Month: August 2020

While away from home, you want to be happy. You want to be comfortable. You want to enjoy yourself. You want the place where you are staying to meet your satisfaction.

But there is a problem. You’ve never been to that place before. You’ve only seen it in a directory and read about it on paper. You don’t know what it is really like. Is this place really clean? Are the employees really nice? How do I know what to expect?

Fortunately, in our internet age, many online sites, such as TripAdvisor, allow customers of lodging and other establishments to rate and tell about their experiences in the facilities. They tell what they have experienced as customers at a customer’s point of view, unlike the owners who will tell you propaganda based on all the good stuff they have to say.

Reviews can be the answer. Almost all properties have at least some reviews already written about them. As a potential customer, you can compare and contrast each of the reviews that have already been written, and determine based on the words of others if an issues that have been reported are a problem for you.

There are some things to keep in mind when reading a review:

Fact Versus Opinion

If you are educated enough, you should know the difference between a fact and an opinion. If you are uncertain, you can look up these terms in a dictionary. Assuming that you do know, keep in mind that reviews contain both facts and opinions, often mixed together. Also be aware that a fact can be a true or a false one.

Examples of a fact are:

• The hotel is half a mile from the beach.
• This motel has a swimming pool.
• The air conditioning was out of service during our stay.

Examples of an opinion are:

• The staff here are very nice people.
• This was such a great place. You should come, too.
• The room was disgustingly dirty.

Expectations

Guests may have varying expectations, thereby influencing the tone of their review. For example, one guest may write a negative review, complaining about poor service. Another guest may not have such high expectations of service to begin with, and may like the cleanliness, so they would write a positive review, saying that the rooms are immaculately clean, and therefore overlooking poor service. One guest may think the drab colored carpeting is ugly; another may say it is beautiful.

For these reasons, it is possible for a hotel with top satisfactory ratings to be uncomfortable to one with high expectations, as those who gave the positive ratings did so based on their low expectations, or for a property with low satisfactory ratings to be well liked by someone who does not have such high expectations.

Number of Reviews

One should generally not let one bad review outweigh many good ones. One who personally had an unhappy customer service experience may be taking out their sour-grapes on the location by exaggerating everything bad about it and even telling falsehoods. Meanwhile, the majority of other guests have been happy and only have positive things to say.

More Recent Reviews

More recent reviews have more weight. A location with a dark history could have been recently renovated and may be a lot more pleasant. Likewise, a place that was once very nice could have changed management and become run down.

Reviews Versus Rating System

Many review sites have customers rate the place on a scale of 1-5, and perhaps will print the average satisfaction rating of all customers. Be aware that this does not correspond with the hotel rating systems that are designed by large corporations. These are simply the points of views of individual customers. It is possible for a cheap, roadside motel to be rated quite high by its customers, and a highly luxurious hotel to have many dissatisfied customers. Although the reader can get more information about the hotel from a review to see if it would suit them.

Writing A Review

It is strongly recommended that after staying at a lodging facility, whether it be a drop-in for one night on your way to somewhere else or several weeks you may be spending on a long holiday, that you write a useful review about where you stayed. By doing so, you are helping others who may be considering staying there to make up their mind if that is what they are looking for, and helping the facility itself make improvements. Yes, the management at many facilities do read the reviews that are written about themselves, and they use the information to determine how to improve themselves. Some even write rebuttals to negative reviews.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when writing a review:

Tell The Truth

All reviews shall be truthful. Whatever you do, do not let your feelings, positive or negative, lead to falsehoods finding their way into the review. The purpose of the review is to help others and to help the facility accomplish what is best for all. Lying positively about a place gives potential customers higher expectations than reality, and keeps the facility from knowing what they need to do to improve themselves. If you say something false that is negative, you can get sued for libel.

Don’t Exaggerate

Many times, you may be so like a place so much that you want to tell everyone the very best. Or you may hate it so much that you want to write a tell-all. But now it is time to practice self-restraint.
For example, if you find one corner of the area around the sink has a little dirt that should have been cleaned before your arrival, and the remainder of the room is immaculately clean, you should not say “room was dirty.” If you had to wait your turn [fairly] in line behind someone else to see a desk clerk, you should not say that the staff took a long time to meet your needs.

No Hearsay

Your review is to be based on your own experience with the property, not that which you have heard from others. You can write a review if either you have stayed at a place, or that you visited personally while considering staying there, but decided against it once you arrived. But under no circumstances may you write a review based on what you’ve heard or read about from other people you know, other reviews you have read about the property, or other sources.
If you write a review based on how you perceive the property to be after reading all the existing reviews, all without ever taking foot onto the property, you are not advancing the cause of what the reviews provide for future guests. You are just recapping the reviews of others based on your own guess.

Be Careful Using Names

There are some situations in which it is justified to use a person’s name. For example, if one person gave you exceptional customer service, you may want to give them a glowing report. Once again, it should not be exaggerated. But use their first name only, and then a last initial if you need to distinguish from another employee with the same first name. But don’t put a full name in your report unless the property itself bears that person’s name.
If you have a complaint about a particular employee, it is best to take it up directly with their supervisor and not to use the review to vent your frustrations. When you write a review, it becomes publicly visible, so whatever you write about that person can be found via a Google search. You may think you are punishing that person by doing this, but such action is uncivilized and will not necessarily solve the problem. It may cause hardship in that person’s life in an unwanted way. That person may be able to sue you. (And yes, through good detective work, ‘anonymous’ internet usage or usage under a false name can be traced to you.)

Be Care About Personal Attacks

Remember, what is it exactly that you are upset about. Are you upset about the owner? Or are you upset about the poor lighting? If the latter is the case, but the owner is nice, you have no business saying anything bad about the owner.
Perhaps the owner is trying to do a good job, but is unaware of some problems. Your reviews, if written fairly and accurately, may help the owner see that such a problem exists and make improvements for the future. Simply attacking the owner does not solve that problem.

Don’t Blame Management for Things Beyond Their Control

You stayed at a hotel. They did everything right as best as they could. But there is an airport nearby, and you hear planes all night and day. It is on a busy road, and you hear traffic all the time. There is construction taking place during your visit, and you hear jackhammers all night long. Not a pleasant experience at all. But who’s to blame?
Yes, you can make mention about these issues, just so future guests are aware the building rattles every time a truck passes on the highway, or there are no restaurants nearby, or it takes an hour to reach the nearest civilization. But keep in mind management has zero control over this. All they can do is keep their own property in the best order they can. Anything beyond that, and they are doing nothing wrong.

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

Spring is the season of blooming flowers, vibrant colors, pleasant weather and harvest, which means a great many festivals that are a cultural tradition to pay thanks to the bounties of nature. Spring is a great time to travel as it allows you to beat the awful heat of the sun, the chilliness of the snow, and the depression-inducing orangeness of the fall.

We’ve put together an exciting round-up of the best springtime travel destinations that allow you to feast your eyes on magnificent architecture, exciting cultural events, and gastronomic food adventures.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Alsace, France

Tucked away in the foothills of the glorious Vosges Mountains, Alsace is home to some of the finest vineyards and strongest wine blends in the world. You can enjoy amazing tours to world famous wineries, such as the Maison Trimbach , and Domain Weinbach , and rejoice the strong aroma and headiness of top grade specialties, especially the Rieslings and Gewürztraminers .

You can enjoy private cruises, boat tours and roam around the enthralling streets of Alsace. There is an abundance of nature trails to explore the serenity of the mountains, while local cuisine is a charming experience that will leave you enriched. We strongly recommend you to visit the two Michelin-starred restaurant at the Villa René Lalique .

Jordan

Jordan is an enthralling travel destination that allows you to explore a stunning and adventurous desert landscape, some of the most splendid world heritage attractions, oriental cosmopolitan cafes and a modern Arab capital. This Middle Eastern country is filled with astonishment and wonders, and April is the best time to catch a weather that is warm yet pleasant. The valleys will be covered with vibrantly colorful wildflowers and the lush greenery will beckon you to explore the wilderness.

The exotic country is bound to get under your skin, introducing you to a great many mystical wonders and historic trips to the citadel, the Roman theatre, and the Jordan Museum amongst many others. Wadi Rum is an astounding destination that will guide you deep into the wilderness of the desert, while Petra will blow your mind with its powerful ancient structures of the Nabataeans. If you want to relax and unwind, the salt saturated shores of the Dead Sea will also work up their magic on your skin qualms.

Marrakesh, Morocco

The spring months of April and May are the perfect time of the year to plan a trip to Marrakesh so you can escape the heat and enjoy pleasant weather during the day and the night. You can head out to the desert for a safari adventure or spend a night like the gypsies, and of course, walk through the enthralling markets of the city.

Japan

The chaotic streets of Tokyo, the flashy neon lights, the serenity of Mt. Fuji and the historic prelude of the temples of Kyoto-Japan offers an exciting blend of traditional, cultural and metropolitan adventures and spring is the perfect time to escape the awful summer crowd. You can head over to Hiroshima and pay homage to the sad historic legacy of the city, followed by a stroll down the stunning Peace Park.

The high-speed bullet trains are an experience worth enjoying, and if you adore feasting on sushi and sake, you’ll be right at heaven. If you’re an adventure enthusiast, you simply cannot avoid the nature trails of the breathtaking Mt. Fuji. We strongly urge you to plan your trip during the month of April, so you can catch the excitement of the Hanami Cherry Blossom Festival, when millions of trees brim up with lovely white and pink flowers. It is the perfect occasion to go outdoors and fill up your lungs with the blossomy spring air.

Armenia

Armenia is opening up to receive travelers, and it is the perfect destination for a springtime vacation. Since it is not a mainstream tourist destination, you can enjoy the serenity of its landscape and historic dimensions of its culture without feeling too crowded. Armenia is famous for its stunning countryside beauty and scenic landscapes, and if you’re a hiking enthusiast, there is an abundance of nature trails to explore.

We strongly urge you to take the Transcaucasian Trail, which will take you through the spellbinding tour of the bucolic Dilijan National Park, the lovely town of Dilijan, and astounding Christian monasteries that date back to the 10 th century. The ancient Armenia cuisine is another incredible experience that will leave you craving for more!

Oman

March is a lovely time of the year to visit Oman as the kingdom comes to life with blooming flowers and lush greenery, and seeing the Damask roses sprawled through the stunning expanse of the Jebel Akhdar, which loosely translates into the Green Mountain. Jebel Akhdar will introduce you to the most stunning nature trails, and in spring, it is truly a hiker’s paradise.

The Sultanate of Oman is home to over 90 pink shrub farms that are highly coveted by perfumeries and scent manufacturers across the globe. You must plan a tour to feast your eyes on these heady shrubs, and learn peculiar tidbits, such as the fact that these are hand-harvested at dawn. The Alila Jabal Akhdar is a wonderful destination to stay as provides some of the most spectacular viewings of the gorges and mountains.

Malta

This beautiful and small island is best visited during the cool and pleasant months of spring because it allows you to enjoy the stunning beaches without throngs of tourists. Malta is perfect for an adventure that is outdoorsy, beachy and historic. You can walk through the beautiful streets of its medieval towns, visit the ancient temples and marvel their remarkable role in preserving history, or laze around the picturesque beaches that Malta has to offer. The vineyards are a must-have experience that will introduce you some of the richest varieties of local wines.

Crete, Greece

The Crete Island is one of the most magnificent and unique of all the Greek islands, along with being the largest and most fascinating. Crete has its own distinctive and powerful culture, and it allows you to have an abundance of outdoor fun, along with immersive cultural and historic adventures. You simply must visit the beautiful traditional village of Spili, situated on the stunning expanse of southern Rethymno. And trekking down the Samaria Gorge in the southwest of Crete is another adventure that will be insanely rewarding for nature lovers. Late spring is the best time to make the most of Crete without the overpowering crowds.

Portugal

April is the best time to travel to the stunning and exotic land of Portugal and have an active vacation filled with gastronomic local cuisines, swimming on the scenic beaches and sunbathing all day long. Spring in Portugal is an opportunity to feast your eyes with the blooming beauty of almond blossoms and filling your lungs with fresh spring air while avoiding the crowds of summer. The temperature of Lisbon is perfectly pleasant to allow you to walk through the fascinating streets and feast your eyes on the city’s historic architecture.

Portugal is famous for its delicious food, and you simply must visit Porto, a coastal city that hosts the famous Dom Luís I bridge along with the best dishes that the country has to offer. Then, you must go south to visit Lagos, a stunning walled town that will beguile you with its headland views, rowdy cliffs and old town vibes.

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

TripAdvisor, Inc. is a travel website company that is designed to help people find more information before making decisions regarding their flights, hotels, car hire and more. It has grown considerably to be one of the biggest and best tools on the web for holidaymakers and travelers, as well as a great marketing opportunity for service providers.

That said, the website does have particular advantages and disadvantages like all holiday companies and it’s important to understand how to get the most from the system. Here we will look at the history of TripAdvisor, its benefits and how to use it.

About and History

TripAdvisor was one of the first adopters on the web of ‘user-generated content’ and the‘web 2.0’ movement. As a free service, it relies on users providing their own content and simply provides the infrastructure and code to make this possible.

The company was founded in 200 by Stephen Kaufer and Langley Stinert. The original idea was somewhat different from the eventual evolution however. According to the creators:

“We started as a site where we were focused more on those official words from guidebooks or newspapers or magazines. We also had a button in the very beginning that said, “Visitors add your own review”, and boy, did that just take off. Pretty soon the number of average consumer reviews far surpassed the number of ‘professional reviews’. That is when the site really turned into this collection of what the normal traveler was saying wherever they were going.”

In 2004, the company was purchased by IAC/InterActiveCorp, which was the company behind Expedia at the time. In 2005, that company become Expedia and for a long time, Expedia, Inc. and TripAdvisor were part of the same web travel outfit.

In 2011 however, Expedia split into two public companies with TripAdvisor becoming its own organization. According to the then Expedia CEO, this move allowed the businesses to be ‘pure plays’ and to ‘operate with the proper amount of focus to grow respectively’.

In 2012, the company connected to Facebook, which allowed users to see reviews specifically from their social networks. A survey in 2014 found TripAdvisor to be the most widely recognized and trusted travel website. Today, it has an annual turnover of $1.246 billion with 2,793 employees. A recent new feature‘Just For You’, allows users to see automatically generated recommendations based on their reviews and ratings.

Like comparison sites such as SkyScanner, TripAdvisor now also allows you to search for deals and to book trips via their search tools.

Using the Site

The TripAdvisor Website looks like a travel comparison website when you first visit the page, allowing you to enter the dates of your travel and whether you are looking for hotels or flights. Alternatively, you can browse ‘Best of the Year’ or select ‘Write a Review’. There are also two general search boxes at the top of the page allowing you to look at reviews others have left or to find ideas for things to do. These two boxes ask ‘Where are you going’ or ‘What are you looking for’.

Were you to search for ‘dining in the dark’ for instance, you could see a list of places to eat in the dark from around the world and then view pictures and reviews. Alternatively, you could search ‘Maritime Hotel, Mauritius’ and find the listing for that hotel specifically. Searching for ‘things to do in X location’ will also generally bring up results through TripAdvisor.

At the listing for your desired location, activity or hotel, you can then browse through user reviews, photos and information. You can also view deals and click through to book if you wish.

Pros, Cons and Tips

As a price comparison sight, there are definitely better sites out there to choose from than TripAdvisor. This is not the company’s primary product – though it still does this well and is very convenient and easy to use.

However, as a place to see customer reviews, hotel photos and more, it’s an incredibly useful tool for planning your next trip. From getting ideas of things to visit, to finding out whether a particular hotel should be trusted – it’s always a good idea to have a cursory look at TripAdvisor before going on any holiday.

That said, it’s also important to recognize the nature and inherent limitations of any site that features user-generated reviews.

For starters, user reviews tend to be on the extreme side. This is because people with‘average’ experiences will tend not to leave reviews – they are more moved to if they have had either an amazing experience, or a substandard experience. And in fact, negative experiences tend to get more feedback than positive ones – which can lead to a somewhat negative impression of places that are in fact very good.

It’s very easy to read a review on TripAdvisor that isn’t flattering and to decide against staying in a certain hotel,or visit a certain landmark. Likewise, seeing a photo of a cockroach can also be very off-putting.

However,it’s crucial to remember that even the best hotels in the world will sometimes have downsides and some people will find fault in everything they do. Judge from photos and try to be critical of the reviews you are reading.

On the other hand, it’s also important to be careful of ‘stooge’ reviews that have been paid for by the company, or that the company has left themselves. Again, try to use a little cynicism when assessing reviews. These issues are both things that the service providers have to contend with and this has presented some new and unique challenges for the holiday and travel industry as a whole. You can help to address this problem by taking the time to leave honest, fair and balanced reviews after you have been on holiday!

Otherwise, for the discerning traveler who is interested in looking at pictures of the places they are going to be staying, getting tips and finding deals; TripAdvisor is a highly useful tool and one that comes highly recommended.

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

Skyscanner is not a travel agent but rather a global search engine that allows for the easy and convenient comparison of different flights. The service is free to use and makes it very easy for you to quickly look at different flights and find the best deal and most convenient times for your specific requirements.

About Skyscanner

Skyscanner doesn’t only sell flights directly but instead lets you browse the deals from other airlines. This way, you can make an informed decision before choosing which one to use.

Additionally, Skyscanner can also be used to compare prices on hotels, car hire and more. Once you have chosen the provider you want to go with, you’ll then be taken to the agency so that you can complete the booking process.

Skyscanner uses smart search engine technology to provide its results quickly while taking into account helpful search criteria. It also offers useful tips and news on its main page for travellers. This is much more powerful when it comes to comparing flight information when compared with similar capabilities of other travel companies.

In Skyscanner’s own words:

“Skyscanner’s flexible search options mean you can browse prices across a whole month, or even a year, allowing you to get the best deals. When you find the perfect deal through Skyscanner, you are redirected to book direct with the airline or travel agent, so you get the lowest price, with no extra fees added.”

Though the company is global, the head office is based in Scotland, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Singapore, Beijing, Miami and Barcelona.

History

The company was formed in 2001 by three programmers: Bonamy Grimes, Barry Smith and Gareth Williams. The original motivation for forming the company was that one had been frustrated while trying to get cheap flights to ski resorts.

Thus, they developed Skyscanner version 1 which was released in 2002. In 2003 the company hired its first employee to aid site development and by 2004 the head office in Edinburgh was opened. By 2013 the company had grown to accommodate over180 staff members.

To begin with the, the site focused only on budget airlines in Europe. However, it now includes most European carriers, including BA, KLM, Virgin Atlantic Airways and others. It has also expanded its reach, now covering the US, Canada, Asia and much of the rest of the world. It has over 35 million visitors a month and a turnover of £93 million a year.

The Website and Features

Part of Skyscanner’s popularity comes from its ease of use and its attractive design. When you visit the website, this comes across with an uncluttered and attractive appearance. The homepage consists of the search engine itself, allowing you to enter your details for flights and when you hit ‘search’ you’ll be presented with a list of everything that meets your criteria. From here, you can then select the best offer and you’ll be taken to the site of the airline to book. The site is multilingual and available in over 30 languages.

In 2011,Skyscanner collaborated with the mobile development company Kotikan (based in Edinburgh) to release a mobile application. The app managed to receive an incredible 100,000 downloads in just six days on iPhone alone. By March 2013,the app had seen over 20 million downloads. Like the main website, the Skyscanner app receives praise for its smooth animations, easy interface and slick all-round design. It also has apps for Android and Windows, with the Desktop Windows app being particularly attractive and slick to use.

An additional feature of Skyscanner is ‘Sky tools’ – a tool that lets webmasters and users download Skyscanner flight information to embed on their own website, desktop of social media pages. APIs include a Flight Map with interactive airports, WhoFlies with airlines for any given route and Flight Search which provides live prices. A use of this might be for a hotel based in Mauritius for instance to provide useful travel information right on its own page for holidaymakers coming from the UK or Germany.

Acquisitions

Skyscanner owns the hotel comparison firm Fogg, which it uses to extend it service to cover hotels as well. In addition to this, the company also purchased the mobile app developer ‘Distinction’ and the door-to-door travel site Zoombu. These acquisitions suggest the company has further plans for expansion.

Pros and Cons

Using Skyscanner allows users to quickly compare flight information to find the best prices for a specific trip they are hoping to make. This is of course highly advantageous, but it does have some caveats to consider.

While Skyscanner is one of the most powerful and well-received sites of its nature–and generally superior to alternatives like Kayak – it is still not completely comprehensive. Some searches may not show up on Skyscanner and this can sometimes lead to the wrong purchase whereas a professional could have provided more guidance.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Skyscanner does not support package holidays and other deals. If you are looking for a travel holiday with your family and you want to include your hotel and your airport shuttle, you might be better looking at a traditional travel agent like Thomas Cook or Virgin.

Note as well that flight prices and times are subject to change. While one option might be cheapest when you look, waiting a few days could have resulted in an even cheaper deal. This unfortunately is something that can’t easily be avoided.

Skyscanner works best then for a particular type of traveller – usually the young traveller flying alone or with a partner and who is looking for cheap and convenient travel at short notice. Indeed, surveys indicate that Skyscanner is preferred by users in the 16-34 age bracket. Among this group it appears quite popular with 64% saying they trust the platform and use it often.

Overall, Skyscanner is a very useful tool and especially when used in conjunction with other services and when used in the correct way. Like all services though, it does have some limitations.

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

Priceline.com is an American company that offers discounted rates for travelers. This includes prices for airline tickets, hotel stays and more. The company does not provide these services itself and nor is it just a search engine. Instead it works alongside suppliers in order to try and get discounted rates.

Priceline.com is owned by The Priceline Group, which also owns Booking.com.

About and History

Priceline.com was originally known for its The Name Your Own Price System . At the time, it worked on a system whereby travelers would be able to name their price for airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rental vacation packages. The user would then be able to choose the rough location they wanted, the service level and the price. From here, the company would then select the specific providers in order to provide a holiday that would match that budget. The ‘catch’ here is that the specifics of the deal are only shown once the purchase has gone through, with no option to cancel. Further complicating the system, the earnings for the company would be the difference between the price you named, and the price they managed to get for the holiday (which seems to give an incentive to them to cut corners on the face of it). That said, you do get the option to choose the quality of the hotel you want to stay in.

This system still exists but is no longer the only option. They now have an additional option called ‘Express Deals’ which is somewhat more traditional. That said, it’s still not completely straightforward as customers are shown prices but not told the name of the establishment until they have made a purchase. They can choose to name a price still for other individual elements of the holiday too.

Since its inception, the idea has caught on to some degree. Interestingly, the company has attracted lots of deals from hotels that use its ‘opaque’ system in order to clear their inventory, especially closer to the date of travel. They have also licensed the system to eBay (in 2002) and they have also experimented with selling other services and products using the system. These included gasoline and groceries and also had a ‘yard sale’ site at one point to haggle for second-hand items. Long distance phone services and vehicles have also been sold under the ‘name your own price’ model. These ‘experiments’ were terminated in 2002, however they are still using the system to sell home loans through EverBank.

In 2013, Priceline.com Incorporated changed its name to ‘The Priceline Group Inc.’, in order to show a ‘clear delineation’ between its four major brands: Booking.com, Priceline.com, Kayak.com and OpenTable. Interestingly, the company’s acquisition of ‘Booking.com’ has been considered by some to be the ‘best digital acquisition in history’. This was based on the fact that the company went from operating at a loss of $19 million in 2002, to a profit of $1.1 billion by 2011 mainly due to that purchase.

The brand is also known for a number of spokespeople including William Shatner, Theresa Caputo and Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory (who now appears prominently on the website).

The Website

The website looks like many other travel websites with the option to search for hotels, flights, cars, packages, cruises or ‘more’ by entering your check in dates, rooms and details. The website features several of its spokespeople prominently and has the option to search for the express deals just below. It’s a simple and straightforward interface, if not quite as attractively designed as some more modern competitors like AirBnB.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The opaque system offered by Priceline certainly has advantages but is also not going to appeal to every type of holiday maker. On the one hand, this system has the potential to save the traveler a lot of money as hotels are given a lot of incentive to work within the system. At the same time, this system can also be quite liberating for a traveler who doesn’t want to handle all the individual elements of the holiday and search for the best deals themselves. They also get the ‘benefit’ of having their holiday be something of a ‘surprise’. Obviously it also ensures that your holiday will remain within your budget and that the price isn’t going to ‘creep up’.

That said, there are also obvious disadvantages. The ability to state the quality of hotel you want ensures that you won’t end up in a one star hostel with cockroaches staying in your room – but at the same time you will lose the flexibility to choose the specific details of your stay. You won’t for instance know how close you’re going to be to the station. If you absolutely require WiFi, then you won’t be able to ensure that you get that. Likewise, you won’t be able to guarantee disabled access. Love four poster beds? Balconies? Rooms with a view?

For all these reasons, Priceline definitely appeals to a very specific type of person – traveling on a budget and willing to leave some of the details to chance. If you are that kind of traveler, then in theory you can save an awful lot of money that way.

There are also other drawbacks to consider for instance. One of these is the fact that Priceline doesn’t include resort fees in their bidding system. This means that you could get a hotel for the price you’re asking but then have to pay a mandatory fee on top of your original price – this could mean an extra $25 a night for a resort in Las Vegas for instance. Priceline received a warning from the Federal Trade Commission in 2012 but continues the practice despite this. The FTC released the following statement in response:

Listing the “resort fee” near the quoted price or in the fine print — or referring to other fees that “may apply” — isn’t good enough.

Of course there is still the option to use the Express Deals option, which claims to provide deals up to 60%. Of course in this case, you might do better to use Hotels.com, also owned by Priceline Group!

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

Expedia is a travel company that operates online and provides users with the ability to create their own holidays by booking the various aspects of their trip individually.

For instance, if you want to organize a trip to Paris, you could use Expedia to find flights, hotels and transfer options independently from one another and thereby save money and create an entirely tailored experience that they might otherwise be unable to get.

In this quick guide we will look at the company, their mission statement, their features and who should consider using their services for their own travels.

About Expedia

Expedia first launched in October 22, 1996 and was the first Microsoft internet property – something not many people realize these days. In 2001, Bill Gates made the decision to spin off the property to become public, creating ‘Expedia Inc’ and thereby raising the financial portfolio of Microsoft.

Today the company has localized sites in 30 different countries, though the headquarters are located in Bellevue Washington. It also operates at more than 100 branded points of sale and powers bookings for over 10,000 different partners. It specializes in handling bookings for airlines, hotels, hostels, airport shuttles, cars, attractions and more.

The word Expedia is derived from the words ‘exploration’ and ‘speed’. The ‘X’ was included,according to the first CEO Richard Barton, as it is a high point Scrabble letter…

Brands and Subsidiaries

Expedia also has numerous subsidiaries and until recently owned TripAdvisor, which it had a large part in developing (Expedia bought TripAdvisor in 2004 when it was InterActive Corp but it has since been spun out to become a public company). Trip Advisor allows users to review their experiences with a range of hotels,restaurants, tourist attractions and more. It is the world’s largest travel site, with over 60 million users and 170 million reviews.

• Hotels.com– A website for booking hotels.
• Hotwire Group
• Travelocity
• Orbitz – A relatively new acquisition that cost the company $1.2 billion.
• Veneer.com
• Wotif.com
• Trivago – A travel meta search engine that focuses predominantly hotels. It can compareprices for more than 730,700 hotels.

The Website

Expedia’s website is easy to navigate and features a largely yellow and white color scheme. On the front page you have the option to select whether you’re looking for flights, hotels, cars, attractions or a combination of those things. You can then enter the dates that you are traveling and hit ‘search’ to see availability and prices.

The list that arrives can then be arranged by price, by guest rating, by recommendation or more. Reviews make it easy to find out more information about the hotels and attractions you are looking at, though the controls don’t make it terribly easy to browse prospectively if you don’t have dates of travel in mind yet.

The website can also be a little slow when checking availability and performing other functions and some hotels neglect to put up their pictures. Nonetheless, the experience overall is smooth, fast and enjoyable.

Tip: To get more from Expedia it can sometimes be worthwhile checking the website of the hotel itself as well as looking through at its listing. This way you can see more images and maybe get more information as well.

Service

Expedia isa large company and has a very positive reputation overall. This can provide some comfort and reassurance when booking a hotel that you aren’t familiar with, or using a company you haven’t heard of before. Expedia are quick to help you sort out disagreements, to provide customer service over the phone and to offer advice and help. Generally they appear to be ‘on the side’ of the customer and are happy on occasion to foot the bill. They also provide travel insurance through third parties which works as advertised, for extra protection.

That said,the service and quality of the specific elements you book will vary greatly.Expedia does not tightly monitor the providers it works with and there is some varying quality to contend with. In this way, the service is less guaranteed that it would be if you were to use a traditional holiday company.

Advantages of Expedia

The great thing about Expedia is that it allows you to book individual aspects of your trip to make something unique. This means you can stay in one hotel for part of your holiday and another hotel for the other part for example. It also means you can hire cars for part of your trip, or you can go away at unusual times of year for nontraditional amounts of time. If you’re a student looking for a fun,three week trip to Japan staying in a variety of locations and hiring a car,Expedia will let you design that holiday while keeping all your itinerary and details in one place.

The Drawbacks of Expedia

At the same time though, using Expedia involves taking matters into your own hands to some extent.Of course you aren’t going to be dealing with the companies providing the services directly, this means that you may find your taxi service from the airport doesn’t show up, or that the hotel wasn’t quite as conveniently located as advertised. It also means that you’ll have to time everything correctly,communicate with shuttle services about delayed flights and more.

Another disadvantage of Expedia is that it can be more expensive. For certain types of holiday it can be cheaper and Expedia does have the advantage of having lots of partners and access to discounts.However, this can pale in comparison to the discounts afforded by using a package holiday where you are getting bulk discounts and using a company that specializes in arranging deals and combining offers and flights.

Overall,Expedia is a great choice but it will work best for a certain type of holidaymaker who enjoys freedom at the expense of certain creature comforts and who is happy to handle their own plans.

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/

If there’s one spot in the world that has almost concrete ties to competitive running, that spot would easily be Athens, Greece due to its connection to the first Modern Olympic Games as well as its place in the story of the marathon’s origin—details that will be explored in further detail in the “History” section of this post. Because of these connections though, it makes absolute sense that Athens is the spot of its own marathon, known as Athens Marathon: The Authentic, just like it makes perfect sense to have this particular marathon on your running to-do list for the future. If you’re going to be a marathon runner, after all, why not run in a place with so many historic ties to athleticism—and the marathon, specifically?

If you’ve never heard of this marathon, be patient! The basics will be covered, as well as the history, to give you an overview of the race that should be on a runner’s bucket list, especially considering you can check out the Acropolis and Parthenon in your spare time while you’re already in Athens! For the culture and the fitness goal then, this is an opportunity to fully consider from numerous angles!

Interested? Keep reading for more specific details to see if it sounds like a good fit for you. If so, start planning your trip!

History

To begin with, let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room, and that elephant is that the Olympic Games themselves did not begin in Athens. Rather, the ancient variety of the games happened in Olympia, and they were held to celebrate Zeus (“History,” n.d.). The date of the first of these games is uncertain, but there is evidence that they existed as far back as 776 B.C. The practice of those Olympics fell away at around 393 A.D. by the ruling of Emperor Theodosius, and when they returned in more modern times, it was at Athens. Today, the Olympics include the marathon (“History,” n.d.).

Already, we have a reason to associate Athens with running since the Modern Olympics began in Athens, but there’s a bigger reason as to why marathons and Athens are so linked. That reason falls in line with the origin story of the marathon itself. According to the tale, a Greek man ran the distance between Marathon and Athens on foot “to announce [the] Greek victory” (“Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Olympic Games,” n.d.) over the Persians, and even though he reportedly died right after delivering the news of the success, the story has prompted runners to mimic the journey through marathons. With this in mind, if you’re going to run a marathon anywhere, it makes sense try to run one in a city that’s linked to the beginning of the idea.  

Running an Athenian Marathon

Fortunately, if you want to embrace these fitness ties in such a historic way, you can do so by partaking in the Athens Marathon: The Authentic. This is an annual event that is scheduled to take place every November, and by running it, you can experience what is supposed to be the same general path that the Greek man who delivered his news and inspired the marathon ran so many centuries ago (“About Athens Authentic Marathon,” n.d.) until your route ends at the Olympic Stadium. This is a multiple-day event, with the marathon actually happening on a Sunday, and runners can choose from a number of running options beyond the main marathon to suit their own desires. Smaller runs, for instance, are available for the event, and children have a running course scheduled for them as well. There’s also a Power Walking event and a Special Olympics Race, extending the opportunity for even more people to partake in the experience through their own preferences and with their own abilities.

Do I Need to Register for a Race?

Yes, you will need to register, and there will be a fee that you have to pay in order to do so. That fee can be refunded if you decide that the event isn’t right for you, but only if you cancel your plans before the cut-off date. For the 2017 event, that date was August 31, 2017, so it stands to reason that the 2018 date would be around the same time during the upcoming year.  

Is There a Time Limit for My Run?

As unpleasant as the notion might seem, yes, you do have a time limit for whichever run you decide to be a part of. At the end of that time frame, which is no longer than eight hours for any noted race, you’ll have two options: Either go to the finish line in a vehicle or run the remainder of the route on your own (and off the road) to finish the course. You can still keep running, essentially, but it’s no longer a part of the event itself, and you are clearly no longer in the running for winning.

 Oh, There’s a Winner?!

Certainly, there’s a winner, and medals are given for the top three runners of the main marathon! In addition to these awards, you can find last year’s results on the Athens Marathon: The Authentic website, meaning even after the event has fully wrapped up, you can still be noted for such a successful finish.  

Got Any Tips?

Absolutely ! Be sure to browse the website thoroughly since you can find very specific information about what to bring and what you’ll need for the run. Neglecting to read up on these details can lead to missed opportunities—like having to sit out of the marathon itself. As an example, every runner has to have what’s known as a bib number to participate, which is a detail you could easily overlook if you weren’t aware that it was a necessity. On the flipside, dogs are not permitted to run in the marathon with participants, so this is another detail that could hinder your involvement with the race if you aren’t aware of it. These deta il s are all available on the marathon’s website, making it a great resource to prepare yourself for your running experience.

Remember as well that if you’re traveling to Athens from another country that you’ll need all of the right documentation and such to legally do so, which could include a visa depending on what country you’re traveling from (“Visit Athens,” n.d.). Since it would be terrible to prepare for this event only to be told you can’t so much as enter the country, this is a detail worth looking into before you pack your suitcase for the trip! Brush up on everything you’ll need to know for the race and your travels to assure a safe, enjoyable run that you can cherish for the rest of your life!  

If I Don’t Run, Can I Still Be a Part of the Event?

Providing you qualify for the position, you can apply to be a volunteer for the event for a different view of the marathon experience. There are varied areas in which to volunteer (you do get input about what area you’ll work in), and they range from pre-race details of handing out bib numbers to post-race concepts like giving water to runners. If the circumstances are right then, yes, you can still be involved even if you can’t (or don’t) run the course!

Overall

If this event is something that’s within your reach as a runner or a fitness lover, you might want to consider giving it a chance. For a runner, this is a golden opportunity that embraces history and fitness alike, and even those who aren’t runners can find reason to embrace the prospect through volunteer options. Remember though to do your research on the need-to-know concepts, and get that registration fee in before the deadline so you can lace up those running s hoes to shine in Athens!

References

About Athens Authentic Marathon. (n.d.) World’s Marathons . Retrieved from https://worldsmarathons.com/marathon/athens-classic-marathon

Athens Marathon: The Authentic. (n.d.). retrieved from http://www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr/site/index.php/en/

Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Olympic Games. (n.d.). Tufts University . Retrieved from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/faq10.html

History. (n.d.). Olympic . Retrieved from https://www.olympic.org/ancient-olympic-games/history

This Day in History. (n.d.). History . Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-modern-olympics-is-held

Visit Athens. (n.d.) Athens Marathon: The Authentic . Retrieved from http://www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr/site/index.p…

Source: https://www.forglobaltravelers.com/