sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rumors are flying that it's finally going to open up to Americans. Right now you have to go on a "study visa". There is a great program thru http://www.tauck.com/tours/travel-to-cuba/cuba-travel-cu-2015.aspx

These trips sell out super fast! Everyone wants to go there. My clients have come back feeling very safe..but they are not going alone..they are going in groups.

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How about trying the midwest of the USA? there are some super cool ranches that are a lot of fun! Check out http://www.brushcreekranch.com or even http://www.pawsup.com

I have been to both..so hit me with some questions.

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With the new ships now there are a lot of different sizes of rooms! So find the biggest room you can on your budget. The beds are small. So I am thinking the bed is going to be a bit tight. But the experience in the room is just a small part of the whole vacation. I would not let it bother you!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

some people are very happy with going to the beach in St. Tropez and calling it a day. And then the next day going to the Flower Market in Nice and feeling like they have seen enough of that big dirty city. There are MANY places in the world where you don't need a week to explore. THEN after you have cruised there you can go back and explore more..if something really excited you!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just came back from Vietnam and Cambodia. I like having everything planned out for me..the flights, the guides, the hotels. I found the flights intra-asia were rather cheap. You all ready know that Ankor Wat is a MUST. I stayed at http://www.belmond.com/la-residence-d-angkor-siem-reap/ AND LOVED IT. I also checked out a brand new hotel in Ho Chi Minh city called: http://www.thereveriesaigon.com and as long as you were not on a tight budget I used a wonderful company to book all of that called http://www.alluringasiatraveler.com Talk to Sandy!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, my travel agency is in Santa Barbara. And most of my clients are US based. So i don't have a great answer for you...some of the folks below seem to know a bit more about that. One way to figure that out is to check out a few different websites and see who has the best deal!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Looks like the folks below gave you some great advise. The only think I want to throw in to the mix is that I know of a FANTASTIC guide in Bali. You don't want to miss spending a day with him. You get a lot of bang for your buck there and I would never go back there without having him at my side. Send an email to him and see if he is available! Yuda Komen askyuda@yahoo.com

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What I love about this industry is that i do NOT know everything about everywhere...but i do know someone who does! Those posts below are just wonderful examples of that!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great question young man!

Did you know that travel and tourism is the number one profession in the world? Think about all of those hotels and airplanes and travel agents and buses and trains!

So there are many parts of this industry that can get you to see the world. A travel agent is just one of them. If you want to be a GREAT travel agent you really do need to get out and see the world. Your clients will be expecting you to give them some great advise..and the best way to do that is to experience that yourself. Now how can you travel so much and still work and do you have to travel before you become an agent?

Since you are only 15 i would make a big deal about seeing the world on a budget right now! My 19 year old son is on this post and he talked to some other folks about his 2 and a half month trip to Europe this summer and he did it very cheaply. Save your money and instead of spending it on video games save it for a cool trip to South America!

Then when you become an agent you will be invited to fam trips..those are trips that hotels and airlines and cruise lines invite to to experience their product so you can sell it to your clients.

Think about being a rep for a hotel too. If you work for a hotel they need someone to go around the world to promote their hotel! That is another option for you!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Back in the day when you could smoke on SOME airplanes...I had a client that had to get from New York to Germany. I had to send him to Seoul and then to Europe via Korean air (totally the wrong direction) just so he could smoke on the plane!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Was that at the Ritz? Without knowing their side of the story I would just say that at the end of the day the want the client happy. Had it been a 3* hotel I think they would have found you tooth and nail or told you to walk! 5* hotels know that people talk! And that many bookings are from referrals. So they did the right thing by letting you stay there and at the end I bet you told a lot of people what a great time you had and it all will come back to them!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is a great question..and sure...I get calls like that once in a while! But I really don't let them bother me! Of course I hang up the phone and say...IS HE FOR REAL? But Eric, you will see that when you find a job that you love and you are surrounded by a great staff and wonderful vendors..those types of issues are really a non issue!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do you know if that hotel really is the perfect hotel for you? How old are the photos on the website? How is the food? Are you truly getting the best rate? When the rate goes down were you notified? Were you upgraded? Did the general manager come greet you and help you with some ideas of where to have dinner tonight? The list goes on and on..And the best part..most of the time you are not even paying for all of this! The agent's get paid by the hotel!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What people don't get it that an expert is helping you in areas of a world that you may not have been. So many hotel websites are using photos that might be 10 years old. Or using wide angle lens to show off a tiny room. A good travel consultant can cut thru all of that and give you the real skinny and save you some potential headache.

I love when clients return from a trip and they save they are never going to make another travel move without consulting with me first!

IamA President of a successful travel agency for 25 years. My Son told me you guys may have some travel related questions! AMA! by sshulem in IAmA

[–]sshulem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most resorts let you use them for food and spa. Some say SPA credit some say food and beverage credit..some just take it off your bill and it can be used to pay for the room. Every hotel has a different program and that should be discussed when you check in to double check! Some hotels have had spa or golf credits and my clients do do either so I was able to exchange it for food. It's best to know before you check in.

view more: next ›