The time to reserve your vacation is now!

The time to reserve your vacation is now!

It is time for a vacation, right?
Some things you have to know before you reserve your trip:
In a perfect world you would know where you want to go, when you want to go, and how much you want to pay. In that case, just visit our website, book your trip, and pay. It is so simple in theory, however, you and I both know that never happens.
The reality is, you probably don’t know where you want to go. You don’t even know when you want to go (except that you probably want to go when everyone else wants to, during holidays), or who you want to go with.
I love when clients call, make a reservation, and when I get to the part when I ask the second person’s name, they tell me “to be announced”. That may work for T.V. guide when promoting a sporting event, but American Airlines will not accept TBA. They need a name, the same name that is on the person’s passport. They don’t want to see “girlfriend”, “boyfriend”, ex-wife, maiden names, or nicknames.
You may only know your significant other as Bubba or Bambi, but chances are those names do not appear on their official papers!
Now let’s say you have the right name, and you’re all set to go, but you get home from work early and unannounced and catch your traveling partner doing something unthinkable….a week before your getaway is scheduled (true story), or they get a huge promotion at work and cannot go (better story), and so you simply want to change the name on the ticket and be on your merry way. I wish it were that easy.
It isn’t. There is a penalty and it could cost you hundreds of dollars.
While I am offering free advice, I will remind you to make sure you have a valid passport.
If you are going to do research and check the internet for reviews of hotels, do it before you book the trip and pay for it. I have clients that specifically ask for a resort, only to come back to me a week before their trip to tell me that they read that “the room service took 2 hours, no beach chairs in the shade, the rooms smell like mildew, there were no washcloths in the bathroom, or the swim-up bar closed too early.
At this point, what do you want me to do? First, you cannot believe every review you read and second, the hotel will charge a penalty for canceling.
If you are too lazy to do your homework, ask us here. We do not mind answering whatever questions you might have BEFORE YOU BOOK, but after you book, once again, you are out of luck. I just had one of my favorite clients call to try to change hotels in Cancun because she just found out that they do not offer room service, and why didn’t I tell her. I thought she was joking, but she wasn’t, and now she is no longer one of my favorite clients. I am good at my job, but how was I supposed to know that room service was a requirement?
Speaking of bad luck, stop going back to our website checking the prices to see if they have changed (after you paid). Most of the time, the price will go up (as the seats sell out), but sometimes they the rates drop, and you feel ripped off. I don’t blame you, but it isn’t our fault, and there is nothing we can do. Every hotel that goes on sale specifically states “for new reservations only”. I’ve tried to cancel the room and rebook it a few days later (thought I was tricky) only to scolded.
If the air goes down, we cannot refund you the difference. Call the airline directly and try with them. I’ll give you their number. I wish we could help you, believe me.
I recently lost some weight, and bought this beautiful dress. It cost double what I wanted to spend, but it was so pretty and I bought it.
Ten days later, the dress was 75% off! I was furious. It even happened to me recently with my tickets to Aruba for Christmas. I knew holiday travel would fill up fast, so I ran my tickets 3 months in advance. A week before my trip, the air was $200 cheaper per person. It barely ever happens like that, and I do not advice you to wait until the last minute. It sucks when you find the same thing cheaper after you pay, but one thing I can assure you, our rates are always the lowest. Hopefully, you paid the lowest price.

My boss is coming back from a sales conference in the Bahamas today, where he met with all the hoteliers in the Caribbean and Mexico, so stay tuned for some really great prices to all of our destinations. Get ready to have some fun and save some money!

Until next time, I remain your friend and agent,
Beth