Online Travel Guru.com

YAY - Business is Busy

2007-03-01T03:15:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,
Its been a while since I have had time to write. Thought I would come by and give a quick update on how business is.

Business is BUSY!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!~

This past week I had at least a booking a day! Im so excited, I hardly have time to come and write. So much going on, but for now a great shout out to my clients. I thank you for your trust in me and my services.

I took on this business with the mindset that it would take at least a year to build clientelle. It seems that there is more a need of personal assistance with booking vacations than I ever realized. In todays day and age of technology, there are still many people who do prefer a personal touch. And that is one of the perks I provide. I can do the research necessary that saves my clients a lot of time.

This truly is a great business and I cant wait for things to come...

Another one of the reasons, I have not pushed out this business to other people was that I first wanted to work my business and see how possible it is. With some effort it can truly become a great business. Now I feel totally confident, that anyone interested in this home oppertunity can create income too. Contact me, if you have questions, Id be happy to explain my business to you.

~~The ONline Travel Guru

Do I need Travel Insurance...

2007-01-04T01:30:00.001-05:00

Think you or your clients don’t need insurance. Think again. These are some typical situations all covered by various policies. Without insurance, what would your clients do?

It’s 10PM and your family arrives at the airport for a connecting flight only to find that the flight has been cancelled. How do you get your family home?
Your traveling companion’s bag was lost with his insulin inside. He needs help to locate his bag as soon as possible and his emergency prescription filled. Who do you call?
Your first trip to Europe, and your passport and wallet are stolen. Where do you turn for emergency cash, and how will you get your passport replaced?
Your spouse is involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available. Who will help arrange and pay for a medical evacuation?
Your cruise line, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. Who will pay for your non-refundable expenses? Who will help get you to your destination?
If your sister-in-law becomes seriously ill and you choose to cancel your trip, what happens to your non-refundable deposits or pre-payments?
Three weeks before your scheduled arrival, a terrorist incident occurs in the city you are planning to visit. Who will pay if you want to cancel your trip?
You are at a beach resort in North Carolina, and are forced to evacuate due to an approaching hurricane. Who will help you evacuate and who will reimburse your lost vacation?

Selecting the right type of travel insurance can cover all of these situations.

If you are like most of us, you don’t just look forward to your vacations, you need them. Protect your vacation investment. Missing a vacation is bad enough. Losing the money you paid for a vacation is even worse.

Why Use a Travel Agent - "Without a travel agent, you're on your own"

2006-12-14T23:45:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was approached by a potential customer who said, "You know I usually book all my travel by myself online. Nowadays its easy and I can research, why would someone want to use a travel agent?" That was a great question, which I actually never had to answer yet since I'm still new in the business, so I wasn't prepared, however, my recent experiences gave me several GREAT reasons to tell her.

One was the problems my customer would have encountered if she made the name mistake on the ticket on her own. There's probably no a very slim chance the airline would have worked with her.

Two was the booking of a hotel I did for my client at the last minute, within 24 hours. After booking it, I did some follow up ....And read some info on Trip advisor on the hotel and wow, every single review basically stated this need to change immediately. However, most hotels also have strict cancellation policies, this one in particular, you had to give 48 hour notice and some of those reviews I read said that the guests could not get their money back, that the hotel was very difficult. I was able to cancel the reservation without the penalty of a one night stay.

So I offered some of those suggestions to my prospective client who was impressed with my response and said she never thought of those things....This lead me to looking up and finding more info...

heresy a few more reasons...

"Without a travel agent, you're on your own"

Good Reasons to Use a Travel Agent Read More

'I bought my ticket cheaper on the internet' has become a common catch-cry amongst travelers. But, how does a person ever know, for sure, that they truly did pay the lowest price for the itinerary that they wanted? They don't! Read More

Travel Agents - Obsolete or Essential? Read more

PS...
Today I got a box of chocolate goodies in the mail as a thank you gift from one of my new clients. She was so impressed with the time I put into her trip. Wow, that was wonderful. Initially, she wanted to go to Aruba with her son. So I did comparative research for her and after all the work, I happened to mention in the email about keeping her son busy. I was keeping him in mind, which prompted her into deciding to change the whole trip to somewhere else where her son would enjoy the trip and not ask her if she's finished tanning yet...(smiles).

Contact me....for help booking your next trip. I'll do everything I can to make it a great trip!
www.onlinetravelguru.com

Family Vacation Hot Spots!

2006-12-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Disney World and Universal Studios - Orlando, Florida

Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone, Wyoming

Jellystone Campgrounds - Greater Midwest

Six Flags Fiesta - San Antonio, Texas

Wisconsin Dells and Noah's Ark - Madison, Wisconsin

Legoland - San Diego, California

Pikes Peak - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Carlsbad Caverns - Carlsbad, New Mexico

Hershey’s Chocolate World - Hershey, Pennsylvania

My Favorite:
10. Atlantis - Paradise Island, Bahamas
Offers best if both worlds, Beach for the parents and water rides for kids. This resort also has a club for teens.

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you went to any of these places or of other great places. Thanks for visiting.

Name Change on Airline Tickets

2006-12-06T01:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I surely am learning many lessons with my first 3 customers alone. I assisted one of my customers by booking a vacation package for her 16 year old son and herself. AFter doing research and many conversations she decided on a wonderful trip to Atlantis on Paradise Island, in the Bahamas. (Im jealous) Anyway, I booked the vacation as a package thru my site for her. I have noticed some clients prefer it that way. They have very busy schedules and feel confident in my ability to do so for them.

Today, two weeks before the trip she called me and notified me that the name for her son was incorrect on the itinerary. RUT ROH! Not a good thing. I booked her son with her last name, however he has his fathers last name. Not only will this present a problem, but the fact that it is an international flight was even more trouble.

She called the airlines they said to call the vendor. She called me, and I called our vendor being travelocity. Travelocity, by policy can not make name changes to airline tickets. I even researched it on the net via google. I read so many articles of people having problems making name changes. I was dreading calling the airline, Continential.

The service person I was speaking with kept me on hold for quite a while and finally came back and said she tried everything she could, but normally they don't do name changes. My heart was growing more and more nervous, but I kept keeping a positive and polite attitude, making sure to thank the rep very much for her help. She then said she was transferring me to executive group..something or other. I asked her did she think I had a chance, and she then went on to say...they "sometimes" made exceptions. I got Richard (another rep) on the line, and was expecting to have to have a very long drawn out conversation. I explained my mistake, and that the boy was only 16 years old and the correct spelling of his name was on his ONEPASS (miles program I entered during booking). I also mentioned that I was a travel rep with YTB.

I was put on hold for a short while, and Richard and I small talked for a bit, found out that was a special line for agents only. Finally he came back and said, OKAY, his name is now changed!

HOLYYYYYYYYYYY cow..I did not expect that much and was so grateful, I couldnt stop telling Richard how grateful I was almost to a tear, I spent a lot of time and was succesful. I called my client and they were so pleased and understanding of the initial mistake.

Lessons Learned: Always make sure the names of all parties ARE CORRECT and confirm tickets immediately. I was told that if the name problem was caught within a few days that the trip was orginally booked, it would have been easier to change.

Also another lesson learned: Make sure all Cancellation policies are read prior to booking and the information is explained to clients.

Another Happy ending!
Need help booking a trip, call the GURU!
www.onlinetravelguru.com

The Online Travel Guru's - Agent Firsts

2006-10-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,
I had a good weekend. Although, I am extremely busy packing and getting ready for my move, I still found moments to work. I'm on my way...

Congratulations are in order. I had my first sale last evening. Yay me. A friend from online in CA was having a heck of a time trying to book a multi-destination flight which was costly. I spent some extra time helping get the best rate and she purchased the ticket with me. I thought It would be nice idea to send a little thank you gift with a personal note for being my first client. Hope she likes it and her flight goes smoothly.

Also this weekend, I was so excited because it was my first time using my Travel Agent card and I received 1/2 admission into Busch Gardens, Hallowscream in Williamsburg, Virginia. I had a blast and will be posting some pictures of the day as soon as I get a free moment. Here's one to show off for now.

Wahoo Its OFFICIAL!! I'm certified

2006-10-14T23:59:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning I had to wake up early to attend the YTB RTA certification class. We all know how I like to sleep in, but not today. I had to be at the Norfolk Hilton on Military Highway by 9am. The training was to take place from 9am until 4:30pm.

The training was lead by Benny Hampton, TV Wilson and Steve Branch. When I arrived, I was just in time because the meeting was just about to start. I found my fellow YTB'rs and settled in. I sat next a woman by the name of Barbara. Its been really great meeting people on the YTB team, she was very sweet and motivated as well.

I was a little bored considering I am a quick learner and had been to so many meetings already. Also, the whole compensation thing can seem overwhelming and there is no way I was going to remember it all. I'm the kind of person that takes things as they come, when I'm ready for that information I will obtain it. However, it was well worth it, if not for the networking alone.

We all had a surprise visit from one of the owners of the company, Scott Tomer, son of Coach. He happened to be in town for a wedding. His job is to protect the company so it will be here for us and our families for generations to come, it was such a pleasure to meet him. He was so personable and in my opinion gave the best presentation of all three people, well then again, Benny was really funny!

Barbara was kind enough to take a picture for me...(Thanks again Barbara)!!

And here she is, my fellow up and coming travel agent:

Barbara
www.ItsYourTrip.biz

Over all it was a great day and now I'm certified!

My Very First Travel Tradeshow

2006-10-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone,
Tonight I went to my very first travel tradeshow. At a tradeshow you are given the opportunity to network and meet people in the industry. It started off with a presentation by River Cruises International, which I wasnt even aware of before. You got to see a presentation of the boats, and places the cruises tour. They are all inclusive trips which include airfare and shore tours at each stop (unlike many cruise lines). I saw one of these river trips that cruises Amsterdaum starting at $1,700 per person. Thats amazing considering that airflight right now is 1,000 alone. Thats a steal.

At the end of the presentation, we then went into the main tradeshow room and went to each table for information about what those companies offer. Companies like Club Med, Travel Insurance, Hotel Resorts, Tour companies were present. I went to each table and gathered information got a paper I had stamped for freebee drawings later that night. Ahh I was so excited when I got to Spain and Puerto Rico!!! Anyone who knows me well enough knows those are probably two the places I would Love more than anything to visit! And I promise you NOW..I will, and I will be sure to write all about it.

There was also then a nice sit down dinner and an open bar. Yes, I had to have at least one margarita. I sat with my fellow home agent YTB'rs and some others from a local agency. We had a salad, then chicken and potatoes, with veggies, and then cheesecake. Ice tea, coffee and open bar ...and the food was good folks. I was suprised because it was all free, and guess I didnt expect it to be that good.

Of course I was my most amusing self. I had everyone giggling through out dinner.
After dinner each company had 3 minutes to talk and give away free items, from vacations, to little gift bags..etc.

Overall I came home with a ton of brochures to educate myself and to give to my clients and a few fun goodies.

I thought to myself ...whatever took me so long to arrive at this career..I already love it.

Brand New Site!

2006-10-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone and welcome.
Thanks for stopping in. This site is brand new, as is my travel blog.

This is where I will be letting you know about my suggestions, information, and where I will log and chat about my personal travels, which I will be including pictures to places I have been.

So far in 2006, I have visited Washington DC twice, Miami, and went hiking in the Virginia Mountains.

Thanks again...come back soon.

I also, love to take pictures; here are some pictures I took this year of my travels or nature..etc:

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow