A Los Angeles woman decided to book a mystery vacation with Groupon and hoped the company would send her to Hawaii. She shared her disappointment when they booked her on a trip to Portland, Oregon.
In a video with over 663,000 views, TikToker Ava Tenisha (@avatenisha) says she purchased two vouchers for a mystery vacation through Groupon for $200 each.
The vouchers cover flights and hotels to a location that a travel agent picks for you based on availability. Dates and destinations aren’t guaranteed.
How Does Groupon Pick Your Destination?
While the listing says that destinations can be both domestic and international, the TikToker points out the random selection tier system.
According to the Groupon listing, only six vouchers are “Gold Tier,” which include seven nights at international destinations in Europe and Asia. Twelve travelers will luck out and get “Silver Tier,” which may send them to destinations like Hawaii, Mexico, or Iceland.
The most common tier is “Bronze,” which includes two nights in a major United States city. Around 2,000 voucher holders get this tier.
While the odds were that Tenisha would get bronze, she says she hoped to go to Hawaii. At the end of the day, Groupon sent her to Portland.
“I know if you’re doing this, you shouldn’t have an expectation, but in my mind, I wanted to go to Hawaii,” she says in her viral TikTok. “A psychic told me that something good was going to come.”
Can You Change The Mystery Destination?
She says she reached back out to Groupon and asked if they could send her to Hawaii instead. She says the company let her know that she would need to pay an additional $1,500 to bump herself into the more exclusive silver tier.
There may be a way to change your destination if you don’t like your first option. BroBible previously reported that another TikToker was able to change her bronze tier destination from Atlanta to Orlando.
The TikToker shares that she doesn’t know her hotel or flight yet but will find out two weeks before her trip in June.
Viewers React To Groupon Vacation Destination
While the TikToker expressed her initial disappointment with her destination, viewers encouraged her to look forward to her trip to Portland.
“Oregon for $200 is such a steal omg. Portland is amazing, you will love it,” one wrote.
“Girl Oregon is the the next best place from Hawaii! We have waterfalls, ocean, hiking, and it’s FREE to go too! Minus gas /car etc,” another said.
“Portland can be fantastic. Come by my bakery for a cookie on me,” a third added.
Others suggested that going into a mystery vacation with expectations is a recipe for disappointment.
“It sounds like you should not have tried this. This is for the true random vacation type of person, but I hope it works out,” a viewer said.
“Seems like a lot of you don’t know what Groupon is in 2026 …” a second joked.
@avatenisha This has been my experience with Groupon mystery vacations. I will do a full review after my trip in June. #groupon #mysteryvacation
BroBible reached out to Ava Tenisha via email and TikTok direct message and to Groupon via email. We will update the story when they reply.