Insights from a "Traveled" Agent

Good Grief! Email, BlackBerry, Websites, Blogs and Facebook

Boy, I am telling you, between emails, my blackberry, my website, my blog, my Facebook account and now people telling me I should "follow them on Twitter", I don't know how I find time to take care of my business anymore! (Oh well, I don't sleep much.) My business still comes before the technology. My clients and potential clients are still the things that are most important to me, next to my faith in the Lord and my family of course! Although I have to admit my poor husband does feel like he comes in a close third sometimes behind Eagle's Nest Vacation & Travel!

I try to do a good job on everything that I do and sometimes, like everyone, I mess up. Maybe I can't get back to someone in 24 hours with a price or maybe I didn't remind someone about a fantastic deal that was available for a couple of days in a month not ending in "R" or maybe I don't send final payment reminders on the hundreds of open bookings I have but I do try my best to send the best confirmation letter out there and after you book with me and you get one, if you don't know everything you need to know about your travel, there isn't a Facebook account in Atlanta.

The letters I send cover all of the details about your trip, including what would happen if you had to cancel and the travel protection available to you. I tell you about the resort you are staying at or the cruise ship you are sailing on; the destinations you are visiting, how much your trip cost you, how much you have paid and when subsequent payments are due. I share my special little travel hints and secrets with you, tell you if you need a passport or not and even AFTER you booked your trip, I try to get you a better price if one becomes available. I don't think there is another travel agent in the world who does that! Yes, it comes out of the commission paid to me from the vendor, but ask me what is more important? My money or my satisfied clients? Satisfied clients tell their friends and family about me. My money doesn't communicate. And I don't care a fig about money anyway. The good Lord takes care of my needs and that is what is important to me. You had better believe I am thankful for everything I have!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Time to Put Last Year to Bed!

Happy 2010 to all! I, for one, am happy to say hello to the New Year and good-bye to 2009. It was a trying year for all of us. I am confident things will improve this year as my bookings for 2010 and 2011 are well under way. The prices have been outstanding due to the economy and I consider myself astute because I grabbed some group cruise space at the cheaper rates so I hope you will take time to look at my "Specials" box on my website to take advantage. I have onboard credits to offer along with the great rates and great ships. I am especially excited about my favorite ship, Royal Caribbean's "Radiance of the Seas" coming to Tampa! I have sailed on her three times and can't wait for the fourth! She will be sailing four and five night cruises from Tampa, an easy 6 1/2 hour drive from Atlanta.
I was thrilled to visit some new destinations in January as well when I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Zihuatenjo and Acapulco, Mexico. Also visited Puerto Vallarta but that was my second visit there. Cabo is simply breathtaking and we saw whales, whales and more whales. What an enchanting destination. There is nothing like that rocky, jagged Pacific coast with the royal blue water, mountains and golden sand. I visited seven different resort properties there and feel very confident about my recommendations to you. If any of you want to see my photos, just let me know and I will send you the link from my online photo albums.
If you are thinking of a family reunion this year or next or a romantic getaway or just a vacation with family or friends, now is the time to call before all the good rates disappear! I would so love to help you find that vacation of a lifetime!

Travelers' Market

We all know the economy is in a position that it hasn't been in for many decades. The way I see it, we have two choices. We can either mope around and be depressed and worrisome or we can continue on with our lives and have hope for the future. I am not trying to be flippant here, by any means. I know people are concerned about the future. However, we are Americans and we will get through this!

The up side here is that it is a traveler's market right now. Prices are lower than I have seen them in my fifteen years in business. I have been selling four night cruises on lovely ships for less than $300.00 per person and that include port charges, all taxes and fees. Seven night cruises are available for less than $500.00 on some ships.

Resort vacation packages have been slashed and with the right planning and flexibility you can have a lovely vacation at an All Inclusive Caribbean resort for less than $800 per person for five nights.

In spite of everything YOU STILL DESERVE A VACATION. Please don't forget about yourselves and your families. Now more than ever, we need to stay close and spend as much quality time together as we can.

Call me when you are ready. I can help you do it.

You Still Deserve a Vacation!

An adorable five year old boy that I know, when told that they just could not go on their planned vacation because of the expenses involved, told his mommy and daddy that it made him really sad and he didn't really understand. But he also told them that anything would be fine, as long as Mommy and Daddy didn't work and they did something together as a family. Pretty profound for a five year old.

Regardless of the price of gasoline, the increases for items on the grocery store shelves, or the upcoming presidential election having you feel like you are riding a roller coaster, you still deserve a vacation! And don't you owe it to your family?

Vacations are good for you! A study in psychosomatic medicine finds a correlation between the number of vacations people take and their risk of death. Studied vacation habits of 12,338 men for five years discovered that those who took no vacations suffered the highest death rate and the highest incidents of heart disease over the next nine years!

Those who did take a vacation reduced their risk of death by 21% and their risk of death by heart disease by 32%.

We all know that relaxing and taking it easy reduces stress. What can be more relaxing than a vacation? Even if you do a bit of sightseeing and shopping it is still stress-free. Cruising the oceans of the world or just chilling out at a beachfront resort somewhere with nothing more to do than decide what to eat that day or do you want to swim in the pool or the ocean can be the best medicine available for what ails you. Not to mention excellent brain food!

If the water and beaches don't interest you the other possibilities are limitless. A trip to the Colorado mountains can certainly provide that "Rocky Mountain High". A visit to New England, to some of our nation's most reknown historical places offer a wonderful respite from every day struggles. Washington DC in all its majesty and splendor still brings tears to my eyes. Coastal California from San Diego to Sacremento would be the trip of a lifetime.

Vacations don't have to be 10-14 day endeavors that are beyond your budget. But at least take four to seven days of "me" time, or if you have a family, then "us" time. You work hard and you deserve it. So do the people who love you. 

Just a little F.Y.I. from a travel agent . . .

I sincerely hope you will read my previous posts on this blog and I would love to have your comments as well! It's kind of a neat way to get some things said that there aren't always opportunities for-- plus I like to write so that's always fun!

I have something I would like to kind of vent about I guess and this blog is probably as good a place as any to express myself. Whether you are a valued client of mine or a potential customer who is thinking of calling me about a much needed vacation, it is important to me and to all travel agents everywhere that you understand something.

When you book a vacation package with a cruise line or tour operator directly and cut out the travel agent, well, for each ten instances, probably another travel agent bites the dust. More importantly you are hurting yourselves in the long run. If you get nothing else from this post, please know that the same suppliers that you are using to book directly are the ones we buy from and they do NOT, I repeat do NOT give you a better price than what we can give you. They are greedy but they are not stupid. They do not want to alienate travel agents. You are gaining something for someone by booking directly but not for yourselves by any means. When you book directly you are only enabling them to save the money that they would pay us for selling their products. You see they pay us from their bottom line. So there is no benefit to you whatsoever as the savings do NOT, I repeat, do NOT go to you. What you are forfeiting is much more substantial.

When you book without a travel agent you are giving up so many things. Most certainly knowledge and experience but more than that, the excellent service that an agent provides--at least this agent. When you go directly to a resort website or a cruise line website or even a hotel, they make everything look beautiful on their sites. Afterall why would they put some old ugly pictures on their website? They want you to come there so they can collect the money upfront and they don't always care about repeat business because there's someone else right behind you stepping off the next plane. Sad but true.

When you book directly with them are they going to take care of you before, during and after your travel? Who are you going to go to for questions and help along the way? Some "order taker" on the Internet? Travel agents are your advocates. At least this travel agent is. I am there for you every step of the way. If something does go wrong, I will fight for you afterwards. I will even continue to check rates after your deposit to see if the prices come down. No one in the world is going to do that for you at a cruise line or airline or hotel  or the dreaded Internet! You see I do care about repeat business. It is my bread and butter. And I want referrals from happy clients. It's what makes my business grow.

I have traveled to so many places--at least 15 European countries, including Greece; China, Israel, more than 20 Caribbean islands, 38 states in the U.S. including Hawaii and Alaska and I have traveled many times to Mexico and consider myself a specialist in the Cancun and Riviera Maya area and the island of Cozumel. Every time I go I inspect resorts and hotels and have tours from the manager and take photos to share with my clients. I use many of these photos on my website and I also write reviews of many of the places I have traveled to. You can see more than 25 of my on line photo albums on www.snapfish.com

I have cruised 40 times, 15 times with Royal Caribbean alone. I share these same photos and reviews on my website. I believe I go way beyond the call of duty with sharing my personal experiences, knowledge and perspectives.

Many of you do what I call "price shopping" where you call 4 or 5 different agencies to get prices. This is a complete waste of your time as we all get the same prices from suppliers. But you have to  compare apples to apples. If you are going to be a shopper then be a smart shopper. Ask questions and find out what is included in your vacation price and what is not. Are all of the taxes and fees included? How about resort service charges? How about transfers to and from the foreign airport? Do you know the difference between an "Inclusive" and an "All Inclusive" resort? Do you know what the island departure taxes are for each Caribbean island? Are they included in your package? What about surcharges and fees due to fuel increases and utility shortages? Do you know what is included in your cruise price and what is not? Do you know about shore excursion options and how to save money when you stop in the ports of call on a cruise? How about travel protection insurance? Are you absolutely sure what it covers and what it does not cover? PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ MY PREVIOUS POST ABOUT TRAVEL INSURANCE. YOU WILL BE SO GLAD THAT YOU DID.

The thing for you to do is find an agency you can trust and feel comfortable with. I have been in business for 14 years. I will share many things with you as long as you don't take advantage of me. If you are price shopping be good enough to tell me beforehand; not after I have worked for 12 hours or one week or even more on your package (at no fee I might add) and then you tell me you found a less expensive rate "on the Internet."  Please understand that the reason it is less expensive is usually because many of these added costs were left off your package but they were included in mine. You can pay now or pay later. I have even had clients compare six night packages to five night packages and not know that they were quoted one less night than what they asked for!

And please don't make me work hard on your vacation and then say "Thank you, I will let you know" and then call the agency in the next neighborhood and tell them that "Eagle's Nest gave me a price of $2500. Can you beat that?"  Any idiot can take a price and cut their commission by $50.00 and then steal the package from me after I did all the work. I don't ask you to give me part of your hard-earned income and I don't think you should ask me to give you mine. I work 12-14 hours a day to find something perfect for you and I don't believe I should have to give up part of my income by rebating my commission.

I will work for you just as hard as I can. There is nothing wrong with you checking prices from more than one source. But work with me and let me know what you are doing. Be honest with me about what is important to you in your vacation and the budget you are hoping for. Please don't tell me you can only travel on Sunday to Sunday and then tell me later that I lost the booking because you got a cheaper price for a different day. If we can talk to one another and develop a relationship then I know what you are expecting and I keep all of that information in my data base so the next time you call you won't have to repeat all that and start all over again.

Being a travel agency owner is one of the most rewarding things I have ever undertaken. But it is also one of the hardest things I have ever done. I don't mind hard work. Just please don't take advantage of me. Be open and honest with me from the beginning and you won't believe the benefits you will receive.

Travel Insurance is Indeed Travel Protection

I simply can't stress enough how important travel protection is. But I wish I had a nickel for everyone who said to me, "I don't need that insurance. I am going on this trip."  It's amazing that they can predict the future, huh? (Wonder why they aren't rich?)

Countless people have said to me that insurance of any kind is a necessary evil. Shoot, I have said it myself. We all hate paying premiums. But how awful would it be if we did not have it when we needed it? I don't even want to think about it.

I buy the travel protection insurance every time that I travel. I buy it from the same company that I use for my clients, which is AIG/Travel Guard International. I could write a full chapter in a book about people they have helped but this one comes from the heart because it happened to me.

I had a group cruise planned for my very own church and we had planned it for nine months. We were set to cruise on February 18th, 2008. On February 15, my beloved mother-in-law passed away. Needless to say, our friends were cruising without us.

Her funeral was the same day the cruise departed. We had been out of state with the family for three days prior to the funeral. On the day following the funeral we planned to drive back home. After the service was over and we had spent the day with so many people in his family, my dear, sweet husband came to me and said, "I want you to call the airlines and see how much it will cost to fly to Cozumel to catch up with the ship."  I actually told him no. I thought that was crazy because it would be too expensive. Two one way tickets with no advance purchase? Good grief. He insisted I call. He said we were going home the next day anyway so we could either go home and be really sad or we could spend this sad time with 47 of our church friends who love us and had been praying with us for months.

Well, I did call and the airfare was only $300 per person and then I called AIG/Travel Guard and they said that was covered under the "Trip Delay" benefit due to the death in the family. So we are being reimbursed for the cost of the air, the incidental fees, such as parking and taxi fare and they are even reimbursing us for the two days of the cruise that we missed. How neat is that?

Lest you think we are hard-hearted for going on the cruise, please keep in mind that my husband's mother had been ill for some time and during the days previous to her death we felt pretty sure it was going to happen and we actually prayed that the Lord would take her and end her suffering. So we were prepared. Never ready, but prepared nonetheless. Every single member of my husband's family begged us to go ahead and go; to celebrate her life on earth and her eternal life in heaven. Because if there was ever anyone that I know is there, it is my dear, sweet mother-in-law!

I seriously doubt that we would have flown to Cozumel and met up with the cruise had it not been for AIG/Travel Guard. But when we boarded that ship and surprised our beloved church family and others as well, we knew we made the right decision. And it was lovely to know that we would be reimbursed because it was something that we had planned for such a long time.

Necessary evil? Nah!

For those of you who are worriers, you have something else to put on the list. I got an email yesterday from someone stating they were with Charter Communications, who is my cable modem provider for my email and Internet use. They claimed they were doing some upgrades and they needed my log in name, my zip code, my home phone number and my password to my email account.

I get hundreds of emails each day because of my business so I really didn't think much about it and actually started to send the information but then a little bell went off in what's left of my brain matter and I thought, "Wait a minute. People shouldn't be asking for my password."  I answered the email telling them my name and phone number since they already had that anyway but I told them I would not give them my password and why did they need it anyway? Then I immediately called Charter and they said they NEVER do that and no one should EVER be asking you a password for anything and this is just the first step in identity theft. She then gave me an email address to forward that email to so they could investigate.

The nerve of people. Using the name of a reputable company for thievery. They even had the audacity to email me a second time after my response and they told me they "really needed my password." I was really close to writing them back again and telling them what they could do with their needs but I thought the less said the better. I mean if they are trying to steal my identity I should probably not antagonize them. 

So beware everyone. People with evil minds who perform evil deeds can sucker us right into a lot of stuff.

How do these people sleep at night?

Looking Out for Number One

This certainly does seem to be the time of the "Me" generation. I must admit I am weary of hearing the phrase, "I don't have a problem with anything that anyone does as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. What's good for me or another person shouldn't matter to anyone else as long as others aren't hurt by it." What a strange philosophy. Surely these people know that different things hurt different people! Somehow it just sounds like justification for unacceptable behavior to me.

Blaspheming God hurts ME tremendously but people still do it in front of me all the time. People behaving badly toward their spouse in front of others humiliates everyone around and last but not least, seeing or hearing of people hitting their children makes me literally cringe and sometimes cry. A wise man once said that hitting children teaches them nothing except how to hate.

I never hit my son and I could not be more proud of the man he has become. He is a college graduate who has lived and taught school in Spain, he survived as a free lance writer for seven years and wrote articles for national publications, he had his own public relations firm and he is now the Communications Director for the Wilderness Society in Washington DC. He is a Christian who attends church (although not often enough to totally suit his mother.) He does not smoke and he only drinks on social occasions. Plus he loves his parents and his job and animals. What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful young man for a son?

Someone gave me the nicest compliment today. They said I should receive some kind of award for looking out for my customers the way I do. You see I had group rates on a cruise booked many months ago and I check every week to make sure the rates don't decrease--I could not bear it if my valued clients had to pay a higher price and be penalized for booking early. 95% of the time prices do nothing but increase as time goes by but every now and then a cruise rate will decrease. No one knows why but the intelligent people at the helm of the cruise lines know why and they will sometimes decrease a rate because they know that is what they need to do.

When I checked on the rates again today they had indeed decreased--this time by a phenomenal $130 per person. That is a really significant savings. I was very excited that I got to call 26 people to tell them about the money they were going to save--one family had two cabins so they saved $480! It was she who asked me, "Don't you lose money when that happens ---because you are on commission?"  Well yes I certainly do but I look out for number one--and that's not ME. It is my clients who put their trust in me to take care of them and make sure they get the best value for their money. I wonder how many travel agents get repeat business from someone who doesn't take care of them sufficiently? 80% of my business is from repeat customers and referrals and I could not be more proud of that fact.

Man, what a good day--to be able to tell 26 people they owed less money than they thought. Life is good.

Getting back to the Good Old Days

Many of you "young folks" probably don't remember the days when people used only the corner hardware store or the supermarket down the street or the record store on the corner to buy what you had a need or maybe just a hankering for. Now we have Super Walmart and Target, Home Depot and Lowes, grocery stores as big as movie theaters with everything from soup to the latest best sellers. There is a lot to be said for these places but every single time I go inside one I say the same thing to myself. "Goodness, what I wouldn't give for a store small enough and caring enough to offer something we don't have much anymore and that is SERVICE. With a smile even!"

These conglomerates have a good variety of products and the prices have to stay competitive and it can be fast (until you get to the check out counter) but why is there NEVER anyone to help you? Even if there were someone to answer a question, the answer is always the same: "If we have it Mam, it will be on the shelf." They don't know anything about the products and they could really care less if you get what you need as long as they get paid for working 8 hours that day. There are exceptions but you know for the most part it's true!

Something that makes me literally laugh out loud are the "Self Check out" counters where you don't need any people. OK, they are fast but if they don't need any people, why is it that so many of them are CLOSED???? This is hysterical. They should all be open shouldn't they? That is so bizarre!

This story does have a point. It has to do with service, experience and working with people who care. People who can recommend places for your hard earned vacations because they have been there and continue to go back-- People who will share experiences, information, photographs and their hard-earned knowledge from years and years in business.

HINT HINT

To Have or Not to Have . . . A Passport!

If the passport laws and changes have confused you, you are not alone. So let me clarify it for you.

If you are cruising in 2007 from a U.S. port city and returning to a U.S. port city, and your cruise includes ports of call in the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Mexico the Caribbean or Bermuda), you do not need a passport in 2007. However, if you are flying outside the country to embark on your cruise or you fly home from a non U.S. port, you do have to have a passport now. Please remember, however, that even if you cruise without a passport in the Western Hemisphere and something occurred which would require you to disembark the ship and fly home from a city outside the U.S. even in the Western Hemisphere, you would NOT be able to fly home without a passport.

The U.S. government has not yet issued a final deadline regarding the travel document deadlines for cruises within the Western Hemisphere in 2008 but you can expect the law to state that you will have to have a passport by spring or summer of 2008.

Regarding air travel inside the Western Hemisphere, which includes Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda they previously stated that effective in 2007, a valid passport would be required. However, the record-breaking demand for passports was just too much for the Passport Agencies to contend with so the law has been amended as follows: 

• From now until September 30, 2007, U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can temporarily enter and depart the U.S. by air without a passport.
• To do so, a U.S. citizen MUST HAVE a government issued photo ID and Dept. of State official proof of application for their passport.
• Adults who have applied for but not yet received their passports should present the government issued photo ID and an official proof of application from the U.S. Dept of State. Children under the age of 16 years traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child's proof of application as well.
• The Dept of State official proof of passport application can be obtained by going on line to www.travel.state.gov however, the latest post on this site indicates that it is taking up to two weeks just to get the official application receipt. So PLEASE don't think you can apply for your passport today, get a receipt the next day and travel within two to three weeks. It is NOT going to happen.
• Those without the official receipt and the other documentation noted above will in no way be allowed to travel.
• Also, please remember this exemption is only good through September 30. Effective October 1st, you will have to have your passport.
• For any travel outside the Western Hemisphere, the regular passport rules that have always been in existence still apply and you will have to have a passport. This exemption is only for the Western Hemisphere and only until September 30, 2007.

Folks, it goes without saying, the best way and the safest way to travel is with a valid passport. In 2008 you will have to have them to travel anywhere outside of the U.S. and since it is taking months to get them I highly recommend you apply now if you do not have one. They are good for ten years and they will enable you to take advantage of good pricing on many type of travel all over the world. You can download passport applications from my website, www.eaglesnestvacations.com  Just click on "Travel Tools" on the title bar, then "Passports" and follow the instructions.

I would greatly appreciate your comments on this post!

Thanks so much.

Diane

Who Needs a Travel Agent?

Has it hit you yet how impersonal everything in business is these days? How many times have you said to yourself that you aren't going to shop at a specific store anymore because there is never anyone to help you except at the cashier's counter? Of course there's help there! After standing in a que line for 20 minutes, they are there to "ring up" your sale. I will gladly pay extra to have some service!

The Internet is great but there are so many drawbacks--namely there is NO service! There is no one to give advice, answer questions or make recommendations based on what is important to you. Granted, some of these companies have a number to call but let's face it people, they are ORDER TAKERS! Just ask one of them if they have been on this cruise or that ship or to this resort or that destination. Overwhelmingly the response will be "No." So it never ceases to amaze me why anyone would want to book their hard earned, often costly vacations with some unknown entity on the world wide web!

Most of the time when people think their Internet travel package or cruise price is better it is not. Often times extra taxes, fees, island departure taxes and service charges are not included in that "low price" shown on the Internet. Plus when these companies-- which include the cruise lines themselves if you book directly with them-- have a "good price" on the Internet, they are selling what THEY want to get rid of. Are they going to tell you this may not be a comfortable stateroom on a ship or this resort doesn't have many of the amenities that are important to you? Of course not.

At Eagle's Nest Vacation & Travel, you have the FREE advice, experience, attentiveness and support that a good agent can provide.When you book with my company you will know exactly what your trip is going to cost you; what is included and what is not. Plus you have the benefit of my travel experiences, which are vast. I travel often to many places to inspect and experience the service at resorts and cruise ships. I share my personal photos with my potential clients and my repeat clients and I share my advice and reviews on resorts, cruise ships and destinations.

Most importantly, I am your advocate! I take care of you from the time you book your vacation until you return home from your trip. I even check prices AFTER you have booked to see if the rates have decreased and if they did I work hand over fist to secure the better rate for you. How many Internet booking companies do you know who will do that? NONE! Once they have your money the deal is done. They are in business for the one time deal. They really could care less about repeat business or building a relationship with people.

I have many suppliers who offer the same or similar packages so I always check with all of them. I don't just have one favorite supplier that I use. I use whatever reputable supplier gives me the best rate for my clients. Yes, there are times when Internet pricing may be less. If you want a cookie cutter vacation go ahead and book online. But you will never beat the service and experiences from a professional travel agent, so even if you don't call Eagle's Nest, (what a silly idea! :o)  please call an agent!

Have a great summer!

Diane Blaisdell, Owner

Eagle's Nest Vacation & Travel

www.eaglesnestvacations.com