Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Give a little, get a lot: How to help your travel provider help you

In the past, all a person had to do was pick a location & dates, call their travel agent and say " I want to go to Maui for a week, get me a ticket" and the agent, solid & steady on the surface, yet frantic just beneath it, would handle everything (no wonder they were called "the good old days").

Boy, have times have changed, YOU are now responsible for picking the location, dates and securing the arrangements.  While for some, this independence is a dream, for many, it's a nightmare.  Longer working hours combined with the routine stresses of life create more of a need for a vacation while providing less time to create one.

But there is hope, by using your time wisely, you can use less time (we like playing with words). Providing your travel service provider with as much information as possible at the onset of planning will help them create the trip of your dreams, just the way you envisioned it.

In addition to the location and dates, provide them with:

*The time of day you'd like to leave & return: Morning, Mid-morning, etc. are helpful but still vague.  Using a timeframe (10:00-noon) is more to the point and helps the provider understand the boundaries (for instance we are more likely to use book the 9:30 am instead of the 1:00 pm if the 10:00 am is not available).

*Whether you're more concerned with schedule or budget: For the record, cost is an issue for everyone, no matter the economic climate, so we can't really assume that you would or won't pay the extra $50 to get your exact flight.

*Your seating preference: John T. Smith doesn't tell us that you're 6'2", only you can do that.

*What additional products you'll need:  It may be your first time visiting a location, but you may have family there that doesn't drive, so while you will not need a hotel, you probably will need transportation, car or cab?

*An idea of your dream travel vision: "I want a beach" is vague.  "I want a beach with a few children as possible" has starting potential...

Then, there are these helpful hints for booking:

*Make sure to provide your name as it appears on your ID when BOOKING (arranging) your travel and use your name as it appears on your CREDIT CARD when PAYING for your travel.  Security makes this very important to remember.

*Provide all frequent flyer/affinity club numbers for credit when booking.

*Make all of your special requests (such as aisle seating or a ocean view room) when booking so that the provider has enough time to make this happen.

Was that so hard?  Ok, maybe it wasn't as instant but it didn't take all day either...

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