Make Your Next Travel Experience a Blessing and Not a Financial Curse
Whether you are single, married, or have kids, everyone loves to take a vacation. If you are a millionaire, middle class, or live paycheck to paycheck, you want to travel to quality locations but pay less. Nobody wants to pay full price for anything!
Two Companies Control the Travel Industry
People will spend weeks searching dozens of websites and will feel accomplished if they can find a $20 discount. What most people do not realize, however, is that two companies monopolize the entire travel industry: Booking Holdings and Expedia Group.
Booking Holdings owns booking.com, rentalcars.com, Kayak, Agoda, Opentable, and Priceline. The other company, Expedia Group, owns Travelocity, Orbitz, Trivago, hotwire.com, carrentals.com, and hotels.com. Thus, while you are spending your time trying to find the best deals on multiple travel websites, you are truly only searching two websites.
Ultimately, it is important to realize there is a significant difference between cheap and higher quality at a reduced price. The goal is to find a place that you will enjoy and are comfortable in (safe, secure, esthetically pleasing, etc.) without having to pay the highest prices.
Furthermore, do not believe that the highest prices automatically mean you will have the highest quality. This article will show you how you can enjoy a higher quality travel experience on a smaller travel budget.
The Problem With Vacation Planning
Many people work hard all year to enjoy one or two weeks of vacation time. Their hard-earned money goes to rent/mortgage, car payments, insurance, groceries, activities for their kids, and many other responsibilities, but they truly want to spend their money on a vacation where they can relax.
Obviously, you have bills that you must pay, and you cannot spend all your money on vacations. That would be irresponsible, but it does not mean you cannot budget and plan for a trip that will allow you to enjoy life and recharge.
You Can Get Quality Travel With a Budget
The most important part about budgeting for a trip is to actually have a budget. People will take a much-needed vacation by throwing the entire trip on a credit card.
Rather than being a blessing, their vacation can easily become a curse after they get home and realize they could not afford the trip. By budgeting for your vacation expenses, you will focus on the memories you are making and not the bills that come after the trip.
Planning and budgeting for a trip can happen weeks, months, or even a year in advance. Imagine planning for a dream cruise or a stay at a 5-star resort in the Caribbean a year in advance. You may not have the exact cost of every aspect of the trip, but you will have a great idea of how to budget for your trip.
Begin your budget by writing down a list of the following items (as an example) and their potential cost:
Food (this may be included at an all-inclusive resort or on a cruise)
Resort/hotel
Cruise
Airfare
Gas money
Rental car
Taxi/Uber/shuttle
Souvenirs
Clothes (you may want to buy clothing items before or during your trip)
Tips (baggage handlers, drivers, housekeeping, etc.)
Parking fees
Resort fees (extra daily fee added on to your bill at some resorts)
Excursions/activities
Theme park tickets
A budget is critical to knowing how much money you will have available to take a vacation, how much you will need to save for the trip, and even if you can afford the trip. Perhaps you will have to postpone the trip or look for ways to reduce the price while still enjoying a quality vacation.
Adjust your budget throughout the planning process and get as detailed as possible as you get closer to the trip. Again, you want to make sure your trip is a blessing and not a financial curse. A travel agent can help you get a quote so you can enhance your budget.
Travel Agent Misconceptions
From my experience as a traveler who has used travel agents, and as a travel agent who has worked in this industry for several years, I know there is a common misconception that travel agents are supposed to save you money.
“The truth is that a travel agent will not always save you money.”
My goal as a travel agent is to save my client time (I will conduct the research for their trip, consult with travel vendors, obtain accurate quotes, and make payments) and to get them the finest quality for the best value!
If a travel agent saves their client hundreds of dollars on a trip, but they are staying in a roach-infested hotel in a high crime area, the travel agent has done their client a disservice.
Thus, travel agents try their best to get their clients 5-star quality at 3-star prices. Travel agents have access to websites that allow them to compare prices and conduct research on the quality of properties/cruise ships.
They can look at available promotions and may be able to get their clients resort credit that is worth more than they paid to stay at the resort.
As an example, on one trip I booked for a client, I got them $1,500 of resort credit they could use during their stay, and they paid less than $1,000 for their trip. This particular deal was only available through the travel agent website.
Contact P Fruge Travel for Your Vacation Needs
Personally, I provide free assistance to all my clients and referrals. If you are looking for a good travel agent to help make your next vacation a blessing and not a financial curse, you can send me an email at pfrugetravel@gmail.com, and I will help you, free of charge! You can also send me an email to get a free Vacation Budget Worksheet.
Contact Patrick by email or phone at 540-313-0553 for a free travel consultation and for assistance with planning your next vacation!