Yelp Reviews

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The following are reviews that customers have posted on Yelp.com. When a new review is posted on Yelp.com, we display it here as well because any positive review will almost certainly be filtered from our Yelp rating within 48 hours.

Yelp claims that their automated software that makes the recommendation selections is unbiased, see the updated Yelp video that explains their recommendation software (complete video found here) has been updated to say "...Yelps recommendation software automatically evaluates all reviews. It's looking for those that may be most useful and reliable from active users. These are recommended reviews. And, in fact, most reviews are recommended. Our philosophy is "quality over quantity", which is why the rest are not recommended. These are written by users we don't know enough about, or sometimes they could be unhelpful rants... Reviews that Yelp doesn't recommend can still be seen via a link at the bottom of each businesses profile page but they don't factor into the businesses overall Yelp star rating or review count...".

Admittedly, Yelp has significantly cleaned up the language in the newer video. It is much more accurate than prior videos. However, there are still things that we want to point out here to for our customers and potential customer to consider.

Yelp is not forthcoming that they have an automated system that filters reviews. You only find that out when you click "71 reviews that are not recommended". Then they show you the video before they show you the filtered reviews. Goldrush Getaways has 167 recommended reviews. As of August 2023, we have 3 negative reviews this year and all 3 are 1-star reviews from people posting their thoughts on a promotional piece that we sent in the mail. In fact the majority of the negative reviews come from people that received a marketing piece and have not contacted out company. We had the drawing for 2022 winner of the Tesla 3 or $49,000 cash earlier this year. It is a legitimate, insured promotion. We can understand if someone is not interested, or wants to be placed on a do not mail list, which we are happy to do, but Yelp leaves these 1 star reviews on their website for several years, yet filters dozens of 5 star reviews from our actual members that use our service, so we feel the need to point out the imbalance of our recommended reviews. They also penalize companies that ask for reviews from customers, so we don't solicit reviews from our members.

We don't feel that Yelp is out to get us. We just want everyone to be aware that Yelp filters customer reviews with an automated system, Yelp recommends reviews that Goldrush Getaways can prove contain false information, and that Yelp recommends reviews without verifying claims made by the reviewer. Yelp is permitted by law to allow someone to libel our company on their website. Yelp will not take down a review purely based on a false claim as their response is that they don't take sides. As a small business, all we can do is reply to the review, which is at least visible to the public. It appears that Yelp thinks a review from over 9 years ago from a person that received a marketing mailer but never even visited our business, has no friends (on Yelp) and only 1 review is more credible than a review from one of our actual members that has been a customer for years. We only ask that you keep all of this information in mind. We welcome both positive and negative feedback from the public and our members. We view negative feedback as an opportunity to learn and to improve our product and our service. Thank you.

    • Alex B.
    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    9/20/2023

    Gold Rush Getaways provided me with an amazing travel experience. The planning was effortless, and they chose excellent places to stay. The guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Overall, they made my trip truly special..Highly recommended.

    • Gale L.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    8/15/2023

    We were seriously hindered because of covid and wanted to book a river cruise to Prague. We were put in touch with Scott Stevens who answered all of our questions including some we hadn't thought of. His knowledge was great, his enthusiasm was great and his service was great. We went away saying he was truly "Great Scott".

    This is our second experience with Goldrush. They have been sincere in helping us navigate our way through the intricate world of t ravel.

    • Kimberly L.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 6 friends
    • 1 reviews
    8/15/2023

    A special Thank You to Beatriz, Travel Advisor. I appreciate you, and helping me set up my first cruise as a travel advisor. You have always been there to help and answer my questions. You are great at your job and a real team player. The Celebrity Summit cruise was outstanding.

    • Michael S.
    • Porter Ranch, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    4/25/2023

    As a member of Goldrush Getaways for approximately ten years, I can absolutely say that they are there for you! We have booked family and friends vacations without issues and have received commissions as a result. They are not there to do your work for you (and booking travel does require work) but if you have any questions or issues they are ther to assist. Tracy Bettencourt is a delight to talk with and is very knowledgeable regarding travel issues.

    • Jim K.
    • Granite Bay, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 4 reviews
    4/25/2023

    I have been a member of Goldrush Getaways for about five years and I have nothing but good things to say about the company. We are heavy travelers an have saved significant amount of dollars and gained a lot of information because of our relationship with Goldrush Getaways. If you are a heavy traveler and you are a little of the hands on type you should consider becoming a member.

    • Ericka R.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    4/25/2023

    It is funny to see so many pressed people one here... this is a presentation similar to timeshares but not a timeshare... it is a decent deal if you do travel and no they don't treat you badly...they are attentive and helpful throughout the process and that is nice. If you want to travel and get good deals (since everything is expensive AF) then this is where it is at

    • Paula K.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    4/25/2023

    Scott Stevens helped us cancel a cruise, and book a cruise. He was very helpful and gave us excellent advice and support. I would recommend Scott to my family and friends. He made us feel welcome and gave us some good advise on training so we can earn a FREE cruise! You can't beat that! Give that man a raise

    • Katie S.
    • CA, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    4/25/2023

    My husband and I have been members for almost 3 years now and absolutely love it. My husband travels for work and it is great being able to get hotels for him with the option of searching for them myself or having one of the agents do it for me. I'm always so excited to learn new things and I am able to do so with Goldrush.

    • Bill M.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    4/25/2023

    I have been a member of Goldrush Getaways since 2012 and am very happy with the services and opportunities they provide. Jeff and his staff have always gone out of their way to make sure missing commissions or problems with vendors are resolved quickly and satisfactorily. My wife and I went to the presentation fully prepared to get a hard sell, but we weren't really there for the free stuff or vacation packages, as we already knew we wanted to join. We negotiated with the salesman and paid what we considered a reasonable sum, not anywhere near the $9K or whatever the people in their reviews have discussed. Remember the adage: it takes money to make money. You should negotiate with the salesman, just like when buying a car. They want to make money too.
    As this program works best if you can and do travel frequently or if you have friends or business associates that you can get to use your services. You should plan to spend some amount of time researching trips and planning. IF you are going to be in the business of selling travel and not just using this program for yourself, then you will realize that the return on your initial investment should take as little as a year or two, depending on how fast you can sell trips that generate commissions of from 10-20%. The idea is to sell around $50,000 in business a year to get the 90% commission rate. That could be 2 or 3 personal trips per year or one big family trip. There are many hotels and tour and cruise lines that offer up to and over 50% off to travel agents. There are real savings out there.
    I fully recommend Goldrush Getaways as a business model that allows anyone to travel and also have a business that allows them to make as much money as the effort they put into it.

    • Jennifer A.
    • Sacramento, CA
    • 42 friends
    • 18 reviews
    8/26/2022

    Thank you to Jeremy and Natalie of GoldRush Getaways. I had difficulty fulfilling my 3 day Tahoe getaway gift and they immediately took action with their fulfillment company. Within 24 hours I received confirmation of my reservation for the 3 day Tahoe gift. The fulfillment company was unable to deliver due to pent up travel demand caused by the pandemic travel delay.

    Even though I was unable to take part in the travel agent benefits GoldRush Getaways provides, I will look into it in the future. It will be perfect when I am able to cruise with our extended family as well as enjoy better hotel rates and condominium rentals. As with any travel benefit, one has to have the time to get away as well as learn to do the work to attain 60% discount and travel agent huge discounts. Otherwise getting to know the company, utilizing their work as a travel agent provider is a good start.

    Overall, I am pleased with the attentive, prompt service I received from Jeremy and Natalie once I brought the reservation confirmation issue up for their awareness of the problem. Thank You GoldRush Getaways.

    • Jacob Y.
    • Reno, NV
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    7/31/2022

    Tami France is best, she made my family's night!
    (California state fair)
    There's not a lot of people like her in the world. Such a pure soul. Thank you so much Tami!

    • Micah V.
    • San Francisco, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    7/24/2022

    Amazing travel agency. It's simple. They teach you how to be a travel agent and how to make money while traveling.

    Plan a trip.
    Invite some friends.
    Make money and get the trip paid for.

    • Vern M.
    • Roseville, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 12 reviews
    5/9/2022

    Jeff from Goldrush Getaways is very friendly. Very informative. Excellent service if you have issues. Recommend if your looking for travel agent. This is the one! Customer Vern McConnell from Roseville

    • Beth H.
    • Malibu, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 7 reviews
    4/26/2022

    My husband purchased a Goldrush Getaways membership before we were married. I googled it, saw mixed reviews and teased him a little about it. I thought it was just some kind of cheap time share wholesaler racket. I was wrong. Fast forward a year or two and I spent some time on the website and researched all that they had to offer and I honestly love it. You have to do some work and research all of the travel partners that they have so that you can match your travel standards. They have some low budget travel but they also offer travel opportunities with Seabourn, Silverseas, and other five star travel organizations, my family and I are really enjoying our membership. One negative thing for me is the condo corner. Most of the condos I have looked at online have average or below ratings on TripAdvisor but I am very happy with the rest of the membership.

    • Brandon B.
    • Castle Rock, CO
    • 117 friends
    • 5 reviews
    1/5/2022

    I just have to add a comment here and give major props to GG. Being able to navigate your own travel, and earn commissions...we love it! Does it take time to learn the ropes...sure but it is an investment in YOUR future! I promise you this is not a scam, we love working with GG and I hope people give them a chance.

    • Dmitriy B.
    • San Jose, CA
    • 4 friends
    • 17 reviews
    11/21/2021

    It is very strange to see negative reviews, especially from people who knew they went to the presentation and simply did not like the offer. I was ready to leave, but decided to give it a try, especially that my wife really wanted to, and we do need to travel more anyway.
    We diligently went through all offered material, programs and discounts, booked and saved over 5K on our first cruise. Filled with memories and good experience, we are now planning our next vacation.
    Use them to your advantage if you need to, walk away if you don't.

    • Shelley C.
    • San Jose, CA
    • 135 friends
    • 5 reviews
    10/8/2021

    This was defiantly not a scam. It is up to you if you want to invest in the travel opportunity! We are enjoying our discount travel for family and friends and we just competed our first group trip to Jamaica for about 30 people and the commission received help to subsidize our trip! If you are interested in learning the travel business there is an abundance of training available AND we got our CLIA card at a discount price. Most of you are talking about winning a prize. But over the past year I feel we got our moneys worth in savings. Looking forward to booking more groups.

    • Justea B.
    • Sacramento, CA
    • 111 friends
    • 11 reviews
    9/16/2021

    Very high level of service and follow through. I appreciate the personal experience. Thank you.

    • Christy W.
    • Palo Alto, CA
    • 3 friends
    • 2 reviews
    2/9/2020

    Not a scam; a sales pitch yes, but not a scam. Very interesting business model and we would have done it if the time was right. Let's hope when we are ready they will give us the same deal as of we were first timers and if they don't then maybe I will change my star rating! Stay tuned.....

    • T V.
    • San Jose, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 33 reviews
    11/23/2019

    No scam here... rather, a good opportunity if you like to travel.

    My wife and I recently attended the presentation having received the invitation and notice of a prize by mail this week. We read the fine print and odds of winning described on the back and went into it knowing what to expect... an offer of a 7-day Mexican cruise ("winner" pays the taxes and fees). Plus $50 restaurant gift card and 2 free nights in one of 30 hotels (Sunday thru Wednesday check-in),

    I arrived with the experience of high pitched sales presentations but did not find this with Goldrush Getaways. Rather, we both enjoyed the informative sales presentation offered by Tony and the friendly, fair and knowledgeable support staff. They offered an opportunity for steep travel discounts at a price that could make $sense for the frequent traveler. I was excited for the couples we met which accepted the offer.

    As for us, the timing was not right and they made it clear that we could not return expecting the same offer. The gave us the gifts as described and we left happy. Happy to have attended the presentation and been given what seemed like a fair opportunity. Lots of other couples there... they all seemed friendly and curious. It was a comfortable experience. My recommendation to considering attending the presentation is to read the fine print and arrange for transportation because you likely will not be driving home in a new Tesla.

    • Corinna C.
    • Nicolaus, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    10/30/2019

    I have been a member for about 5-6 yrs now, we are very happy Goldrush Gateways.
    I book family and friends with their vacations, I've booked a group with a total of 7 people all they way from Sweden, with hotel cars air and theme parks for a month, we just did a cruise and land tour with 15 of us and it was wonderful.

    • Martha M.
    • Rocklin, CA
    • 51 friends
    • 8 reviews
    10/24/2019

    I attended the presentation and was given more gifts than I even thought I had coming. I wish I could say that I know if their service is worth the investment, but I was unable to become part of the travel industry as they described (contracting to them as a travel agent and receiving the discounted prices that travel agents receive when they book travel. I did not have the funds currently available as I am newly single. However I was given $40 cash and a $50 restaurant gift card and a cruise for two with airfare and hotel stay. I have yet to use the hotel or the cruise but the $40 cash was real and I did spend that.

    • Neslihan K.
    • San Jose, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 4 reviews
    9/2/2019

    It's not a scam first of all. They invite you for a presentation and explain their business model. We decided to became a member after presentation but couple days later we changed our mind cause we really don't travel a lot, and it would not make sense for us. So they refunded our money.

    Still we were given our free gifts. If you travel a lot, that's a great program.

    • William D.
    • Moreno Valley, CA
    • 14 friends
    • 14 reviews
    8/7/2019

    My name is Bill and I recently retired from law enforcement after 30 years. I bring this up to let you know my integrity is high and I would not be saying anything in this post that was not 100% accurate. I have been a member of Goldrush Getaways for about 5 years. I paid several thousand to be a member and have recouped all my initial investment back and have been making a profit for years. Once you become a member, you have the responsibility to do your homework and learn how to use the agency for your benefit. You can't just sit back and do nothing and then get mad at Goldrush. I signed up because I knew I was going to retire and wanted to travel and save money. I specialize in cruising because that is what I love to do. I recently booked 4 cabins for me and family members. My commission on all rooms was over $1,200.00 dollars. My family members had a balcony and I had a mini-suite. I got 100% of the commission for the room I was in. On paper we put my wife in another room so we would get 100% commission on that room also. All other rooms I received 60% of the commission and Goldrush got 40%. That was $1,200 in my pocket that I would never had received if I wasn't a travel agent with Goldrush.

    If you go to Goldrush website there is a calendar that lists all kinds of classes that you can take for free. You can either attend on-line or show up at the office. I have attended many of these classes to learn how to be a better travel agent so I can make the most money possible. I have called Goldrush numerous times when I had questions about booking something, and have always been given the information I needed.

    There is no doubt you can make a profit, but you have to put in the time and energy. Thank you and take care!

    • Rhonique L.
    • Sacramento, CA
    • 0 friends
    • 1 reviews
    6/3/2019

    Scott, I truly appreciate you taking the time to assist me step by step with booking my cruise. I must say you are very knowledgeable and your tips and guidance was extremely helpful. Thank you so much for amazing customer service, patients, and kindness.