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The deadline for redeeming the SingapoRediscovers vouchers (SRV) was at 11:59pm on Dec. 31, 2021.

Many Singaporeans hoping to redeem their S$100 SRV on the last day of the year found themselves staring at a circular buffer, a non-functional website, or behind a long queue of people trying to troubleshoot issues with their booking.

Others complained that their bookings were cancelled after receiving confirmation of the booking number and having paid for the tickets.

Server error

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) had already said on Dec. 30 that SRV physical counters and authorised booking partners "have been experiencing a high volume of traffic" as it was nearing the deadline for redemption.

The number of people making a mad dash to use the vouchers predictably soared as the deadline loomed.

Mere hours before the deadline, more and more users complained that they were facing issues with the website.

In a comment to the Dec. 30 Facebook post, STB explained that the "late rush to make online bookings resulted in some users experiencing technical difficulties", despite anticipating the volume of requests and putting in additional resources and technical support.

Deadline extended by 1 hour

With the rush to use tickets still not ceasing, the deadline had to be moved back by one hour.

On the comment posted at 11:58pm, STB said the deadline for online bookings was extended until 1am.

The extension allowed some users to successfully process their bookings past midnight, but many transactions could not go through.

This prompted many commenters on the Facebook post to ask for a longer extension in light of the issues with booking.

Bookings cancelled

Even after bookings were made successfully, some customers were unhappy after realising that their bookings were cancelled shortly after.

Commenters chide people for booking last minute

Given how the deadline for redeeming the SRV have been extended multiple times, some joined in on the comments section of the Facebook post to gloat and chide those trying to pull off last-minte bookings.

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Top image by Yee Jenn Jong/Facebook.