If we're just going for a "drop and flop" holiday, and don't intend moving any further than the resort, then no we don't bother. If we intend doing a couple of trips, then we usually go, just to see what's available, although we've got a good idea before we arrive. For years hubby worked at a job where he drove up to 200 miles a day, so when on holiday, he doesn't want to hire a car and have to drive again. If we can do a trip independently then we will, using local transport. However local transport isn't always readily available in some places, so we will go on an organised trip, if it's something we really want to do. The best welcome meeting I've ever been to was last year in Lassi Kefalonia. The rep introduced himself, gave out the information leaflets, and told everyone to have a browse, and if anyone wanted any more info, or to book something, then he was available to do so. No hard sell, no sitting listening for an hour. We picked up the leaflets and took them back to the lounger to look at. I do think that the prices charged are extortionate though.

I used to love going to the meetings to see who else had arrived the same time as us and to have a free drink However, I can't remember the last time we went to one as we tend to know most of what there is to know about the area through research on HT. If we do trips we'll book them locally unless there is no availability and we really fancy doing something. Then we would book with the reps although they charge top whack.

Like Helen if we are just going for a quiet week to do nothing, I would try and avoid them (hubby does like to go to them more than me though!)
If I had been to the place before we deffo would not go.
If we are going for a 2 week holiday somewhere further afield and want to do some trips we would probably go, but I would prefer not to as I would rather spend that hour on the sunbed! It is after all an hour of your time you are never going get back and sometimes you don't learn anything new, as we do also research our trips now before we go and usually know what we want to do.

Avoid it like the plague..always have done and always will do if we ever go on a package holiday again.

ive only ever been to 1 welcome meeting and that was the first time i went to zante, the year after i got hasssled by the rep to go but considering i was at the same resort in the same hotel i told her i didnt need to bother and if i wanted to go on any trips i would get them in resort as they are much cheaper, needless to say she didnt hassle me any more

Also avoid it like the plague . I dont want to spend my first morning cooped up listening to what is effectly a sales pitch . no thanks.

We did give it a go in cuba because I thought maybe I had been a bit too cynical over over years and we might just learn something important .. Nope still the same

We as a family, went to the meet and greet. i won a balloon flight over the valley of queens. it was my best experience ever.. we try to do the meetings. you dont have to buy...

i don't bother now, as the resorts i go to on costa brava are like a second home to me now.i do see the ferris holidays rep in resort when i am there, and usually have a chat with her if i want some information that a local would readily know -she lives in the area all year. she also asks me about bars/restaurants etc as i probably go to more than her
in the past i have found that reps who live in resort, rather than the youngsters who are only really on extended holidays, tend to be less pushy when it comes to selling tours; maybe it is to do with the way they are paid, less reliance on commission/targets.
a few years ago we went to halkadiki in greece and at the welcome meeting we were told that the local transport was almost non existant, and not worth bothering about.chatting to a local we discovered that a local bus ran down the coast to some lovely little villages, and a beautiful bay with crystal clear water that was used by the greeks. the bus ran to the timetable (which was a bit of paper stuck to a telegraph pole), even though the driver stopped at his own house to go and get himself a cold drink.we used this regularly for the 2 weeks, as in hanioti where we were staying the sunbeds were not facing the sea for most of the day -which i hate -but they were in other resorts.
my pet hate with reps meetings is that they are held at times to suit the rep, rather than the holiday makers. i appreciate that the reps may have a lot of hotels to visit and every hotel cannot have a meeting around the time of meals when i am most likely to attend, but they seem to set a timetable for the season that always involves me having to meet them at 11am or 3pm when i have other things to do

if i was to go somewhere new i would go to the meeting, if it was at a reasonable time, just to ask questions about local transport/restaurants. i was directed to a great resaurant in calella by the local rep -it was one where the reps went to meet,as it did not seem to be used by the tourists. a great place to eat good local food and relax.

Sometimes we do, sometimes we dont. I think Jim made a valid point of the timing of these things and that does play a big part. Didnt bother this year with the meeting because a) we have been to the hotel/area too many times and the staff (particularly the kid's entertainer who lives in the area) have more knowledge than the rep and b) it was at 9am in the morning and I was not stirring myself to get up and ready that early after being up since 3am the previous day. I dont think the rep came again to the hotel anyway for the whole duration of our stay, well I certainly didnt see them and we were definately on a "drop & flop" holiday this year so didnt want any excursions anyway.

Last year, there wasnt a rep at all - just a phone number to ring in case of problems :really. We did want trips that time and we were somewhere that we hadnt been before so after speaking with one of the other rep's in resort, we attended her meeting and booked our trips through them. She told us that the First Choice rep (who we were travelling with) had walked out about 3 weeks before and noone had replaced her). First Choice lost out on over £250 that holiday with the various trips that we took but their loss was Thomas Cook's gain The phone number they left was a complete waste of time too as we did have problems and when we rang it, noone answered and we lost out on what we booked. Never again will we return to that hotel/area which is shame because had a rep been around, the problems would have - hopefully - been resolved.

Sometimes they are informative and worth attending and you find out some lovely little gems of wisdom, but sometimes it is just a sales exercise and you wish you hadnt bothered.

We went to our first welcome meeting last year in Gran Canaria just to see what it was all about as this was the first time we had a Rep in the hotel. The Rep was a lovely man, very helpful and knowledgeable about the area but then went on and on about the trip list his helper was passing around.

I had every intention to go on a daytrip somewhere but when the price list came round it soon dampened that idea. We usually go for 'drop and flop' holidays and prefer the beach, pool and local town. I wouldn't bother going to a welcome meeting again.

Hubby normally goes on his own. He brings back the information to me, we chat about it then he goes back to book I do occasionally go with him, depending on the time of day e.t.c.

If we are going to a resort for the first time then yes we do go to the welcome meeting. We always arrange our own trips as find the reps are to expensive!

Usually go just so that the rep. knows who I am in case I have a problem - and so that I recognise them. Not that that was much help with the Olympic rep. in Crete as we only saw him again AFTER the hotel had sorted out our return details for us!

We don't use package holidays anymore so was surprised when we went to Hisaronu earlier this year to find that our accommodation provider also provided a rep We didn't know until we got a note through the door re the meeting. We went along out of curiosity and there was only us and a young couple there.

He was obviously there to do a few trips (we booked Turkish bath for £5 as bargain - complete with pick up and drop off from hotel ) The young couple booked a few of the more expensive trips. However, the young couple weren't happy with their room outlook as they were tucked away among the forest trees (bit dark). The rep told them to go with him and he'd sort it out for them. Sure enough later that day we chatted to the couple 2 balconies away from us! They'd been given a room near us with uninterrupted mountain views. So am sure they were happy that they'd attended the meeting.

What I have found really handy about a rep is the fact that the regal Dive/Blue 02 rep meets us at the airport in Hurghada and we get ushered straight through the scrum. Our visas have already been sorted in advance for us and we only have to go through one queue. We get ushered straight to our own booth to collected out visas and stamp, leading ud to the front of the queue for actually getting in!

Saves so much time and so much chaos...especially as you are tired and anyone who has experienced the chaos at Egypts airports will know what I mean. We then get taken to the baggage claim, then as soon as we have our luggage we are ushered straight to an air conditioned bus that takes us to the marina! All part of the service. We have the bus to ourselves as we are always the only ones on the liveaboards to come from Manchester airport..all the others come in from Gatwick.

I never see the rep again until we get back at the marina and they tell us what time the mini bus is taking us to the airport...

the way it should be I think.

If you are a return visitor to the resort I can't see the point, if we wanted to go on any trips these days we would never book with the rep as the prices are over the top. In Zante this year there were lots of travel offices about where you could book the same trips at half the price, and lets face it the welcome meeting is all about making more money for the TO.

We book with Monarch mostly and there is no rep, so no meeting, which suits us just fine.....Caz

The last welcome meeting I went to was the mid 1990s & was in Tenerife. Rep did the usual talk & wasn't to happy that I said that I wasn't paying the prices they were asking. And that my friend & me would be able to get to these places via local buses or taxis, enter the parks/sites etc for at least half the price. And be there when it was quieter & spend more time at the site to enjoy it. As it would be quieter without all the Tour Ops coachs all there at the same time.
Now I just do everything myself. Do what I want, when I want. One day, will be a chill out day, then it could be a "lets see whats down this street" sort of day.

last one we went on was a couple of holidays ago in cuba, the rep was a lovely cuban lady, but as soon as the door shut in the 'classroom' she produced a cain type instrument from behind he desk and promptly began lecturing us on each and every 'province de cuba' and it's associated geographic qualities (!) the worst thing about this, was that this room we were all sat in had nothing but glass seperating it from the lobby bar area, where all the brits who has arrived the previous week were sat at the bar waving their ice cold beers at us and laughing hysterically...they must have been in the same situation the previous week! it worked out well though as there were 2 other couples in there with us, we all found it hysterical and ended up getting on great for the whole holiday, and-you guessed it, we all took a stool at the lobby bar the following week and thoroughly enjoyed watching the next set of lambs to the slaughter as they entered 'senora juanita's' weekly geography lesson

Send the boyf whilst I stay by the pool........

Never get a drink anymore though lol cutbacks......

They are boring and are just a chance to sell trips.