 As you can imagine, I’ve been working 'round the clock recently assisting clients with refunds, rescheduling and cancellations of everything from the quick 4-day getaways to Mexico, to rearranging entire wedding groups, as well as, month-long European adventures.
Throughout these last couple of months, as the situation has continued to evolve, I’ve noticed significant differences in vendor/supplier responses and treatment towards their guests, travel partners and staff members. As a result, it’s made me appreciate the additional levels of security, protection, and options that are available when choosing to work with vendors that are stable enough to provide most (if not all) components for a lengthy multi-destination adventure versus securing each individual travel component with multi-vendors. As a small business owner, I strongly believe in supporting the local communities and businesses abroad when I travel, but it’s important to understand that when working with a larger vendor, it doesn’t actually mean that you’re choosing “big business” over small and local. Quality vendors, partner with locals in the community to ensure that they help the local economies and people, in addition to providing travelers with an immersive local experience. To this end, I want to shine a spotlight on the “tour” experiences offered for multi-destination vacations. There are still a lot of misconceptions about taking tours, and the most common one is that a tour is squeezing onto a bus with a group of strangers and being driven past sights to snap some pictures before quickly moving on to the next place. While those kinds of tours do exist and can be the right choice for some, there are a multitude of other ways to take advantage of the tour benefits while maintaining the flexibility of independent travel. You want to ensure that your trip is protected and that you work with the suppliers who have your best interest at heart!
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 I hope you have been staying safe and well during this period of uncertainty we all are sharing! I have been overwhelmed by the kind words and support I've received from so many of my clients about the travel industry and how they can help us.
I know a lot of people have been displaced from their work and income amidst the pandemic, and to see the community unite to support small and local businesses where they can, has been truly inspirational! I feel so blessed to have amazing clients like you! Since so many of you have reached out asking, I felt like it was a great opportunity to write about all the ways Destinations HD could use your support if you should feel compelled.  It’s crazy to think that just two weeks ago I was sharing my journey to Africa with you, and now many of us are under "stay at home" orders as we face one of the most widespread pandemics that humanity has ever seen.
While you’re probably overwhelmed with news and updates regarding COVID-19, I wanted to touch on a few things related to your travel – whether you currently have travel booked with us, another agent, or booked on your own. Sorry it's a little long - there is a lot to go through. Here are a few things to consider if you have travel plans currently booked...  I was going to talk about Corona Virus a little, but honestly – I don’t think I need to say too much yet. Until there is more information to give, please just wash your hands and if you’re at risk of being compromised by this virus, be extra vigilant. If you have travel booked within the next few weeks have a chat to your doctor and just continue to use common sense and sanitization practices.
And that’s it – that’s all that really needs to be said as this all continues to evolve and develop. So instead of going on about this, I would much rather talk about a joyous adventure and share a bit about my most recent travel experience – a once in a lifetime (I lie... I will definitely be going back in this lifetime) safari in Africa and visit to Zanzibar in Tanzania!  Valentine’s Day might be behind us now, but love will keep flowing as February is one of our biggest months to plan group travel.
My two favorite things in the world are travel and love – those two passions are what led me to having my own destination wedding because I couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful than combining travel and love. After that, I was hooked and Destinations HD was born so I could live my life helping other people enhance their love with travel and embrace their travel with love. It makes me so happy to see my clients explore the world with the people they love – be it romantic love, family love or friend love. Some of my clients’ favorite trips have been the group vacations where they share their experiences with the people they love, such as destination weddings (which for obvious reasons hold a very special place in my heart!), group anniversary trips, family reunions/getaways, and friends just traveling together for a fun getaway. Now trust me, there is a TON to take into consideration when booking group travel of any kind, but I just wanted to highlight a few of the great ways that you can combine your love of travel with your loved ones to really create meaningful memories and moments in the busy lives we all seem to lead these days...  I've been in the Romance Travel industry for over a decade and the one thing that I've found over the years is that couples always hold the memories of traveling together in a special place in their hearts.
There is something so special about whisking yourselves away together, going through the trials of travel and the true voyage of discovery - whether it be a new destination, new way of traveling or the discovery of each other away from everyday life together. With that in mind, and with Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to share some of the best Romance Travel Trends for 2020 and 2021...  The last decade was an eye-opener when it came to the real problem that plastic is having on our environment. We saw countries and citizens around the world taking action to cut down on plastic use.
But what about when you travel? Trial size toiletries, plastic cups at hotels, ziplock bags for TSA screening – the list goes on and on. Some countries (and even some local US states) have banned the use of plastics, so be sure to check your destination before getting on that jet plane. So what can we as travelers do to minimize our impact on the beautiful destinations we visit and reduce plastic waste?  Well, this newsletter was supposed to be about my recent trip to a bucket list dream of mine – specifically Exuma, in the Bahamas.
If you don’t know about the famous swimming pigs of the Bahamas, give me a call and I can fill you in! It’s been a personal dream of mine to swim with the pigs in the crystal-clear waters, and this year I finally booked the trip! As the departure date got closer, I got more and more excited – I was packed and ready to go a week before we had to leave, the house was clean, and I was tying up loose ends at work – next stop, Bahamas! Until three days before I had to leave...  I can't believe this year is almost over! I'm squeezing in one last trip for the year, and heading to Exuma with the hubby tomorrow. I can't wait to share my adventure around this charming Bahamas island - be sure to follow my Facebook or Instagram pages to learn about all the fascinating experiences you can enjoy on this beautiful island.
If you are struggling with those harder to buy for people on your holiday list - I have the perfect alternative you might consider as a gift this year that they will remember for a lifetime.  I just returned from a personal vacation with my husband in Mexico. During our trip, we overheard some couples discussing what they should be tipping at dinner. This is a common question that many travelers have, so thought it would be a good topic to chat about today. I will cover when, how, and how much to tip for your next resort vacation.
Note: the information in this post is based on current trends and practices. For superior service, you might consider increasing the gratuity based on your experience. This is also based on US Dollars, so for those countries that may not prefer US currency, just calculate the exchange rate in relation to the local currency. |
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