We always get questioned about safety when traveling to Mexico. I think it is a valid question given the exposure this topic has gotten from the press. Let’s start by saying that Mexican Tourism from the U.S. has increased by 12% in 2016 for a total of over 12 million travelers from the U.S. visiting Mexico in 2016.
Too Good to Be True Timeshare Deals
In this post I want to talk about something I am seeing more and more on the Internet and on Social Media. This is the proliferation of companies advertising travel Deals for unheard of prices. I have seen prices such as $399 per couple for 5 nights in a 5 star all inclusive resort.
Airline Pricing and Scheduling
This month we are going to discuss something that has confused mankind for years, airline pricing and scheduling. I will try to explain these things in layman’s language.
How Are Resort Ratings Calculated?
This months travel tip is a discussion of something we have covered before. It is determining how the actual rating of a resort is developed. I want to re-discuss this because I am seeing an alarming number of 1 and 2 star resorts being rated at 4 & 5 star resorts. This can have a huge impact on the type and quality of your vacation and resort choices.
Expectations and Resort Misrepresentation
I wanted to cover a topic that that I am seeing a lot more in travel today. That is the situation where a client arrives at a resort only to find that the quality of the resort has been misrepresented on various websites online, including the resort’s own website. This is created by the fact that ratings are so subjective and, once you get outside of the U.S., ratings can be anything the resort wants published and ratings are not regulated.
Surprise! Extra Fees at Checkout
A new situation has been quietly increasing with hotels. This is the addition of ancillary fees added on top of the room rate. These are known by a number of different names, the most common being “Resort Fees”. They are additional fees that cover amenities at the resort whether you use them or not. They cover things like parking, pool towel service, use of tennis courts, use of the pool and beach. This has been standard practice in places like Hawaii for a number of years but they are now being extended to other hotels and resorts in the U.S. They are not going away but you need to be aware of them when booking hotels and resorts. When you get a room rate make sure you understand what that rate includes and what if any additional fees or taxes the hotel or resort may charge.
