Want To Save Money On Travel? Read What One Guru Has To Say. |
| Written by: ngoldman Norm Goldman |
|
Today,
Norm Goldman, Editor of Sketchandtravel.com and Bookpleasures.com is
pleased to have as our guest, Theo
Brandt-Sarif co-author of Guerrilla Travel Tactics. Thanks
Theo for accepting Bookpleasures.com and Sketchandtravel.com invitation
to be interviewed. Norm: I
wonder if you could give our readers a brief résumé of
yourself and what motivated you to co-author Guerrilla Travel Tactics? Theo: It’s my pleasure to talk
travel with you, Norm. I am a
self-admitted “travel-aholic”. My global travel as a medical researcher
ignited a lifelong passion for the road, runway, and waterway less
traveled. While traveling on research assignments in the quest for
innovative new drugs, I learned how you travel in luxury for much, much
less. In addition, I love to travel the world with my wife and three
children, in search of new lands, beautiful scenery, and fascinating
people. In Guerrilla Travel Tactics,
I share literally hundreds of great strategies I have learned to save
upscale travelers time and money. Norm: Why
did you give your book the title Guerrilla
Travel Tactics? Theo: I believed the best audience for my strategies
was the business traveler who pays out of his own pocket. So in 1999, I
approached Jay Conrad Levinson, famous for his Guerrilla Marketing
books, believing my travel strategies in book format will be perfect
for his customers. As an aside, 9/11 dramatically increased the target
audience for Guerrilla Travel Tactics, as larger companies slashed
travel budgets. And leisure travelers can of course apply all the
strategies in the book for vacation planning. Norm: How
many times a year do you travel for pleasure only? How much time do you
devote in organizing your trips? Theo: As
a family we travel about 10 times each year for pleasure, Norm —
including big trips like Rio de Janeiro or Sydney, as well as a weekend
in San Diego or Phoenix. Time it takes to organize a trip is variable,
ranging from 30 minutes for a weekend trip where we will drive and up
to three hours for a major vacation that will include Spain and Italy
this summer. Norm: No
doubt, as your Guerrilla Travel Tactics is very comprehensive, you must
have devoted a great deal of research, time and effort into its
writing. How long did it take you to do the research and eventually
write the guide? Theo: Approximately four years, Norm. By far the
biggest challenge was to dig deep into my mind to uncover exactly what
I do, and then to document my best practices in a way that is simple to
understand, The other challenge was to prioritize--the book could
easily have been double its length! Some of the chapters that never
made it into the book are available as Special Reports at my web site
travelexpert.com. Norm When
travelling, do you keep a journal and how do you decide what material
to include in the book and what to leave out? Theo: When I return, I
write a summary for my newsletter Luxury Escapes, which becomes an
article “Destination of the Month”. The focus of the article is not so
much all the things to do in the destination, but what I did to get
great prices for air, hotel, ground transportation and food. I usually
include a few photographs now that I finally have a digital camera! Norm: If
you could name 5 places in the world that you would consider to be the
most attractive as a romantic, honeymoon or wedding destination from
the point of view of ambiance, price etc, which ones would you chose
and why? As a follow up, how can you apply your guerrilla tactics when
it comes to organizing a romantic getaway, honeymoon or a destination
wedding? Theo: ·
Bali—the ultimate destination since
it’s cheap, gorgeous scenery, spectacular hotels, kindest people, deep
culture. Downside—monstrous distance from anywhere in North America. ·
Hawaii—gorgeous, romantic, easy to
get to especially from the west side of North America. Downside—expensive. ·
St. Thomas—almost like Hawaii for
east coasters. Culture similar to US and Canada since is part of US
Virgin Islands, but isolated. Beautiful hotels—try the Ritz! ·
Paris—the ultimate romantic city with
so much to do and unbelievable food everywhere. Downsides—language
barrier for most Americans (but easy for Canadians), expensive. ·
Anywhere in Italy. Choose Rome for
big city (and serious history), Florence for culture, Portafino for
secluded romance, Amalfi coast for spectacular scenery.
Downside—expensive. Guerrilla Tactics to get to the top 5: Too complex to
answer in a brief interview. But I will provide a few tips: ·
Use your frequent flyer miles to get
upgraded seats when flying huge distances, like to Bali. Redeeming your
frequent flyer miles for long haul business or first class provides by
far the best value. ·
Seatguru.com is a great web site to
check out which are the best (and worst) seats on most airlines and
aircraft. ·
If you can go off-season, the rate
will be far better. For example, Italy, France and Hawaii will always
be cheaper outside the summer months when schools are out, while St.
Thomas and other Caribbean islands are cheaper from June through
mid-December. ·
Check out tripadvisor.com when trying
to find the best hotels-—it features feedback from regular travelers
that enables you to find out what a hotel is really like. ·
For
hotels, always check out the Entertainment Directory rate, which can
provide discounts 50% off full rate. Get details at Entertainment.com. Norm: Can
you briefly explain to our readers why prices of hotels, cars and air
fare seem to bounce around from day to day and we never seem to know if
we are getting the best deal when we make a reservation? As a follow
up, what happens if we discover when we are checking out of a hotel
that the deal we signed up for on the Internet was not the best and
that the hotel is now offering a better price? Theo: Travel suppliers
have yield management software programs that enable them to optimize
pricing based on supply and demand. Much of the predictions of demand
come from historical patterns, so an airline knows quite accurately the
mix of high versus low paying passengers for any flight on any given
day. If demand or supply changes at any moment, prices are adjusted
accordingly. Now, if you find at the end of your hotel stay
that you could have received a better deal, you’re out of luck! Here’s
why: the signature that you provide at check-in is an agreement that
the rate you selected upfront is what you’ll end up paying. Norm: What
were the five worst places you have ever visited from the point of view
of airports, hotels, food, etc and what were the five best places?
Please explain briefly. Theo: Best airports: Singapore: Orlando: Heathrow terminal 4
(all have great shopping). Best hotels: it really depends on the specific
accommodations I get. ·
My best experience was at the Ritz in
Singapore where we had a huge four-room suite, including
chic living room and stylish dining area, with all rooms - including
the bathtub - overlooking the city of Singapore. Also loved being in
the Presidential Suite of the JW Marriott overlooking Cop cabaña
beach in Rio de Janeiro this past Thanksgiving. ·
Worst Airports: Miami is really
bad—-American Airlines has most of the gates, which are spread out
across several terminals. One may require a marathon walk (or sprint!)
to reach connecting flights, sometimes requiring another screen through
security. Heathrow is also terrible if your connecting flight is in
another terminal. ·
Worst hotel: We stayed at Jury’s Inn
in Limerick, Ireland for one night. Really unpleasant in terms of
uncomfortable beds, parking was problematic, the restaurant was being
used for a private function, awful breakfast etc. The Jury’s hotel
chain gave us two free nights in London as compensation, and we had a
fabulous time. Norm: If you could describe 5 of the most harrowing experiences you
ever experienced, what would they be? Theo: I know you will be
incredulous—but I cannot think of any harrowing experiences, Norm! But
yes—I certainly have had my share of frustrations. Like being delayed
in Iowa City because of snow, and then missing my connection in Chicago
that required an unexpected overnight stay at the airport hotel. Or
“technical” delays, like the one in Rio de Janeiro. A hydraulic jack
applied to change a burst tyre was not removed before baggage and
passengers were boarded. Our departure was delayed by one hour,
resulting in a tight connection that I made by about three minutes! Norm: If you could describe 5 of the best and worst
deals you ever experienced, what would they be and why? Theo: There are so many I cannot
remember them all! But this will give you some idea: Best: ·
Purchasing 179 magazine subscriptions
which got me 1 million Qantas miles, good for five business- class
tickets to Australia that normally retail for $7-10,000 each. Bottom
line—I got five business class seats for the same price as coach! ·
While consulting for a client in New
York City, I stayed at the Grand Hyatt in New York during a promotion
that offered one free night for every five paid nights. We used our
free nights at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo—a truly spectacular hotel where
rooms retail for $500 per night and up. ·
I use the Diners Club charge card for
all my business expenses. Diners had annual promotions whereby all
banked Diners frequent flyer miles transferred to British Airways were
doubled! Over several years I took advantage of this promotion,
accumulating sufficient British Airways miles for four free business
class tickets to Kenya (for a safari) and five free Concorde seats just
before the supersonic jet was retired. ·
I received an invitation in the mail
to switch my long distance service to Sprint. The enticement was 40,000
frequent flyer miles with Northwest Airlines given over eighteen
months. I switched all four lines in my house, getting a whopping
160,000 miles—which I have still not used. ·
Remember the four-room suite at the
Ritz Carlton in Singapore which we discussed earlier, Norm? We booked
our stay through the travel desk affiliated with my American Express
Platinum charge card. The card has arrangements with some of the best
hotels in the world to provide upgrades and other amenities—and we were
upgraded to the most spectacular suite I have ever seen.
Worst: I truly cannot
think of anything significant -—I research thoroughly before I go.
However--anytime I get a middle seat in coach is a terrible deal—-but
that is VERY rare! Norm Do
you have any future writing projects in the works? Theo: Besides my monthly newsletter Luxury Escapes, I
am currently working on my second book with co-author Dr. Stan Plog,
the pre-eminent market researcher in travel. Vacation
Places Rated ranks over 150 destinations based on more than 13,500
savvy traveler’s survey responses. It will be the most comprehensive
book ever written to scientifically help travelers choose the best
vacation destinations based on their own unique personality profiles. Thanks Theo it has been great to have you share with
our readers your profound knowledge of travel. |