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| Thread: Travel agencies, Expedia.com and HC convention!! |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 · NEXT» |
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Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
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posted December 12, 2006 07:28 PM |
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Poll Question:
Travel agencies, Expedia.com and HC convention!!
"The best, just like the worst things in life, begin with a folly"
More correctly, begin by accident. When I applied for my current job all I knew was that I desperately needed a steady source of income and acceptable labor terms. That's why when I was offered a position I accepted without giving it too much though.
So now I'm a travel agent.
I did not expect to enjoy my job, but I do. I also had to become a part of the system to understand its principles which dispelled a lot of misconceptions about the traveling business. It was particularly enlightening and I would like to share my observations with you. Of course I'll provide valuable tips as well. :-)
First of all a little about what I do now. As you probably know, there are tons of trade fairs and exhibitions taking place in most cities all year round. For example in Frankfurt, Germany, there are about 25 annual fairs. What happens is that thousands of companies pool in a single city for a few days. So my job is to find hotels for these foreign people who need a place to stay.
Statement 1 - Increased demand means increased price. TRUE
This results in "high season" and "low season" rates. The more tourists/travelers, the higher the accommodation prices. It's particularly true for the trade fairs I mentioned above. It's scary to see a 2-star hotel raise the price from 60 to 310 Euro per night because there is a big fair in town. The hotels know that pressed by the circumstances people will pay that kind of price just to have a place to sleep. TIP: when planning a trip make sure there isn't an event going on in town.
Statement 2 - The more more expensive the hotel, the better it is. FALSE
A general expectation is that the more they charge you for anything, the better service/conditions they provide. This is not necessarily true, not as far as hotels are concerned. You not allow get what you pay for. A three-star hotel may turn out to be better than a four-star one. Why so? You may not care for the amenities if you have to pay extra for them. The attitude of the stuff may make all the difference in the world but it's not reflected in the star rating. Some hotels are in bad need of rennovation/repair while others which are cheaper can provide much better conditions.
Statement 3 - It's more expensive to book through travel agents than directly from the hotel - FALSE
I've ALWAYS though travel agents charge people a few for the service. I always thought that if anyone offered a lower price than the hotel, it was obviously a fraud.
At first I was surprised to find out that it's the hotels that pay the agencies' fee. Most hotels provide standard commission (usually 10 or 8%). In other words it would be all the same for the people if they book through us or through the hotel - they pay the same thing. Of course some hotels do not provide commission - but agencies avoid working with these.
This still does not answer the question how come agencies often give prices much lower than the hotel. The answer is quite simple actually. Agents act as mass merchandizers and would buy rooms by the pound, literally. Hotels often give amazing discounts if you can gurantee them occupancy in good numbers - for one booking, or all year round. This is why companies such as Expedia, or Orbitz, etc are able to give such good prices. They buy cheap many many rooms in advance, which enables them to sell them at good prices, which in turn attracts more travelers. It's a full cycle circle and everyone is happy with it: if an agent buys 20 rooms, the hotel has received their sure and secure money, the travel agent forms a fee and the travelers get good discounts. Of course it's not up to the capacity of smaller companies to do that but that's how big agents work.
Statement 4 - It's always the cheapest to book only through major agencies. FALSE
There are the booking or reservation agents I consider big: Expedia.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Orbitz.com, Cheaptickets.com, Octopus, HRS, Booking.com, Otel.com, etc. If you look at all of them, you're likely to find out that they offer different prices for the same hotels. This is because they have organized different contracts with the same providers. For example, if a hotel has 90 rooms, Orbitz.com takes 20, Expedia.com takes 20 and Otel.com takes 20, the hotel will have around 30 rooms to sell at their regular price, so they won't be all that willing to give a big discount to YET another agent. It all comes down to the first-come-first-serve rule of thumb in most cases. Another factor is the number of rooms each company can buy or guarantee.
Now if you have scrutinized different online reservation systems, you may have noticed that they have the very same websites, just with different logo. Compare Expedia.com and our company's site, TFS. Looks awfully similar, no?
Travel agents can and do sign contracts with other agents. While offering the very same conditions and prices, they receive a discount from the original agent. This is also why it seems there is an endless number of suppliers/providers but in fact this is only one half of the truth.
Statement 5 - Europe is one of the most expensive places to go on vacation. FALSE
This sounds to me like "Americans are fat". Well, *some* might be. It's very expensive to go to some places in Europe and ridiculously cheap to go to other places. Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, etc are the chepeast places to go and depending on the period and the city you can get a double room in a NICE hotel for $60-70 (as long as you don't get greedy for Arabella-Sheraton). England has the reputation of an expensive place to go and it is so in general, compared to countries such as Germany for example. However, even in the heart of London you can find a great hotel for $100 a night for a double room with breakfast. Germany is another affordable place to go as long as you try not to hit an event. Some 4-star hotels cost as much as $90-110 per night with breakfast. So generally speaking you can have a very comfortable vacation very cheap.
Tips to plan your wonderful cheap vacation:
1. Plan in advance. A lot of places give discounts for booking in advance
2. Avoid places with major events going on. If you see a price doubling in the middle of the period, this is definitely an event.
3. Compare prices from different suppliers.
4. If you do not have a particular destination in mind, leave yourself an option for the places to go to allow flexibility.
5. Read reviews first! For the best way to research a hotel and what people have to say about it, try www.tripadvisor.com
6. Find out if the supplier offers packages. These can be "flight and hotel" or "tour and hotel", etc.
7. A lot of hotels offer different rates during the day or the weekend. In London for example weekends cost more; in Germany they are cheaper.
Tips how to limit the "surprises" during your trip
1. When booking a hotel directly or through an agent pay attention when they charge your card and learn the cancellation policy. Anyone can get sick and challenging a payment is a royal pain you know where.
2. When booking a hotel make sure to find out what's included in the price. They can tell you breakfast is included but it doesn't necessarily mean it's included in the price as well. City and sales tax is not always auto-included either. Make sure all is paid to avoid being in the situation when you book this nice affordable hotel and then discover "the hidden costs".
3. Try to find out what the hotel is really like. The pictures on the hotel website can be deceiving and not reflect the real condition of the hotel.
4. A cheap high-class hotel may mean its location is not all that great. Often it's better to pay a little more and stay close than spend your pocket money on trains or metro.
Some exotic, yet cheap destinations are Tunesia, Egypt, Morocco, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, India, even China to name a few.
I'm not very knowledgeable about flights yet but when i get more information I'll make sure to share it with you. :-)
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Having said this I also would like to point out that if you ever need a hotel, let me know. The company I work for deals exclusively with business clients but we can use our contacts for anyone else. Just to let you know because I could actually offer to share the discount we get from our suppliers. I've talked to my boss and he agreed that for friends (or friend of friends) we can do this. Especially if you like a hotel from Expedia.com we'll be able to give you slightly lower prices for the very same hotel you see on the website.
If you ask a question about traveling I'll make sure to check things out first. If I can't give you the best offer, I'll let you know who does. I will also give you my honest opinion about the booking.
You can have this in mind from now on - it would be so cool to arrange something for HC members!  [Exciting]
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We've discussed this with people before and we all agree it would be cool if we HC members can have a "convention" of sorts. Now I can even help with that! I could arrange for a VERY affordable convention at a nice place (we're talking about $30 a night per person). The best places to go are London, Germany, Austria, the French Riviera (yeah, at these prices). I have included a short poll in here about that, so I'll be happy to see you cost your votes. :-)If there are people who may be interested I'll search around and see what I came up with - and I'll post it here for discussion.
I hope this info has been useful for you!! I found it very enlightening when I started on the job and I've shared a lot of what I learned with you. If you want to check out the website of the company I work for, try here.
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TnT_Addict
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Beautiful Liar
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posted December 12, 2006 09:19 PM |
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Cool  I could make it anywhere in europe but the US is off limits because of the 2 months minimum of visa hunting.
Although HC consits mostly of lazy bums and bummets... It's a really long shot 
I don't mind ending up with just the 2 of us alone though 
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Please
click and help me out!! Thanks!!
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Iris
Responsible
Supreme Hero
of Typos
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posted December 13, 2006 01:06 AM |
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I'd love to go to England, Germany, or Italy.
Time is an issue though...
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william
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
LummoxLewis
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posted December 13, 2006 02:13 AM |
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I would absolutely love to do this, but I no way have the money to do so, and I am probably too young 
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~Ticking away the moments that
make up a dull day, Fritter and
waste the hours in an off-hand
way~
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Romana
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Thx :D
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posted December 13, 2006 12:06 PM |
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:D
Nice to see things are going well for you Milena
Enjoying your job is very important atleast in my opinion 
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The darkest skies show the brightest stars
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted December 13, 2006 09:39 PM |
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Edited by Consis at 21:41, 13 Dec 2006.
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Well . . .
Quote:
I also would like to point out that if you ever need a hotel, let me know.
Leo_Lion might need your help for his 2008 summer trip. He and I were discussing his options for a stop in Seattle, Washington so that our two families could meet and chat.
My wife loves Seattle. There's a novelty furniture store there that she really likes. If Leo_Lion was able to get a good deal for a room in Seattle then both his and my family might be able to stay in the same hotel. The wives and kids could hit the pool while he and I visit their downstairs pub. That'd be one great time for sure . . . especially with room service and all the amenities.
Yeah it's too bad Pandora lives on the other side of the great lakes. Pandora you'd be welcome too. I don't know how that would work but just a thought. If Conan were still around he'd probably want in as well.
Anyone else thinking about something like this? Binabik perhaps?
Edit: I've also been discussing visiting with Violent_Flower and her African zebra love slave a.k.a. "The_Gootch".
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
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posted December 13, 2006 10:29 PM |
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Yay!
I'm so happy you guys like the idea of a HC convention! Of course we're talking at least the end of 2007 because it would be the least sufficient time for everyone to scoop up resources and decide if they can spare the extra days.
So far I have established firmer connections with the hotels in Europe, so it would be much easier for me to organize something. Besides, visa-wise Europe is very easy to go to. If I find a fairly affordable offer, I'm sure our American, Australian, Canadian, etc members may be willing to attend.
Because we don't work with that many hotels in the US, I may have a hard time arranging something exceptional but even if I don't, I still have my standard tools. This in short means that I can look up other providers and suggest to people where, how and when to book. The most important thing is to find the best value for your money. I spend quite a while reading what other travelers have to say about the places they go. This can turn out crucial in the end because they least you want to experience during your trip is bedbugs, heavy extra charges or rude stuff.
Of course, given some time I can run a proper investigation. The least I could do is share my honest opinion and offer practical tips. So if you guys would like me to look up things for Seattle - would be my pleasure.
As for you, dear Addict, why don't we organize a trip just for us. Just the two of us. How does that sound to you?
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God does not need exist to save us...
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MightyMage
Honorable
Legendary Hero
of INSANITY and DELICIOUSNESS
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posted December 14, 2006 08:26 AM |
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So yeah, this idea does sound pretty cool. I'm sure I could save up the funds so long as I stop blowing my cash on useless stuff like DVD's and Games 
Keep us updated as this could be the perfect excuse for me to take a vacation that's not a family reunion.
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Though I must still bow
in awe for the awesomeness that is
MightyMage. For he is all I could ever
want to be! - OhforfSake
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Lord_Woock
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Daddy Cool with a $90 smile
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posted December 14, 2006 03:02 PM |
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With reasonable timing, I could save up and perhaps tag along. Summer might be better than the end of the year though (but then again, an HC New Year's could be awesome), and of course - I suggest to do this in Poland (which has been listed as one of the cheapest European countries to visit! )
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Yolk and God bless.
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My buddy's doing a webcomic and would certainly appreciate it if you checked it out!
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Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
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posted December 14, 2006 09:24 PM |
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Well Wookie, wouldn't it be nice if we settle for Vienna or London or something? A place you haven't been before rather than staying in Poland? Since we all would be playing, I think it'd be cooler if for the same money we go someplace else and see things.
Which reminds me - hey people, if you had a chance to visit Europe, where would you like to go? Unrelated to the convention idea. 
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God does not need exist to save us...
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted December 15, 2006 06:39 AM |
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. . .
I will not leave my country. People hate Americans.
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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MightyMage
Honorable
Legendary Hero
of INSANITY and DELICIOUSNESS
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posted December 15, 2006 09:15 AM |
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Yeah, screw Americans. Goddamn Yanks think they rule the world with their overbearing beliefs and their oh so great "democracy"...
wait...that's me.
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Though I must still bow
in awe for the awesomeness that is
MightyMage. For he is all I could ever
want to be! - OhforfSake
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kookastar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
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posted December 15, 2006 09:28 AM |
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This sounds like a lot of fun
I'd love to go if my life circumstances allow heehee
I'll start saving just in case
Time would also be an issue for me workwise - it'd have to be during one of my hols so either the Xmas summer break or June/July.
{not worth planning around me though }
I totally understand why Europe is a better option. I am amazed and discusted really how hard it is for some of you to visit countries like the US and Aust {visas}.
Also I think Europe would be heaps of fun, and if we could see more than one country that would be even better
I'll start relearning my German vocab from school
Consis, we'll protect you! You can start practising a different accent now if you are really worried mate 
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uhuh
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Lady_Milena
Honorable
Known Hero
Grannie Sweet Cheeks
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posted December 15, 2006 10:10 AM |
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Consis, if you go around Europe and tell everyone "I'm American, thus better than you", of course they will hate you.
Which actually opens another good topic here. It IS true that some nations are more hospitable than others. In Germany and England you'll get along fine. In Sweden? Considering the amount of Americans actually living there, they'll make sure to give you a warm welcome. Now, France is a different story. There is a misconception that it's the Americans though. It's everyone. The French are known for being very nationalistic. (Some aren't but you don't see that many French people online for a reason.) But mostly tourist areas have friendly people - because if there weren't, it would kill their business.
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God does not need exist to save us...
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Aculias
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Pretty Boy Angel Sacraficer
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posted December 15, 2006 10:35 AM |
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Pandora, I might be visiting you sooner then you think .
Bring your poker face because I am coming  .
Oh & tell Jerry the crazy Lewister is in town & uh.
Yea thats it & that & this & that also & this right there & that right over there &
Milena your my hero I could kiss you but it's my screen cleaning day & I dont think I should do that
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Dreaming of a Better World
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Aculias
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Pretty Boy Angel Sacraficer
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posted December 15, 2006 10:41 AM |
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So where is my Visa card anyways?
Oh here it is in my wallet.
I think I might buy that computer I wanted.
Oh wait I need to pay off the visa forst
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Dreaming of a Better World
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Aculias
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Pretty Boy Angel Sacraficer
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posted December 15, 2006 10:50 AM |
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Bah we should all meet.
Have a hugh poker tourney 20 dollar buy in & first place takes all
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Dreaming of a Better World
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Romana
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Thx :D
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posted December 15, 2006 11:35 AM |
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someone's excited..
lol!
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The darkest skies show the brightest stars
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Aculias
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
Pretty Boy Angel Sacraficer
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posted December 15, 2006 11:36 AM |
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I always get excited.
I love almost everyone on here .
I would love to visit almost everyone & have fun
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Dreaming of a Better World
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Angelspit
Famous Hero
Warrior of the Heavens
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posted December 15, 2006 04:50 PM |
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Quote:
I will not leave my country. People hate Americans.
Some Americans travel with a Canadian flag on their backpacks. Of course it doesn't work if you have a Texas accent.
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