TRAVEL FOR LESS MONEY!
Disclaimer! - The beer glass is for a dramatic effect and to get people to check out this blog as everyone that knows me thinks I'm notorious. LOL! Objective achieved!
Everyone knows I do not consume alcohol due to my medical conditions! So all my fellow Muslim buddies need not opine! LOL!
So on with the blog! Thank you for coming so far in your reading! I will try not to dissapoint you!
Today travel is no longer an easy task! There are way too many Online Travel Agencies
and there are so many online hotel consolidators that offer you so much of the
same thing that the end user gets confused!
Basically, the hotel inventories the flights
proposed and all are the same however, it’s the margins of profits that define
the supposed “discounts” or “great deals” that you get online.
Being in the Tech / Travel industry and
having worked previously with many international Hotel Consolidators as well as
being one of the founding team members, (from a purely technical, marketing &
sales perspective of a massive middle-east based online travel portal NOT OTA) sadly,
I know how much a trip actually can cost you when you are on a budget or in a
foreign country stranded and at the mercy of hidden charges or costs and zero or
minimal customer support.
In this blog I will try to support why I
believe that to save money and travel for less one should always go with a
local Travel Agency from their own native country and/or home town!
The IATA approved Physical Travel Agency Draw-backs.
- It is painful as you should go physically yourself to finalize everything
- The process is quite time consuming
- You will have to make a full and final payment if you do not have credit facilities BEFORE you travel to avail what prices you are offered
That’s it!
So, when you book with a physical IATA approved travel agency that is local here are endless advantages that you will benefit from.
With real Travel Agencies that are IATA approved what you see is what you get!
There are no hidden surprises that come up
later, such as taxis or transfer charges you did not calculate as everything is
pre-paid as you selected it with more clarity and understanding.
Your local travel agency will communicate
with you in your own language and make sure everything is explained and
documented in front of you – most OTA’s or Online Travel Agencies are quick to
take payments for great deals upfront.
When it comes to a refund or customer support
to rectify a wrong, then this is what could happen to a person. (Example only
from multiple personal past experiences)
Let me tell you a true story!
In 2017 as a British customer in the Netherlands
when what was shown in the pictures for the selected accommodation option turned
out to be another reality and the proprietor had their own personal wish-list
of demands.
The experience to have the matter rectified
became so painful in the Amsterdam snow that in my medical condition I abandoned
the procedure and used another local BNB to book my new place to stay for my
trip and eventually I did get a refund.
Again, at the end of Spring when I was
executing a Holistic 7 Star Retreat at resort on the Island of Helios
in Greece. I face a similar problem. This
time I was lucky as most of the arrangements had been done by the corporate travel
desk of the client.
Even though my own money was not in play or
at risk, just to fix the errors exhausted the guests where all of them were
ready to head home. The Greek
hospitality management company stepped it as its own reputation was at stake and
as I was from the world of travel our technical talks for the tour were resolved
within a matter of minutes and the guest were relieved.
My compensation was more than what money
could buy, it was the friendship, trust and respect of those that never had
time for anyone who looked at me differently as we wished them farewell. To top it all, I received an envelope with a
good tip & that helped me register TripExxxotica in the Netherlands legally
with Nicklaus my Dutch room-mate and myself out of the United Kingdom.
Our first fixed route was Luton to Schiphol only college students- no football hooligans & we rode the MaryJane train twice a week very hard in Amsterdam. The key to making money was staying away from any party distractions and keep your eyes on the money only (clients)
Now back to reality and the elephant in
the room I was talking about!
Even when you call any giant online booking platform on
their help-line the message is answered by someone in another country (everything
is outsourced)
First, you MUST call from a phone line not WhatsApp etc. due to data issues. Once
you cross that hurdle somehow you are routed to another country and it is an
extremely long drawn frustrating process because you are at an airport in a
foreign country, with language barriers, and to make life worse, a tired exhausted
wife, three hungry screaming exhausted kids and all you hear is Sir please hold
on…. The other person just cannot comprehend
your accent or the exact problem as they cannot stray from a script and use
common sense.
End result you are a hostage as the person as
your money is stuck on the phone because the voice on the phone is an employee
of a 3rd party contractor and not a paid OTA direct staff with
ability or authorization to make refunds etc.
The agent on the phone has to keep on referring
to endless managers at the company to give you an answer of why your airport
transfer has not shown up yet.
Further to that please remember that you may
be in country where online payments can be an issue due to non-connectivity, and
this will create further complications for you in damage control of an
immediate situation.
No, I am not a sadist – this is a reality –
in travel many things can happen – it’s better to be well informed in advance.
It feels good to have the direct numbers with
you of the people that did all your actual bookings for you. I always advise my friends to have a local
person you can call back home on WhatsApp or skype who will handle your issues
without any stress instantly.
I have found excellent value quick deals on social
media but one has to put the effort into qualify the credibility of the service
provider as this is a vast industry with many facets and getting conned or
defrauded is easy online.
This APAC-ASEAN region has its own economy
independent of the US Dollar but it is less volatile in exchange rate fluctuation
and a safer region to travel in as one can plan, budget and actually control their
travel spend. Another benefit about booking your holiday in this region is that
you get more value for your money due to economies of scale.
Yes, you have all the 7-star brand names here as well that exist in the travel world and HoReCa industry but the options here are so wide and diverse that across the board even during peak seasons the accommodation and peripheral charges and costs still remain affordable.
I have as of the past
3 months been listening to European’s banter about how Paris & London are
more affordable than everyone’s favorite middle-east tourist and real-estate investment and business set-up destination city.
I would like to request that you make sure
you keep your options open and allow the Travel Agency to guide you for the best
travel experience that money can buy.
OTA’s do not offer advice and guidance with specific information that
only these people with street-smarts and execution of tourism know.
Your local travel agency whilst on a different Hybrid (local that relies also upon technology) platform catering to two different segments and markets will first give you everything that an online platform can offer, It beat the OTA's hen it comes to not only hidden discounts and values to you that OTA’s will not be able to disclose as to them margins of profits based on mass volumes are more important. The last most important element is the human element and the comfort of seeing is believing and buying what is promised that is not shrouded in ambiuity by fine print.
Not
only can you save money when you book with a Travel Agency rather, they can
cater to the strangest request for clients with the strangest of needs. Ask me I’m disabled and have kids and when we
travel, we have a lot of requirements and whilst being a part of the Travel
Industry I myself would not book a travel experience through an OTA for myself
or my family.
My
reasons are that when it comes to medical-tourism, corporate travel, even tours
and destination weddings etc. (specialized travel the OTA’s are simply unable
to deliver the quality experience they promise) – I am not talking about a general
go off for a vacation and relax holiday.
OTA’s sell the dream – it’s an actual mystery
to the buyer exactly who or what the service provider is your local travel
agency will know its contractors and have guarantees in place to protect them
and you!
Travel is meant to be a pleasurable
experience so why not make it one for you by doing things the old school way?
I owned my own travel concern out of the United
Kingdom for many years that is now having its licenses renewed and will re-launch
shortly before October 2024 to meet the rising demand of the Travel &
Tourism 2024 season in the APAC-ASEAN Region.
With over 17 years personally in travel &
tourism business if I may provide any guidance do let me know. Thank you for
reading this and if you found it interesting do share my blog with all you
know!
If you are from the Corporate, Medical-Tourism
or any Tour or Travel operator, this industry has lost the human element that
people were used to and if you would like to join me in delivering the most
wonderful value for money and an honest travel experience then let’s connect.
Please follow my blog and also add me on LinkedIn
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/amynaghulamali/
If you need any advice on travel then email
me and I would be glad to help you out! Please
send an email to amyn@ghulamalis.com
Bottom line – ‘People’ run businesses &
‘People’ matter the most & I & my team understand people!
Contact me to collaborate on Travel &
Tourism, I give a guarantee that nobody can beat my pricing in the APAC-ASEAN-Region.
(More profit margins for all) – if we unite on a B2B basis imagine what good we
could do by introducing the human element of empathy, sympathy and deliver a
true travel and hospitality experience to our clients!
Drug and Rehabilitation Facilities & Medical
Tourism providers are also very welcome because being disabled myself I know
exactly what mistakes not to make and make your customers journey for better
health more affordable and relaxed than any normal experience.
Please join this FB group to get fantastic information and deals specific to Thailand Tourism & Travel
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thailandtourismtravel
Hit me up and let’s be professional friends! - I really hope we can do something wonderful together to appreciate each other’s professional lives! - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amynaghulamali/
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For a direct consultation please contact me via e-mail - amyn@ghulamalis.com
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