If you think websites like Expedia, Travelocity & Kayak eliminate the need for a travel agent; I give you 10 reasons why you are dead wrong.
Niche Expertise. This is the main reason to use a travel agent. Most agents specialize. It can be for travel to specific destinations whether a city, country or region. It can involve different accommodations such as luxury villas, all inclusive resorts, B&B's, spas or even hotels. They may cater to business travelers, seniors, students, sportsmen or honeymooners. Some deal only in cruises. Some focus on rail or bus traveling. Whatever your need, there is a travel specialist to meet it.
Knowledge of International Requirements. Another essential reason to use an agent. International travel involves ever changing regulations, do****entation, confirmations and vaccinations. There are visas, permits & other paperwork to contend with. If you are traveling on safari with a weapon you better have all your do****ents in order or you may find it waiting at home for your return. Only an experienced agent can cover all your bases. There is nothing more frustrating than bureaucratic red tape, especially if you don't know the language. In travel, your time is money. A missed business opportunity may never be recouped. If you screw up you have only yourself to blame. The pros are less likely to err & if they do, you have a better chance of getting compensation.
Knowledge of Options for Your Budget. Very rarely is travel just a plane ride to a location. It also involves lodging & travel within your destination-is it better to rent a car & from whom? Maybe taxis are better. Are rail or subway options faster and cheaper? Should you buy a pass and which one? What accommodations are best suited for your trip & budget. An experienced agent can work up an itinerary based on your particular needs and keep it within your budget. It's all about options. Agents have them readily available.
Accommodate Your Special Needs. Unless you travel alone, there are others who must be considered. Are you traveling with the entire family or you and your wife. Are their seniors traveling, small children or physically challenged person? Each type of traveler has special needs. What about your dining preferences? Many agents who book travel to specific locations have been there themselves or have the word of mouth review from their past clients & colleagues.
Give Unadvertised Discounts & Upgrades. Agents are often privy to unadvertised special promotions that can save you money. Agents who work in a particular area gain discounts & upgrades they can pass on to you. Do you know that the person traveling with a senior also gets the same senior discount? Agents realize they score points with you by saving you money. Let them do it.
Time Savings. Yes you can look online and check dozens of different websites for airlines, seating, travel times, connections, hotel availability, activities, tours, car rentals and the accompanying reservations, deposits & payments. But why bother? Let the agent do the work. They work faster, know exactly where to look and have access to the contact people involved. An hour with a travel agent will save you ten. Guaranteed!
Access to Latest News. Whether it be weather, politics, or any issue which may affect your travel, agents have the scoop. They get news from direct client feedback as well as colleagues & government sources. They routinely visit the destinations they send client. An agent's business is to know what is going on in the places they send you. I had planned a trip to a particularly exotic resort in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands but changed my plans after my travel agent told me the beach had been reduced to a 3 foot swatch by a hurricane the year before. You can't see that in a resort brochure or website. It's not information readily volunteered by the resort reservations staff either
Alert You to Future Opportunities. A good agent will advise you of upcoming travel bargains, tips and concerns via newsletter and email. Just tell an agent your plans for next year and they will make it their business to look out for deals for you.
Personal Attention. An invaluable benefit. Once a travel agent has worked with you, they get to know you as a person. They learn your likes & dislikes. They can suggest destinations & activities based on these. My wife & I love the Caribbean. We want the best beaches away from the crowds and resorts with gourmet food. Knowing us, our travel agent finds the perfect places. We are very rarely disappointed. Which leads me to reason 10?
Advocate and Problem Solver. If there are problems, they know who to call to get a resolution They can negotiate better than you since they routinely deal with the people & companies involved. Your vacation or business travel time is valuable. Why waste it and bear the aggravation to deal with a problem? Let the agent get you satisfaction. I once had a bad experience at a resort where the proprietor was absent for unexpected reason and the staff decided to take it easy resulting in awful service (cat's away syndrome) I complained to my travel agent and she got me a full refund of the sizeable service charge. The resorts and companies that deal in the travel industry cannot afford bad press from travel agents. Bad news travels fast. Competition is fierce for the travelers' dollar. If an agent finds a company has many complaints or is not willing to fix problems, the agent will not send them any more business. If you're unhappy, you'll tell your friends and the agent can lose you & them.
Bonus!Non-Tech - Old School Crowd. Let's not forget about all those people who simply like to do things in a more traditional way - Human to Human contact. Many of us have parents or relatives that are just not computer or tech savvy. They like to go down to their local travel agent in the mall or around the corner. These are in many cases their neighbors and friends. They crave the personal touch. They like to talk about other things like what's new in the neighborhood, their kids' baseball game or simply the bad or nice weather they've been having. This is how things were done before the internet and they will continue to be necessary for many years to come.
Travel agents are valuable professional. The Sellsius community will welcome them as members and promote them to the community (like all members). They can post their professional profiles, write tips articles and contribute to the forum. Visitors to the site will be able to search for them in the Getaways section. They can be found by their particular expertise.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 06:26 AM EST [General]
If you've rewritten that résumé several times and sent out dozens of applications but your job search still shows no promise, you might not be the problem.
One frequently overlooked but critical factor in finding a new job is your state's unemployment rate. You can have the experience and skills of an employer's dream, but they won't do you any good if there just aren't enough jobs available.
The unemployment rate is the percentage of job seekers in the work force who are still looking for work. The higher the percentage, the more difficult it is to find a job. The national unemployment rate is 5 percent, based on the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
If you're looking for a job, you should see how your state compares to the rest of the country. Here are the 10 worst states to find work ranked by their unemployment rates.
1. Michigan Unemployment rate: 7.6 percent Population: 10,071,822 Mean annual wage: $41,230 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (18.4 percent)***
Michigan's un-employee rate is estimate at 7.6% , this number is inaccurate. This number only represents individuals whom are eligible to file. It does not include people who have possibly exhausted their benefits but are still without gainful employment.
2. Mississippi Unemployment rate: 6.8 percent Population: 2,918,785 Mean annual wage: $30,460 Top industry: Government (21.2 percent)
3. South Carolina Unemployment rate: 6.6 percent Population: 4,407,709 Mean annual wage: $33,400 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (19.4 percent)
4. Alaska Unemployment rate: 6.5 percent Population: 683,478 Mean annual wage: $43,920 Top industry: Government (25.9 percent)
5. California Unemployment rate: 6.1 percent Population: 36,553,215 Mean annual wage: $44,180 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (18.9 percent)
6. District of Columbia Unemployment rate: 6.1 percent Population: 588,292 Mean annual wage: $61,500 Top industry: Government (33.3 percent)
7. Ohio Unemployment rate: 6 percent Population: 11,466,917 Mean annual wage: $37,360 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (19.3 percent)
8. Arkansas Unemployment rate: 5.9 percent Population: 2,834,797 Mean annual wage: $30,870 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (20.6 percent)
9. Nevada Unemployment rate: 5.8 percent Population: 2,565,382 Mean annual wage: $36,000 Top industry: Leisure and hospitality (26.5 percent)
10. Kentucky Unemployment rate: 5.7 percent Population: 4,241,474 Mean annual wage: $33,490 Top industry: Trade, transportation and utilities (20.4 percent)
*Unemployment rates, mean annual wages and industry percentages obtained from BLS in January 2008. Percentages based on nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008, 06:24 AM EST [General]
By Laura Schaefer So you've mastered the eye-contact game and can beckon a cute prospect with a few coy glances... but do you really know all there is to know about the fine art of come-hither? Just to make sure you're up to speed, we culled some very surprising info that you can use to your advantage. Read on for some juicy tidbits that may up your cute quotient in no time.
1. Flirting is good for you. Studies show that people who flirt have higher white blood-cell counts, which boost their immunity and keep them healthy.
2. Think it ends at a little eye batting? Hardly-all told, scientists say there are 52 "flirting signals" used by humans. Of these, the hair flip is the most common.
3. In some places, flirting is illegal. In Little Rock, AK, an antiquated law is still on the books warning that engaging in playful banter may result in a 30-day jail term. In New York City, another outdated law mandates that men may be fined $25 for gazing lasciviously at a female; a second conviction stipulates the offender wear a pair of blinders whenever he goes out for a walk.
4. Why wait for Happy Hour? Lots of people get their flirt on during their morning commute. A full 62 percent of drivers have flirted with someone in a different vehicle while on the go, and 31 percent of those flirtations, it turns out, resulted in a date.
5. Flirting need not occur face to face. According to Pew Research, 40 percent of people who look for love online say they can easily flirt with someone via email or IM.
6. In the Victorian era, fans were the ultimate playful prop that could communicate all sorts of messages. A fan placed near the heart meant, You have won my love. A half-opened fan pressed to the lips suggested, You may kiss me. Hiding the eyes behind an open fan meant, I love you, while opening and closing the fan several times warned, You are cruel. Given how much a fan could come in handy, it's a shame they ever invented air conditioning.
7. These days, cell phones do the flirting. In one survey, half of all mobile phone users have texted suggestive messages to keep things interesting while away from their amour.
8. Watch out, you can overdo it. According to the Social Issues Research Centre, the most common mistake people make when flirting is maintaining too much eye contact.
9. Sometimes, flirty gestures aren't what they seem. Research has shown that men tend to routinely mistake friendly behavior for flirting.
10. Flirting is universal. A woman living in New York City and one in rural Cambodia may not have much in common, but when it comes to attracting a little attention, they both employ the very same move: smiling, arching their eyebrows, then averting their gaze and giggling. Animals flirt, too: Birds, reptiles, and even fish have their own way of strutting their stuff. Moral of the story: If the simple sea bass can act cute to enhance a romantic agenda, you can, too-so give it a go!
Chances are that anti-worker, anti-union activists will use voter turnout for the Michigan presidential primary to collect signatures on their "right to work" for less petition. We need to be there at the polls to help voters decline to sign. Please volunteer. To sign up:
Contact the Michigan State AFL-CIO in Lansing at miaflcio@miaflcio.org or by phone at 517-487-5966 OR Contact the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO labor council at metrodetroitaflcio@yahoo.com or by phone at 313-961-0800. "Right to work" for less doesn't give anyone a right to work. In fact, by weakening unions and collective bargaining, it destroys the best job security protection that exists: the union contract. It just gives companies the right to destroy unions and cut our pay and benefits. Look at the facts:
Michigan's workers are paid an average of $7,601 a year more than workers in states that have attacked paychecks with so-called "right to work" laws. Workers in states with "right to work" for less laws are far less likely to have health insurance, retirement and short-term disability benefits. They're also more likely to be killed on the job and receive lower workers' compensation benefits if they're hurt at work. "Right to work" is a misleading term that will confuse many voters-unless we're there at the polls Jan. 15 to share the facts.
Please join us in this important work to protect Michigan's working families. Sign up now.
In solidarity,
Working Families e-Activist Network
P.S. To sign up:
Contact the Michigan State AFL-CIO in Lansing at miaflcio@miaflcio.org or by phone at 517-487-5966 OR Contact the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO labor council at metrodetroitaflcio@yahoo.com or by phone at 313-961-0800.
