CNN | Just Picture It Now

Posts Tagged ‘CNN’

Diva Loves A Bargain

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Digg me

I’ve heard from critics out there that they can always get a better price somewhere else when it comes to travel. I’ve seen some really obscure examples over the years and while I’ve never claimed that I would have the absolute “best price” every single time…

I will be competitive.

Knowing our booking engine the way I do, I can find a number of “bargains” out there that give me an edge over anyone else.

Two examples I can think of off the top of my head would be booking the hotel, air, and ground transportation together. I had a client book with us because I consolidated her trip to New York over Christmas this way. I combined air, hotel and transfers for about $300 dollars less than she could find anywhere else, and upgraded her to the Millennium UN Plaza to boot, which based on her own research, was completely out of reach according to her budget.

Another great resource I have are group cruise bookings. Any time a client simply gives me a date range, I’ll scroll through our Group Bookings page to see if there might be something there that might fit. Take the first cruise on this long list of groups for example. Based on the pricing found on this site compared to what you find direct with Carnival, you’ll save over $250 per person on a category 8A by booking on the group’s page rather than going direct with Carnival or another Agent for the same cruise.

And if you run into a critic who tells you otherwise, like I’ve seen in the past, tell them to go book it. Then wait for a call back when they find out that the price they were quoted did not include port charges and taxes the way we do on the group’s page.

Works every time.

Looks like someone else has taken notice of the special deals YTB has to offer. Sue Goldstein, known as the Underground Shopper, was recently interviewed on CNN about some of the deals she’s found.

Here’s an excerpt from here site.

Sue, who has made bargain-hunting her life for almost 35 years, is the Underground Shopper^® founder and hands-on guiding light. Let her lead the way through the trenches of “needless markups” and show you how to get around paying wretched retail. You don’t need a brother-in-law in the business to get it for you wholesale. You’ve got Sue Goldstein as your new best friend.

During the interview Sue gave her recommendation for finding the “best travel deals” on the internet. If you take a look at the site CNN pulled up, although it’s under a different domain name, it looks just like the one I have.

What’s up with that?

I don’t know about Sue being my new best friend, but with a last name like Goldstein, would you expect anything other than frugal?

Thanks for the plug Sue, and thanks for setting everyone straight on just who has the best travel deals out there. Critics should have a field day with this one, and honestly, I’d love to see them match witts with a woman like this. Looks to me like she has no problem calling a spade a spade. They are more than welcome to open up that can of worms by contacting Sue directly.(LOL!)

On another note, I’m going to leave you with this question:

What do the following companies have in common?

Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Choice Hotels
CruiseOne, Inc.
Discovery Map International
Hotel Indigo
Microtel Inn
Passport Health Communications
Thetravelacademy
Uniglobe Travel International
Your Travel Biz

I’ll have the answer for you here tomorrow for the inquiring minds that want to know.

By the way…I claim no responsibility concerning last night’s Steeler victory over Washington on Monday Night Football and any connection to today’s Presidential Election. I realize how superstitious some people are, but suggest you get out and and place your own vote anyway.

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!