room you can get into a room of more than high level(not to be confused with the hotel class - the number of stars) and with a greater number of services - after all, this is Fortune! Luck plays an important role here.
Excitement. The element of the game “lucky or unlucky” attracts gambling tourists no less than low prices. Moreover, such a “roulette” is, in principle, a win-win – since there is a guaranteed minimum level of the hotel. For example, when choosing Fortuna 4*, you will never end up in a run-down two-star hotel.

Cons of Fortune:

Who is suitable for Fortuna tours:

To those who want.
For those who know how to find the positives in everything and not notice the small negatives.
Those who do not depend on expectations do not draw pictures of their holiday in advance.
Those who are unpretentious to the conditions of recreation and value in their vacation the impressions of the sea, the country, excursions, and not the level of service.

For whom Fortune is contraindicated:

For those who love certainty in everything and hate unforeseen changes.
For those who are inclined to first tune in to the image drawn in their fantasies, and then carefully compare it with reality.
For those who are used to thoroughly collecting reviews about the hotel and the country and like to keep everything under control, plan clearly and provide for everything.
For tourists who are demanding of conditions and service, for whom every little detail is important.
For those who are irritated by any shortcoming and for whom any little thing can ruin their holiday.

These are tours where you do not know the name of the hotel in advance. There are various names for such tours: Fortune, Roulette, Express, Secret.

From time to time, such tours are organized by tour operators Pegasus Tourist, Anex Tour, Tez Tour, Biblio Globus, Coral and Sanmar, Intourist.

A tour using the fortune and roulette system, if there is no addition in its name, can include any hotel on the coast. But quite often operators come across clarifying terms for such tours.

Roulette Crete 2* - any hotel in any area of the island of Crete (Greece), category 2* or higher.
Fortuna Kemer 3* - any 3* hotel in the Kemer region including the nearest villages of Beldibi, Goynuk, Tekirova.
Fortuna Kemer city 4* - any 4* hotel in Kemer
Fortuna Antalya 5* - any hotel in the Antalya region (operators in this definition cover the entire Antalya coast of Turkey: Kemer, Antalya, Belek, Side, Alanya)
Anex has its own names, for example HTOP SECRET COSTA BRAVA 3* - any hotel of the HTOP 3* category in the Spanish region of the Costa Brava, as well as the Costa de Barcelona (only the city of Calella, as a rule). In such tours, it is enough to look at all the hotels of the HTOP network with which the tour operator cooperates, filter out those that no longer have vacancies and look at the remaining ones. If you are satisfied with all of them, then feel free to book such a tour and save a lot.
Fortuna 2 hotels 3* - means that you will be accommodated in two 3* hotels (for example, for 5 nights in one and the rest in the other), such vouchers are quite rare, but they are the cheapest.

How to find out the name of a hotel using the Fortune, Roulette, Secret, Express system.

It is not possible to know exactly which hotel you will end up in; tour operators keep this information secret. After all, if you know in advance, then you can cheat and buy fortune (roulette), which is cheaper than a specific hotel.

A few weeks or months before your arrival, the operator himself does not know which hotel he will put you in. Closer to departure, the operator will already know where tourists will be accommodated using Roulette (Fortune), but will not say for obvious reasons.

However, if you buy a tour a few days before departure, then you can try to figure out which hotel the tour operator plans to put you in. You won’t be able to find out for sure, but you can try to select 2-3 options. How to do it?

On nutrition. Some hotels in Spain have unusual meals, such as FB SILVER (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Silver Category).
Accordingly, the tour HTOP SECRET LLORET DE MAR 3* 3 *** (Lloret de Mar) with the tour operator Anex tour, with meals FB SILVER. According to which the operator undertakes to accommodate you in any hotel of the HTOP 3* chain in the city of Lloret de Mar. In order to try to find a hotel in this case, it is enough to simply find 3* hotels of the HTOP chain in Lloret de Mar, which operate on such a special diet. And there is only one such hotel - HTOP PALM BEACH 3 *. Accordingly, if you buy such a tour, with a 99.9% probability you will end up in this hotel. And the difference in price between a tour of such fortune and a classic tour to this hotel is more than 20,000 rubles for two. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth the risk or not.
For children, even if the tour is without children. Suppose you find a tour according to fortune from the 1st for 7 nights, write down 10 hotels of the same category that are offered by the same tour operator for these dates, according to fortune. And then in the search enter 2 adults and 3 children, since not all hotels accept this composition, you will see a different list of hotels.
If there is fortune for 2 and for 2+3 children, then you need to calculate the hotel from those who accept 3 children, there are already fewer such hotels.
But if there is no luck for 2+3 children, then hotels that accept children should, on the contrary, be excluded from the potential options where you can go as a couple.
Perhaps by luck there are two hotels on fire, one that accepts children and one that does not, so this method does not provide a 100% guarantee. But it's much better than just guessing.
According to the importance of the hotel for the tour operator. Hotels recommended by the tour operator are indicated in the search engine with various icons. Do you think the operator cares about you? Of course not, this means that the operator has serious obligations to these hotels; as a rule, rooms have been purchased in advance (commitments for tourist language). Therefore, it is more profitable for the operator to sell tours and primarily load these hotels. Therefore, if we see a tour of fortune and see that the following list of hotels is “recommended”, and even marked in green as instantly confirmed. This means that with a high probability of luck you will be accommodated in this hotel.
Based on hotel availability. If a tour of fortune in the tour operator’s system is marked with “instant confirmation” (for Anex and Pegasus they are marked with a green background), then the hotels you will end up in will most likely have “instant confirmation”. Therefore, you can put a filter on hotels with instant confirmation and see possible options check-in. If the availability of seats according to the roulette is “upon request”, then the hotel, by chance, will be one of those availability of places in which the tour operator has upon request (at Pegasus and Anex on a white background).

Why do we need Roulette and Fortune tours?

Operators need such tours in order to sell a “pig in a poke.” They can sell it as a bad option, far from the sea, and even a sea with a terrible beach. They can also sell a completely normal hotel, which turned out to be underutilized for random reasons.

Why sell tours without specifying the hotel?

Imagine you bought an early booking tour, and for some random reason the hotel turned out to be underutilized, but only for 7 nights in the middle of the month, and then it was 100% occupied. If he lowers the price openly, then there will be talk about the feasibility early booking. It’s easier to drop prices “into the dark” by selling out of luck. Such situations are rare.
A tour operator wants to sell a certain hotel that is not selling well. If you just lower the price of it, people will think that the hotel is bad. The hotel may really be bad, but people who buy a fortune tour will hope for the best.
At the time of sale, the operator may not know which hotel he will put you in. But from experience, he knows that at this very time some hotel will definitely be on fire, so he sells such tours according to fortune, and closer to departure, which hotel will give a cheaper price there and accommodate tourists using roulette.

Is it worth buying tours using the Fortune, Roulette, Express system?

In my opinion, you can go to Spain by chance, since all the hotels are located on good beaches. Moreover, if the name of the tour indicates a region, for example Fortuna Blanes, in Blanes all hotels are located approximately the same from good beaches. If you are looking for discos, choose Fortuna Lloret de Mar. In such a situation, the name of the hotel will not greatly change your vacation.

The same can be said about Thailand, if your fortune is Phuket and Karon Beach, you can take it because a specific beach is indicated. But it’s just the luck of Phuket, you can be accommodated in a hotel in party Patong with not so perfect beaches, and in secluded Karon. And vice versa: you planned to hang out in Patong, and you will be accommodated on Kata Beach and so on.

In Turkey, Greece and Cyprus, the quality of the beaches depends on where the hotel is located. Some hotels have beautiful beaches, while some hotels, although located in the same region, have disgusting beaches. For these reasons, tours to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus using the fortune system are not very attractive.

As luck would have it, as a rule, there are only last-minute tours, and the best last-minute tours can be found and bought on the online aggregator: (select countries, departure city, dates and composition of tourists)

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Interesting system Fortune, firmly embedded in travel business, is actively used by various travel companies and, moreover, is popular among modern tourists. What is the “luck” of such a system, and does the traveler get a “pig in a poke”?

The intrigue of this option for purchasing a tour package is that clients have no idea until the last moment which hotel they will be staying in. Of course, such secrecy does not concern other, more serious aspects - the region, the resort area.

In addition, the following points are agreed upon in advance:

“star rating” of the hotel and its category;
service level.

At first glance, everything seems very decent, but the inquisitive human mind even in such a situation tries to discover the catch. If we consider the established rules, then the “Fortune” system (it can also be called Bingo, Roulette, Express) involves familiarizing the tourist with the nuances of the hotel no earlier than a day or two before departure, or when arriving at the airport of a hospitable country.

The best thing about such a purchase is a decent discount, which can be about a quarter of the cost of the trip, or even more! Roulette is quite a game of chance, and when choosing a trip in this way, the excitement necessarily awakens and excites clients with its uncertainty.

A favorable price may appear suddenly, and its appearance is not always associated with the low season. When ordering the tour you like best, the client will be offered a choice of several categories of hotels. This will become the defining moment later, when the time comes to move in.

And if tourists have purchased tours using the Fortuna system with a five-star hotel, they are required to be accommodated in a hotel of such a high category, and there should be no force majeure circumstances.

Experts warn that purchasing a tour, whether with Fortuna or without it, is necessary from an agency with an excellent reputation. In addition, company employees must warn clients about possible disadvantages and a number of advantages. Of course, it is “safer” to purchase vouchers for 4-5 star hotels; in this case, the risks of possible negative phenomena are lower.

Fortune and savings

When choosing a vacation according to the Fortuna system, a person hopes for a loyal attitude and certain benefits. But what does he get in real life? There is no doubt about this point; we are talking about economically attractive options. Moreover, both parties benefit.

During the seasonal influx of tourists, the system is used if the most popular hotels are fully staffed. When there are too many guests, the operator can offer hotels with less occupancy. This is a completely justified measure, and people are easily accommodated in other hotels, but with the same “star rating”.

As for the so-called low season, thanks to the system it is possible to attract large quantity vacationers to hotels, which are usually less in demand. In this situation, the operator can also become the owner of a pleasant discount.

If we talk about the general organization of the system, it may differ. Tourists can be accommodated in hotels belonging to the same chain or simply located in the same resort area and of a suitable category.

It is worth noting such a nuance as the host country. For example, Fortune in Egypt will not be the same as in Spain or Italy. What is the reason for this difference?

Fortune in different countries

“Good Luck” tours are especially popular among people on a limited budget. Naturally, when faced with a choice - to go to a resort and have a good rest or to stay at home, most often they choose the first. But if a person has excessive demands, then you should not rely on chance. And tourists with unpretentious needs can get tremendous pleasure from such a vacation.

It can also be noted here that such a system in tourism is not pure deception, as some may think. However, travel agents will take care of the minimum range of services and the quality of the expected service, and this is guaranteed in writing.

So which country is best to go to when playing Roulette:

Unfortunately, not all countries of Eastern Europe participate in such a system. One more nuance - when traveling through the system to Bulgaria or Croatia, you can run into some trickery - the owners of old hotels often embellish the service provided.

The “Fortune” or Roulette system is not any kind of deception, but it carries a certain intrigue. If you are willing to take a risk and at the same time save a certain amount, then such a “surprise” may turn out to be a completely acceptable and even convenient option.