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By admin, January 3, 2010 7:42 pm

These days travel can be stressful enough. If you are the kind of person who prefers everything organized for you and everything included with no hidden costs, a travel package may be just right. Packages can differ as to what is included, but they generally include all airfare, accommodation and usually some meals, activities and ground transportation.

The concept of a travel package is older than many people think. In 1841, Englishman Thomas Cook chartered a train to take a group of people on a twenty mile train journey; the cost of the trip included food for the day, which was a novel idea at the time. Thomas Cook grew to be one of the largest and most well respected names in the history of travel and a major influence on the travel industry.

Today, travel packages are still popular, despite the internet having made it easier to plan and book trips on line. Packages range from airfare and a couple of nights in a hotel, to all inclusive trips of several weeks at luxury resorts. Travel packages can be found to just about anywhere in the world. It’s the perfect way to see a place that you might be reluctant to visit on your own. Whether you will be wine tasting in France, hiking in the Himalayas, or scuba diving in the Caribbean, you can easily find a package that works for you.

One big advantage of a package is that they are generally less expensive than buying all the components of your trip separately. Airlines and hotels often sell blocks of seats or rooms at lower prices. The savings are then passed on to the traveler. There is always an exception to the rule and it pays to check the total costs of both options before purchasing your package. Most major airlines offer their own packages, which are nearly always less expensive than booking air and hotel separately.

Some packages include an event or activity that is difficult to see if you had to book it yourself – particularly appealing are sports packages or packages for a unique event. It’s virtually impossible to attend the Olympic Games unless you buy some sort of a package. A New York or London package might include tickets to a sold-out show; a ski package might include the use of slopes that are often booked up; a golf package might include a guaranteed tee time.

Check the conditions of your package carefully to see exactly what is and what is not included. Whereas the most important components, airfare and hotel, are probably included in a package vacation, some other potentially costly things may not. If meals are included in your package, does that mean breakfast, lunch and dinner? What about alcoholic drinks with your meals? Also, is ground transportation, bus or taxi from the airport to your hotel or cruise ship included?

Be particularly careful of extras such as activities or excursions – both of which can be costly parts of any trip and are often not included in a travel package. One of the best features of a cruise is the option of taking a tour or excursion at different ports of call. These are not always included and the cost can add up. The meals included may just be breakfast, rather than three meals a day. And determine whether tips are included in your package, another potentially costly item.

Although it is nice to have everything booked and paid for all at once, the ideal package should offer some flexibility and some time to do your own thing. If you are taking a tour of Europe, you will want some free time to just shop; and if you are on a driving tour of the Southeast US, you don’t want to be sitting in a bus all the time. Many more complex packages will include the occasional free day; and you may find that you have a choice of activities or events.

Some independent and experienced travelers claim that a travel package takes away some of the spontaneity and flexibility that traveling can provide. That is true to some degree, although the convenience and cost saving are worth it to many people. And if you are a solo traveler, you may find that you are charged more for the dreaded single room supplement that tour companies levy; although sharing a room with a complete stranger is certainly a good way to meet people.

So is a travel package right for you? Only you can decide that. It may depend on your budget, your destination and your comfort level as well as whether you just want to let someone else do the planning.

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By admin, December 26, 2009 7:42 am

This Article Is For The Entrepreneur Who Is Looking To Make Money And Travel Almost For Free! I Have Found Two Excellent Travel Businesses That You Can Start In 24 Hours Or Less, And Will Allow You To Travel Like The Rich Do!

The First Program Is For Those Serious Entrepreneurs Who Love Travel And Want To Be Apart Of The Industry And Have The Same Benefits As Any Retail Store Travel Agent, Yet Be Able To Have A Home Office And Sell Online As Well As Online. Introducing, GTI-Global Travel Intl

This Is A Great Program For People Who Want To Get Into The Travel Industry Quickly Even With Little Or No Experience Because GTI Will Train You Right From Your Home

Receive Your Training Right From Their Website, Using Manuals, Videos, And Teleconferences, So You Learn About The Travel Products You Will Be Selling Because That Is The Only Way You Can Successfully Sell Them.

You Get Access To Wholesale Travel Packages, And You Can Book Them Directly Online From Your Own Professional Travel Website, Where You Can Send Your Customers And Clients. Every Thing They Need To Research And Book Their Vacations Is There. Actually, If You Wanted, You Do Not Even Have To Book A Thing For Your Customers, You can Just Direct Them To This Site And They Can Do Everything Yourself. I Really Liked The Fact That You Can Be As Involved As You Wish, Or Not So Involved At All. Sell Online, Or Offline, And Your Commissions Increase As The Volume Of Your Sales Go Up.

It Is So Easy To Sign Up, And You Can Have Your Website Up And Running Literally In 5 minutes. There Is A Monthly Service Charge For All Of These Services, But For This Fee You Get:

1. A Professional Travel Website, That Will Sell For You.

2. Full Training And Back Office Support –THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST BENEFIT–Most

Travel Business Programs Will Charge You An Upfront Fee, Give You Some Business Cards And Brochures, And Then Send You Out To Book Some Travel. You Cannot Sell Something You Are Not Familiar With! You Get A Great Deal Of Training With Your

Back Office Through Videos And Teleconferences, And Also Have Access Other Trainings

At Discount Prices

Not Only Does The Back Office Keep Track Of Your Commissions And Answer Any Questions

That You Have, They Also HANDLE CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUES-They Will Handle Questions

That Your Customer May Have And Any Issues That Come Up Regarding Traveling Problems,

Refunds….etc. You Do Not Have To Speak To The Customer At All If You Don’t Wish To.

3. You Can Earn Your IATAN And CLIA Card After A Certain Volume Of Sales.

4. Tremendous Travel Discounts As You Can Book For The Cheapest Fares.

5. You Also Have Access To Fam Trips And Other Discounts.

So Check It Out Right Now……..

Okay, What If You Like Travel, But Don’t Want To Be That Involved, You don’t Want

To Train To Become A Travel Agent, But You Want To Be Able To Sell Travel Packages

Without Having To Make Any Bookings—The Answer, Sell Travel Vacation Certificates

You Can Sell Mini 3day/2night Weekend Vacations, Or Full 8day/7night Vacations, Cruises, Free Airfare, Vacations To Hawaii, Mexico, And Resort Areas Around The World. Sell Them To Businesses, And To People Offline And Online. And The Best Part Is You Also Get A Commission Every Time A Certificate Is Redeemed.

It Really Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This.

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By admin, December 23, 2009 8:08 am

On the surface, many individuals feel that all of the information on flights, hotels, rental vehicles and other aspects of a vacation are on the internet. While it may be possible for you to find good deals using the web, the best value can be found by consulting a travel agent. This value comes because the agent provides resources and knowledge that is difficult to obtain on your own.

The foremost advantage of working with a travel agent is experience they bring. He or she has likely been working in the field of travel for years and has learned all of the ins and outs of the industry. Even brand new agents have their colleagues to help them learn the ropes. Most agents also undergo rigorous training. This experience and training will allow the agent to serve the consumer very effectively. Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of the experience and training is an agent’s ability to understand the fine print. Sure, you can go on an airline ticket search engine and find what seems to be the cheapest deal. But do you know what you are really getting for that money? More importantly, do you know what you will be missing out on because of the discount? There may also be hidden charges, fees and taxes as a part of the apparently cheaper ticket price, driving what you actually pay up as much as a few hundred dollars. A more expensive flight may often be the best value. The travel agent will always know.

A second advantage that a travel agent can boast is connections. Over years of service, agencies develop relationships with individuals throughout the world. This means that you can have the best options available for you before you even begin your trip. Looking by yourself you may be able to find a great deal of information on what to do at your eventual destinations. However, only a travel agent with good connections can really take care of all the details. Using their ability to get information about the area where you will be visiting, they can get every aspect of your vacation taken care of, even the most miniscule of points. Instead of stopping for lunch at a place that looks okay from the outside, you can be recommended to the perfect local cafe. Instead of wrangling through throngs of tourists to get to an overpriced monument, you can be told the best times during the day to hit each spot. For example, many cities have one day a week in which public museums are open for free. Your agent will be able to find out the best times to go anywhere. All in all, the agent can use his or her connections to set you up with the best possible ways to have the vacation of your dreams.

A recent trend for online travel shopping is packages. Companies will get together to put hotel, food, flights and many other amenities altogether into one bundle that will leave you spending less money. But these bundles are not always as great as they seem. Not only can you end up having to pay hidden fees and charges, but you can also be lured into a sense of security that everything will be taken care of for you. Sometimes everything is not taken care of. It is easy to get yourself trapped into buying an all-inclusive package thinking that you will not need much cash while on vacation, only to find that any slight change in plan is going to change your bill drastically. There also may be little details not covered in your package that you would never think about ahead of time. With any package deal the fine print can be a very important thing, and if you do not have a complete understanding of what you are doing, you could miss something crucial. But travel agents know the industry jargon. They know the best websites, what the packages actually contain and they are out to get you the best deal. Sometimes buying a package that is not the cheapest, but only slightly more expensive will lead to you having a much better vacation. It is not that travel agencies do not take advantage of special packages and promotions. It is that they know the best way to use them.

A final and very beneficial advantage of using travel agents is simply that they are after your best interests. Any supplier of service, whether an airline, hotel, restaurant or rental company; is looking to sell you their product. They also may not tell you when another company offers a better service for a very similar price, or a similar service for a better price. A travel agent wants you to come back again, and therefore will work to find you the best value deal with whatever supplier is offering it. Within that, they are looking for the best deal for you, not for an anonymous internet customer. Using a travel agent can ensure that you have the plans in place to give you a perfect vacation. Also, if something goes wrong during the vacation, the travel agent will be available to help fix the problem.

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By admin, December 22, 2009 8:26 am

General Information:Your Travel Biz or YTB was founded in 2001 by J. Lloyd “Coach” Tomer, Scott Tomer, and Kim Sorenson, all who came from marketing business in the financial services industry, has grown to become one fo the leading names in direct selling travel.The company is a mult-level marketing opportunity under the holding company YourTravelBiz.com, Inc through owner-affiliate websites offering travel, excursions, and lodging.YTB Travel Network, Inc. is based in Wood River, Illinois. There are international subsidiaries in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Canada.Business Model:YTB offers a couple of ways for you to earn an income. One way as a Refer Travel Agent or RTA. The other way is as an Independent Marketing Representatives or REP. The Travel Agent opportunity has an initial fee of $500 and you are required to pay a monthly license fee of $50.00.The YTB Independent Marketing Rep must sign an Independent Marketing Rep agreement with YTB. This permits you to sell online Travel Agencies; enroll RTA’s and sponsor other REPs. You earn commission on your individual internet Travel Agency sales. You cannot receive travel credentials and you cannot sell travel.A Travel Network Referring Travel Agent or RTA is someone who purchased an online travel agency in an agreement with UTB Travel Network of Illinois. The setup fee is $450.00. You pay $49.95 monthly maintenance and license fee for your own “online travel agency” website, through which you collect commissions for recruiting new participants, utilize the website for their own travel purposes, as well as sell travel packages to others. However, most participants make the majority of their money by recruiting new agents rather than through travel sales of their own.You are considered to have your first complete team when you personally sponsor 3 or more Reps and have 6 actie RTA’s enrolled that are paying their monthly fee of $49.95. Once the team is complete, you are then qualified to start your PowerTeam. You continue to build your team and earn your commissions.YTB stated that they are taking into consideration replacing their referring travel agent business model with one based around franchises. On October 18, 2008, they introduced a new tier of affiliates in an attempt to fit better into the travel industry, saying the new training program they will be introducing for those who remain as “referring travel agents” improves over the previous “one-day classroom event”.Lawsuits:Just a brief mention here so that you are aware. There was a lawsuit filed in August 2008, alleging it to be a pyramid scheme among other claims. Status of this situation is unknown at this time. I suggest you do your own research and determine your next move.Conclusion:Based on the company structure and business model, it appears to be a viable home business for anyone interested in the travel business. One thing I will add here is that anyone who is presently involved in this company or is considering joining, a marketing system would be most beneficial to help build your YTB Travel business. Too often MLM’s and network marketing companies neglect to teach their members how to market their business. Instead they continue to tell them to go to friends and family. Most people will not build a successful business going to friends and family. At some point, you will need to look elsewhere for customers. Since YTB Reps are already using the internet to run their business, why not use the internet to market your YTB Travel business? Marketing systems are tools that can be used by any home business owner to plug into and learn how to generate leads and customers. There is also a sales funnel provided that will allow an individual to earn an income to help pay for most if not all of the marketing. If you get good at generating leads, you can even generate a very lucrative income. Thus, if you are interested in truly building a very successful YTB Travel business, a marketing system is an avenue one can take to learn marketing skills. Otherwise, I suggest you be satisfied with the income you create by marketing to friends and family and enjoy the perks that come along with having a travel business.