Elite Destinations, AKA BQ Associates LLC
Complaint 88732 Details

This is a complaint regarding business practices by Elite Destinations.

My complaint is about a vacation club contract signed in July 2011 with Elite Destinations, AKA BQ Associates Inc, 2780 Las Vegas South, Las Vegas, NV 89109 and 21781 Ventura Blvd #231, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.

I filed a complaint with the BBB and the response I received from Elite (AKA BQ Associates) did not address the problem. I was yelled at by an employee of Elite for filing the original complaint and told that I had no right to do so. There's reason to believe that BQ Associates closed their doors in Las Vegas because they were being harassed by unsatisfied clients. Another story is that it was really VIP Destinations that sold these vacation club memberships on behalf of Elite Destinations/BQ Associates. I am unable to verify why they closed their Las Vegas doors. I requested the location of their office and they sidestep the question constantly.

When I call, I receive a price that is higher than other travel sites, they claim a place is a 5 star resort and the other travel site says a 3 star, though the other credible travel website (Expedia or Hotels.com) confirms it's the same resort. Their customer service is mediocre at best on a good day and sometimes downright rude. They would rather not deal with me if I don't accept their price and pay right away. They also seem to avoid sending quotes or prices via email. I can only assume that they don't want anything in writing. They claim to have been in business for 28 years. According to the BBB, they have been in business less than 2 years. They are deceitful in their practices. I read the warnings regarding vacation club scams on the AG's website, but that was a few months too late. I need help.

I was approached on South Las Vegas Blvd, yes on the street (the strip) while on vacation. This was not a package deal offering to fly me to attend some timeshare presentation like some others do.

This Vacation Club indicated the following at its presentation:
“Exclusive members only” discounts on the follow;
1. Vacation rentals such as villas, homes, condo, domestically and abroad.
2. Cruise.
3. Hotels.
4. All-inclusive vacations as in resorts in Mexico, Jamaica of the Dominican Republic.
5. All-inclusive vacations rentals, villas and condos which in this context, all-inclusive means it comes with a kitchen and not the same as all-inclusive as in Mexico, Jamaica of the Dominican Republic.
6. Prices shown on main page is what you get as a member only.


On Point 1:
I asked for a quote for a condo and I have received no quote. I think it's reasonable to receive a quote via email in writing. I filled out the request form online requesting a condo/home/non-hotel style. I requested the quote via email. I like to confirm I am getting the best possible price. I have received no response. When I called, I was told that she had 150 bookings to take care of that day. That's more than 15 bookings an hour in an 8 hour day. I find it difficult to believe. I sent several requests for the quote because I wanted to book the flights which were at a good price at the time. Again, no reply was received. I have not even received a reply acknowledging they received my email. I request an email just to say that she was working on it. Not even a reply to that. Needless to say, the prices of the flights have increased. So I decided to move on and research another vacation.


On Point 2:
All prices for the cruises found on their website are available to the general public at other travel sites. Because the prices of the flights increased on my 1st request I checked their website for cruises. I look for a cruise on Carnival and Royal Caribbean. I then checked the price on the respective Cruise Line companies own websites. The prices were the same. During the presentation we were told that we would receive members-only exclusive discounts on all cruises on their website. This was obviously not the case. The prices on Carnival and Royal Caribbean's websites require no special membership. When I entered my past cruiser number on Carnival, I received the same discount as the one reflected on Elite's website as a repeat cruiser. I am finding no real advantage to this membership. Elite's website also offer deals for the flexible and last minute traveler, but these are the same offers that the cruise line companies offer to fill up their boats. I have since discovered that the sight portals to the travel.com website.


On Point 3:
Prices for hotels are the same as Hotels.com and travel.com which are available to the general public. At the presentation, they said that they receive special deals on hotels on their website. These deals are exclusive to members. I looked for a hotel on Elite's website and did the same on Hotels.com and found that the prices were the same. When I asked why they were the same, they explained that Elite purchase rooms at these hotels, resorts and condos and then pass the savings to the members. She then instructed me to search hotels on Elite's website and lead me to some rooms that had prices that had a strikeout line through a price and a discounted price right next to it. This was Elite's exclusive price for members. Hotels.com has the same scenario on the same hotels on the same days. Then I clicked on the hotel on Elite's website only to find out that it's a portal to travel.com which is a travel website. No membership fee is needed to book on Travel.com. I feel that I paid for a membership that guaranteed exclusive discounts that are the same as offered to the general public.


On Point 4:
At the presentation, I was told that they members receive special deals on all-inclusive resorts (the kind with alcohol, food and accommodation included with the price as found in Mexico and the Dominican Republic). All prices received from Elite were higher than what was available on Expedia.com and Expedia.com does not have a special membership fee. After a several lengthy conversations with the Elite employee they then told me that I the quote incorrectly, which lead me to believe that they did it not to deal with me anymore. I requested that they send me the correct price via email and I received no such email.


On Point 5:
I request quotes and received nothing. I have requested quotes for condo resorts and villas as well as all-inclusive resorts by email and call asking them to send it by email, only to be ignored. They told me I requested too many quotes. When I receive no reply in 2-3 days, I generally send another. This is not unreasonable.


On point 6:
Prices shown on main page is never available for your time frame. On the website, the comparison prices of what the public pay vs. what a member pays are displayed. There is no indication for which week or for which dates those members’ prices are good. When I call, a different price (higher price) is offered and when I ask them why it's not the same as the price online the answer is always, that's for a different week.

Other discoveries: Elite Destinations or BQ Associates operate under other names. The websites are identical. I believe there is more. I believe there is more.

www.elitedestinations.net (Elite Destinations)
www.destinationpremier.com (Destination premier)
mygatewayvacations.com (Gateway Vacations)
preferredwholesaletravel.com (Preferred wholesale travel)


There’s is nothing exclusive about its services. You can get better at other websites without a membership fee. I was scammed.