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Tipping and Women's Angst
Today in the New Yorker there is a cartoon of two people checking into their hotel room. One says to the other: “How much are we supposed to tip the guy who followed us to our room and flicked on the light switch?”. Ironically it is the man asking the woman of the couple.
Women angst over tipping: amounts? when? and how? I am not sure why this is, but suffer from it myself. I think somewhere as accomplished and professional as we are, tipping still brings out our insecurity.…
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How To Navigate A Travel Show
If you are planning on coming to The New York Times Travel Show, here is how to get the most out of it and not come home with a broken back.
Wear comfy shoes; the floor of the Javits Ctr is concrete.
Bring a small stapler and simply staple a business card to the info you wish instead of carrying home heavy brochures.
Prepare a business card of your own to drop into info bowls if you wish to be on a mailing list.… -
Travel Don'ts with Special Needs
Today I had a nice call from a woman who is planning on going to Morocco with us for Thanksgiving. She studied the itinerary and asked if she could sit in front of the bus for the one longer drive over the Atlas Mts. The answer was of course, yes.
Here are typical and atypical special needs we have been asked before:
1. Car sickness, yes sit in front.
2. Hearing impaired, yes sit near the guide so you can hear him.…
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Spas at a discount with www.thewomenstravelgroup.com
We offer Ixtapan Spa at a group discount annually and our next group is pretty full on Feb. 9-16 2014. We are also offering Canyon Ranch Lenox with a group May 1-4 or stay until May 5. Please contact us for both of these deals-saving money is also good for you health and stress level.
The most important reason to go to a spa is to re-tool and re-boost yourself with a number of continuous days of fitness and good eating.…
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The cheapest gifts in Ixtapan De la Sal near Ixtapan Spa
Here are the ‘budget’ gifts usually bring back from Mexico, and they are sold in Ixtapan de la Sal
(home of Ixtapan Spa):
1- Vanilla. Vanilla is cheap in Mexico, not as sweet as the Asian one but rich and fantastic in things like rice pudding and other creamy foods. Cost: $3 ish
2- Tajin: a mix of sea salt, chili, and desiccated lime. Makes the dullest food taste amazing with a slight pop and a lime aftertaste. All-natural. Cost $1 more or less.… -
Five Steps to Get Through Delays and Cancellations
Five Steps to Get Through Delays and Cancellations
Some of us do not use travel agents or our agents are not available at the moment of crisis!
1. Immediately call your travel insurer and ask verbal permission to change flights. Often if a flight is cancelled or delayed, they will give you this verbal permission even if the price is high.
2. Know which number is the 24/7 number of your agent or tour company. Often when the glitch happens, we realize we have not jotted down this important number!… -
When Not to Take a River Cruise
I just returned from the most fabulous Christmas Markets Danube cruise on AMAWaterways. The trip was perfect. In some places, we suggest a land trip as the major sites are not on the river.
The Women’s Travel Group has chosen to visit Vietnam and Cambodia, not on a cruise. The places of greatest interest are on land. We are staying in fine luxury hotels, going to famous restaurants, and have included both the glorious and gritty history of the area. Our shopping times are saved for the fine stores recommended by friends, not for tourist traps.…
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USA Today: Ten Reasons to Take a River Cruise
And we are adding the 11th: Guaranteed Shares in Category E on Tulip Time AMA River Cruise: April 2014
These are in part from USA Today. And in part from our experiences.
Experience is leisurely River cruises are not about rushing here and there. You visit key sights but there is also time to relax. And since you dock near cities, you can leave the ship when you wish.
Ships are intimate The size of river ships is limited by the need for the vessels to go through locks and under low bridges.…
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How to Tell if a Travel Review is Fake
Headline news today about the NY Attorney General going after companies that create fake reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor and such. Who knew these companies were out there?
When you look at reviews, assess the following:
Do they all use the same vocabulary?
And the same themes?
Are they all generic on-line names?
Were all the reviews flooded in on the same days?
Do you see bad grammar or poor spelling, especially if either of these is repeated in more than one review?… -
5 Tips for Travel Agents to sell Women's Tours
Remarkably few travel agents actually sell women’s tours. Why?
Most women’s tour groups do not even sell through agents, as they are small sole proprietorships.
Most women’s tours do not pay commission: SITA our partner does!
Most do not have the professional licensing required by agents.
Reaching clients who want women’s tours is different marketing than traditionally done by travel agents.
Room share guarantees for solo women on women’s tours are not an understood service. (The Women’s Travel Group offers this deal on India, Morocco and beginning in 2014 on most trips)
So here are tips for travel agents who wish to enter this untapped market:
Have an in office women’s evening.…
