BARGAINS GALORE!!® 2009
CRUISES, RESORT GETAWAYS & VACATIONS
Did you know that almost everyone
on the plane, hotel or cruise ship is paying a different fare? More
often than not, the price difference can be astounding! It doesn't
matter if they're in coach, business, or first class, they're all paying a
different price for the SAME accommodations, SAME food, or anything else that's
included in the package or ticket price.
The exception would be if it's a couple traveling together, and they
purchased their fare/tickets at the same time from the same company.
The majority of the hotels and resorts we're referring to are Nationwide
brands 3 and 4 star, and even luxury 5 star accommodations.
How can
this be?
Cheap Travel Does Not Mean You're Giving Up Comfort or Luxury! ® 2009
Consolidators: These companies purchase blocks of airline
seats, cruise accommodations, hotel rooms etc. for a fixed cheap price.
They're hoping to re-sell these seats/accommodations for a much higher
price. They're in a position to set the price as high or low as they
wish or they can negotiate the spaces. If the tickets don't sell, the
consolidators are stuck with them...but that seldom happens.
The ticket or space you purchase is good only to travel on a specified date.
Usually you cannot cancel or change your date without a heavy penalty or a
strict no-refund policy. This is why many people purchase "trip
insurance". If a medical emergency or something happens and you cannot
travel on the date you have scheduled, you will receive a partial or total
refund.
Cruise Lines: You may get a big reduction or up-grade in your accommodations by being one of the first to book your cruise before the sail date. You may also get an up-grade or big price reduction by booking at the last minute. Again, if something happens, you'll probably lose all or a partial of the money you paid without trip insurance.
Certificates: Also referred to as "vouchers" or "coupons", are issued by cruise lines, hotels/resorts, airlines, theme parks, gas companies, etc. You may have seen or used these certificates/coupons. They come "piggy-backed"...or "ride-along" with your credit card statements, utility bills or other mailings. They are "so named" because it costs nothing extra to add them to the envelopes that are already being mailed to customers. A major advantage to certificates/coupons is that the issuer grants a longer time to use them. Depending on the company issuing them, you usually have one or two years...sometimes longer to use them. Having NO set travel date on them, makes them a wonderful gift! Everyone loves to travel, so the person receiving the gift can choose their own travel date. Also since you have no set date required to use them, you may schedule and reschedule your vacation instead of losing your money. NO travel insurance needed.
Quite simply- Certificates are Unsold Space, Unsold Cabins, Unsold seats etc. Example: If you owned a cruise line, would you rather have all of the cabins booked before you sail? After all, when the ship pulls away from the dock, they're not going to fill the rest of their cabins. The fare of the cruise ship is not the only consideration. People spend millions of dollars on extra things on the ship that are not included in the basic fare. Such as gambling, the hair salon, alcohol, souvenirs etc. And remember- the cruise line still has to pay all of the employees aboard ship whether or not the ship is full.
The same thing goes for hotels and
resorts. Most hotels and resorts have a 30% vacancy rate even in good
times-barring conventions. With a certificate you often get to stay
FREE or for a greatly reduced rate (60% off). What could the hotel
owner possibl
y gain by giving away free or almost free accommodations?
Well, the maids, bus boys, cooks and other hotel employees must still be
paid whether the resort is full or empty. The management is hoping
you'll spend money in the dining room, at the bar, and other concessions.
They also hope you'll enjoy yourself so much that you'll come back another
time as a "paying" guest.
The only drawback (most people don't find any drawback) to these
certificates is...if you have a solid date that's coming up right away,
certificates may not NOT be for you. These are for people who can be
reasonably flexible.
We're often asked "how can you sell
that cruise or vacation for such a cheap price". So no matter how any of the above
works...consolidators, cruise lines, hotels/resorts, certificates, it's just
plain Good Business on the part of the companies who issue the certificates!
Certificates/vouchers are
valid for 1-2 years. Having NO set travel date on them, makes them a
wonderful gift! Everyone loves to travel, so the person receiving the gift
can choose their own travel date.
Some of these certificates are used to promote "time share" projects or
other promotions. We personally do not; however, we often
receive phone calls asking if we have "a time share getaway". Some
people don't mind sitting through a presentation to get a free 'whatever'
they're offering. That's fine if that's what you want. It just isn't for us.
Things Are
Changing Around Here!
We're going to try a
different method for
a few days to see how the public responds to it. If you don't respond
positively, we'll
return to our regular prices (still cheaper than anyone else), and our usual
packaging & shipping method.
Over the past few years, we have packaged our certificates in colorful, "fancy" folders and sent them out either by FedEx or the U S Postal service. You received your "travel documents" package in a couple of days, plus there was a shipping fee. All this packaging and shipping involved a higher cost to you. Our "new" method will save us a lot of time and expense; therefore, we'll pass the savings along to you!
We have greatly reduced most of our prices (not all of them) and we're going to have them available for immediate down-load by computer/Internet. As soon as PayPal notifies us of your payment (usually about 10-15 minutes, we will email your certificate to you. You can redeem your certificate immediately (if you wish) or redeem it later. You may redeem it on-line, by FAX or mail it in. We take ALL of the major credit cards. Visa, Master, Discovery, American Express, and PayPal. It matters not if it is a charge or debit card. Some people have even used Prepaid Gift Cards. If you wish to send a money order, we will still have to take your order by phone, and we will ship your package our usual old way. We trust that we will be able to accommodate everyone!
We hope this new system is cheaper, faster and easier for you. We're still working on updating our website(s), but we have a few (our most popular) ready to purchase instantly now.