subject: Weather the Winter Travel Wondering [print this page] Weather the Winter Travel Wondering Weather the Winter Travel Wondering
As the holiday season fast approaches, the need for a vacation approaches even faster. The last few years for most people have been difficult ones. Families are looking to cut back yet still have the need and desire to spend some quality time together in spite of economic hardship. A vacation may seem like a completely irresponsible thing to spend money on this winter, but is it really? With cruise deals, hotel deals, and vacation deals as a whole existing all over the Internet, travel companies are showing everyone that they are struggling just like the rest of us. If planned correctly and through the right means, a vacation could be exactly what your family needs, without killing the parental wallets.
Cruise deals, for instance, have produced the lowest priced cruises in history as cruise lines scramble to fill both new and old ships. As major cruise lines launch new, enormous liners, they still must make sure that the old cruise ships get filled as well. Royal Caribbean may be launching the brand new Allure of the Seas this fall, but it is on the heels of last year's Oasis inaugural embarkation, a ship that has been difficult to fill in its first year sailing. These cruises and their subsequent cruise deals have flooded the proverbial travel waters with incentives to climb aboard both new and old ships. Cruise fare discounts, on-board credits, and cruise upgrades have become the name of the game for most cruise lines looking to put people on the boat and increase the bottom line. With disposable income clearly down for the U.S. traveler, cruise lines must make cruise deals that are attractive and that stand out versus the competition.
Hotels are in the same boat (no pun intended). Hotel deals have spread like wildfire as hotel chains, as well as boutique hotels, struggle to make up for the same drop in consumer spending that the cruise lines have seen. Like their water based counter parts, Hotels are merely trying to fill rooms in times of low occupancy and do whatever they can to reach full capacity in times of high occupancy. Hotel deals, if you have noticed, have begun to appear all over email boxes, TV commercials, and have come to saturate the Internet travel sites as the winter season approaches. Popular hotel chains offer free nights after a certain accumulation of nights stayed and overall rates are lower, on average, than ever. As a result, vacation planning and the American travel consumer have seen a dramatic rise in incentive to book hotel rooms in planning their next trip or family vacation.
Boutique travel agencies, with a focus on building a client base through incentives of their own, have become the ideal place to find travel deals this winter season. With the ongoing need to adapt and keep up with this ever changing industry, these travel agencies like TravelMark, LLC, have learned that keeping customers happy with low prices, excellent service, and a large inventory of travel options is the best way to keep travelers coming back for more. Through both direct consumer and corporate departments, companies like TravelMark have made a shift from the conventional commission structured business. Instead, these boutique, customer oriented, agencies, look to make both individual and group travelers happy with the lowest possible price and the best possible service from booking to bon voyage. While major, internet based booking engines continue to show hotel deals and cruise deals that everyone else shows, agencies such as TravelMark seek out the absolute lowest prices possible on every single element of the impending vacation. Cruise deals don't just include a low price, but all possible upgrades, on-board credits, pre and post cruise stay discounts, and some one to deal with the cruise line for you. Hotel deals shouldn't just include a room, they should include upgrade options, free breakfasts, transportation options, and attraction ticket discounts.
Winter is around the corner. Kids will be out of school, parents will have time off work, and a vacation is, in spite of the times, a fiscally feasible family option. Find a cruise deal. Check out hotels and hotel deals. Get in touch with a company like TravelMark, LLC to get you options on everything and help you and your family plan the best, and most economical getaway. You deserve a vacation and quality time with your family. Make it happen this winter without feeling bad about it.
