Buffet Of Travel Tips

Since the title of this 3-5 minute interlude of travel talk with you each Thursday at 8:30AM is Thursday Morning Travel Tips From Russell Berry At The Travel Factory, I thought I’d give you a buckshot of tips today.

A travel writer I read the other day suggested that you look on the back of your hotel door, and according to him you will see in the small print that the hotel is not responsible for lost or stolen items that are left in the room.  So the tip for today is to leave your valuables at home or on your person, and don’t expect to get a lot of sympathy from the hotel if you become a victim.

Another lesson is that if your rental car is damaged in a natural disaster like a hurricane, tornado, or hail storm, you are liable for the damages.  That’s why they push that high-priced insurance at the counter.  Double check with you insurance carrier if your policy carries car rental protection, then you don’t have to purchase their insurance.

Another tip that I have offered in the past is not to trust your frequent flyer providers. . .they can become a dangerous addiction. . .primarily because they can remove your miles or change the program rules whenever they want.  The frequent flyer program is not a benefit for the traveler; you can bet it exists to serve the airlines and if it were not a good benefit for them, they would abandon it as quick as they could.

Have you stood around a luggage carousel and couldn’t find your luggage because they all looked the same. . .of course you had a black bag!!  Do something wild and crazy to help you identify your luggage; put a brightly colored ribbon on one of the handles, put bag tags on each handle, wrap a rope or belt around the luggage, and please remember to put a bag tag with your name, address, and phone number so if it does get misplaced, the airline will know where to find you.

Not all tour operators offer it, but the cancel-for-any-reason insurance offered by Funjet Vacations has “saved the bacon” of many of our clients over the years who had to cancel their tour because of unforeseen calamities.  I just hate to pay insurance, but when it does what it is supposed to do, offer protection, we consider it a necessary part of the travel cost.  So my tip is that if you are purchasing a Funjet Vacation seriously consider purchasing the cancel-for-any-reason insurance.

Here’s the best tip of all. . when you want to travel somewhere, enjoy the services of the experienced travel agents at The Travel Factory.  We perform a very important service for our friends by saving you time and money toward the planning of your vacation, so give us a call today at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040.