Wholesale Travel Gets You There Cheaper
Traveling is one of life's greatest adventures. It can bring joy
to the heart and peace to the soul. Unfortunately, traveling can
be an expensive proposition, and one that makes adventurous
vacations out of reach for many people. When you take advantage
of wholesale travel packages, though, you can go on cruises,
relax at resorts, luxuriate in the best accommodations at
hotels, and fly with airfares that will make your friends
jealous.
Wholesale travel can encompass a variety of vacation
experiences. You can stay at resort properties, condo
properties, timeshare properties, privately owned properties,
vacation homes, or coastal beach homes. The keys to finding
great wholesale travel opportunities are understanding how the
tourism industry operates and having flexibility in your travel
plans.
For example, when you call a resort and ask for room rates,
you'll most likely be quoted what are called "rack rates." These
are the non-discounted rates that resort properties can charge
when they're almost booked to capacity. In reality, though,
resort properties aren't usually full, and rooms are perishable
commodities. If a room goes empty for a night, that represents
lost income that the resort can never regain. Wholesale travel
packages take advantage of this phenomena and book blocks of
rooms at non-peak periods to get the best rates. The resorts
readily agree because they need to fill the rooms and they know
that guests will spend money on ancillary products, such as
restaurant charges, room service, and gift shop purchases.
The same holds true for cruise ships. The ship will sail whether
it's at 80 percent capacity or 100 percent capacity. It behooves
the cruise line to offer wholesale travel packages to operators
in order to fill the cabins before the ship sets sail.
Other types of destinations work under the same principle, which
is why wholesale travel is possible across the board. When
looking into purchasing wholesale travel packages, here are some
things to consider.
Expiration Dates: Many wholesale travel operators use the
voucher system, and some vouchers have expiration dates. Before
making a commitment, find out how quickly the vouchers expire,
and make sure that the company has a low renewal fee in order to
extend the life of the vouchers.
Transferable Vouchers: Some companies do not allow participants
to transfer vouchers to friends and family members. When you
work with a wholesale travel company, be sure to select one that
allows you to transfer your vouchers to others.
Blackout Dates: The tradeoff in wholesale travel is that there
are restrictions regarding when you can vacation. You can't
expect to select a popular destination and travel there during
peak season. Before signing up for a wholesale travel package,
be sure that your schedule is compatible with the travel date
restrictions offered by the company.