PRESS RELEASE FROM OUTSIDE AGENTS

Jacksonville, FL, October 22, 2024 – OutsideAgents.com, America’s premier host travel agency, recently held its annual conference at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina and onboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. With a theme of Turn Passion Into Profit, over 500 participants were in attendance for the eight-day event including member agents, preferred vendor representatives, industry leaders, and OutsideAgents.com staff. Read the rest of this entry »

People often ask me where I get my ideas from for future articles. After penning over 2500 articles, I too find myself scratching my head at times. The answer, however, is quite simple. I live my life while paying attention to my surroundings. Life itself is a constant saga (article) unfolding as the days, weeks, months and years expeditiously fly by.

Strangely enough, today’s reminder comes to you via the Clark Gym’s Sauna Box in Cooperstown, NY. I recently found myself chatting with a man who Read the rest of this entry »

Madeira, an enchanting island nestled in the Atlantic Ocean, is a haven where nature’s majesty and human history create a captivating tapestry. Known for its steep, dramatic mountains and verdant valleys, this Portuguese archipelago offers visitors a glimpse into a world of natural beauty and cultural richness.

The island’s capital, Funchal, is a city alive with history and modern vibrance. Located off the northeastern shores of Africa, Madeira benefits from a subtropical climate ideal for lush landscapes and diverse ecological life. Funchal is renowned for its historic old town, with slanted streets dating back to the 15th century, booming with quaint markets, and squares echoing a bygone era.

AmaWaterways, the first major river cruise line to navigate the Magdalena River in Colombia, shared its latest updates in preparation for the inaugural sailing of its first ship in Colombia, AmaMagdalena, set for 2025. The company is focused on enhancing the luxury cruising experience along this river, a new destination for river cruising, ensuring guests enjoy authentic and enriching connections to the region’s culture and heritage. Read the rest of this entry »

For the 2025 travel season CroisiEurope, the France-based river cruise operator, is offering some new destinations and itineraries, as well as some exclusive departures for the U.S. market. The company is introducing new cruise itineraries in Belgium, the Netherlands and India.

These three new entries are added to CroisiEurope’s roster of some 170 itineraries on 50 ships in 37 countries, stretching across Europe, the Mediterranean, Northern and Southern Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Read the rest of this entry »

With two cities hit by hotel worker walkouts this week, many travel advisors and meeting planners are holding their breath and praying for a settlement before their clients are affected.

In Boston, the nearly 700 employees of the Omni Parker House and Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport began a strike that will last until their demands are met, according to UNITE HERE Local 26. They join more than 600 workers already on strike at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza and Hilton Boston Logan Airport.

Workers from other properties may join the strike at any time and for any duration, the union said, and strikers will staff picket lines outside the hotel entrances 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Seattle also is dealing with striking workers, but only until October 19, at the Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Centre.

Meeting planners whose groups are headed to the affected properties “need to be in immediate touch with the GMs and CSMs of the hotels in which their meetings are contracted AFTER they check their contracts carefully to determine whether hotel worker strikes are covered under force majeure or other clauses,” meetings industry consultant Joan Eisenstodt told TRO. “Determine how the hotel will be staffed and if those attending and servicing your meetings (AV companies and other workers who may service your meeting or the hotel) will cross picket lines. Take nothing for granted.”

Across the country, more than 5,000 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels, including front desk agents, housekeepers, bellhops and doormen, cooks and servers and bartenders. They are demanding higher wages and complaining their workloads have gotten out of hand due to Covid-era staff cuts.

Hotel strikes also continue in Honolulu, New Haven, Providence, San Diego, and San Francisco. The union is urging travelers not to eat, meet, or sleep at any hotel that is on strike.

Unite Here represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada.

The Travel Institute is again offering its dedicated TRIPKIT^SM Scholarship Fund, providing tuition assistance on the education leader’s award-winning new agent training program.

First launched in January 2024 in celebration of the non-profit educator’s 60th anniversary, the TRIPKIT scholarship is available during October while funds last Read the rest of this entry »

With lots of new attractions about to open and a boom in tourists carrying electronic devices, Mexico has done away with what is arguably its most unpopular policy, a tax on bringing more than one computer or tablet into Cancun.

“After almost a month of talks,” Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa posted on Facebook on Friday, Mexico will “eliminate the charge for bringing more than one computer or electronic tablets into your personal luggage, within the #Cancun International Airport, with the support of Mexican Customs” (https://fb.watch/vcWouT4KBJ/).

The change is effective immediately.

The tax has been listed on the Mexican government website for some time, apparently in an effort to discourage travelers from bringing in electronic devices and selling them tax-free. But media reports about the tax, which was applied only occasionally and seemingly out of the blue to unsuspecting random travelers, have been calling attention to it—and citing tourists charged $190 to bring in their iPad as well as their computer—for the past few weeks. (Perhaps our own story helped bring attention to the issue; see Bringing a Laptop and an iPad to Mexico Can Cost You Hundreds of Dollars | Travel Research Online!)

“This was an old franchise regulation that no longer aligns with these times of technology, home office, in addition to the key tourism sector who travel to our destination to attend conferences, conventions and professional meetings,” Lezama said. “As a result of various uncomfortable and inconvenient situations detected at customs in the Cancun International Airport which have affected our destination’s image such as not allowing international and domestic tourists, as well as residents, to bring more than one device be it computer, laptop or tablet, we visited the area and reviewed the criteria used to allow tourists through customs and thanks to the support and consideration of the Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (National Customs Agency of Mexico), we reviewed the procedure to reactivate the tourists flow through customs and eliminate this criteria.”

I was reminded again this week of the power of the sincere compliment. The scene this time was a small country restaurant in Richfield Springs, New York. This is a lazy little upstate town situated on Route 20 between Syracuse and Albany. I call it a restaurant but the term coffee dive might do it more poetic justice.  It is a small “joint” that serves breakfast. Got the picture? Read the rest of this entry »

Be they husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, or sisters and brothers, more and more travel advisors are finding there’s no better new hire than a member of your very own family. When you need a helping hand or a travel buddy—and when you consider a succession plan—many say home is the best place to start looking.

Central Holidays has been a leader in creating remarkable travel experiences since 1972. Together with their parent company, SGI, Central Holidays has been at the forefront of delivering travel programs, value, and service across Italy, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Africa, West Asia, and Latin America. Specializing in bespoke group and individual travel, their itineraries are comprised of luxury, ultra-customization, experiential journeys, and cultural adventures that bring destinations to life in unforgettable ways.

With no profit to show since Covid, Spirit Airlines is discussing a possible restructuring in preparation for declaring bankruptcy, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Citing “people who are familiar with the matter,” The Journal said Spirit has been talking bankruptcy since its failed merger with JetBlue Airways. The airline is struggling to compete with the big carriers, and was hard-hit when a recall of turbofan engines grounded many of its planes, including many that were supposed to fly to the new airport in Tulum, Mexico. Last month it furloughed 186 pilots.

As part of its efforts to enhance the bottom line, Spirit has been cutting flights and making changes to the services it offers. This summer it rolled out a premium “Go Big” fare class that offers a larger seat and early boarding, lifted its checked baggage limit from 40 to 50 pounds, and did away with change and cancelation fees.  Just this week it suspended nonstop service between Cleveland and Orlando, effective Nov. 5.

And still, it reported its 11th consecutive quarterly loss in August.

(Heads up: Of course we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “pro” side. Stay tuned next week for the “con.”)

When your niche is entertainment travel and your clients are ultra-high-net-worth, there’s no option but to sell air, says Ted Bradpiece. And he doesn’t really mind. It’s just another call or two a month he has to take late at night or on the weekend—and it pays as much as many travel advisors earn in a year.

As if it doesn’t already cost enough to visit Disney World, this month will usher in a number of price increases at Mickey’s Florida home.

Guests using the Lightning Lane Single Pass system will see the cost of four of the most popular attractions increase by $1-$3 per ride, in two stages, on October 18 and 21.

October 18 will bring the first round of price rises:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom: $12
• TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom: $21
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT: $17
• Avatar Flight of Passage: $17

Those increases will be followed on October 21 to:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: $14
• TRON Lightcycle / Run: $22
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: $19
• Avatar Flight of Passage: $18

The price for Star Wars Rise of the Resistance remains at $25.

Lightning Lane Passes offer access to rides that are not included in the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (for details see Lightning Lane Pass Guide and FAQ.) The prices are based on dynamic pricing, so costs fluctuate based on expected crowd levels.

Getting into the park will be more expensive as well. Disney World already announced the first price increase in five years for its least expensive ticket, the one-day one-park entry, to $119 from $109, and as much as $200 in peak seasons, effective January 1.

As we roll into fall and the hectic back-to-school season settles, it’s the perfect opportunity to inject a bit of adventure into your clients’ lives with a surprise road trip. We all have some fascinating places within driving distance. Why not channel your inner travel mastermind and create a unique driving getaway that will leave your clients pleasantly stunned? Here are some thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »

Jimmy Buffet once sang a tune that suggested that one’s attitude could be adjusted with a simple change of environment. His exact phraseology was: These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes. Nothing remains quite the same. Through all of the islands and all of the highlands, if we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane. Read the rest of this entry »

Princess Cruises has taken a step back—or a step forward, depending on how you look at it – when it comes to the price of water bottles onboard. Last week, with no warning, it tripled the price of a 12-pack of water from $7.09 to $24 (10 CAD to 32.40 CAD for Canadian guests).

On social media some lamented the big jump, calling it corporate greed, but others applauded the efforts of Princess and other travel suppliers to cut down on the use of plastics in the industry.

“I hope they are wearing masks because that’s daylight robbery,” said one member of the Prince Cruises Passenger Forum.

“I’m guessing they are trying to make up for some of the waste they are seeing as more and more people get packages that include unlimited water. I see half-finished and almost full bottles. Everywhere on cruise ships now,” explained another.

“They should raise it to $80 a case,” suggested a third.

There are other options for potable water, of course. Water in the cabin – on which Princess now has installed taps – is safe to drink, and guests can bring their own water bottles and fill them. It’s also permissible to bring up to 12 sealed, unopened 12-ounce cans or cartons of water or soda per passenger in your hand luggage.

Still, many guests have appreciated the convenience of pre-ordering water and having it delivered to their stateroom.

Kiss that option goodbye – or pay up for the privilege of polluting the planet and having someone else recycle all those bottles.

(Note: Princess Cruises did not reply to our request for a comment on this story.)

For 2025, AmaWaterways is making a leap into South America, launching a pair of cruise itineraries on the Magdalena River in Colombia. It’s breaking into a new continent for the company, and it’s the first major river cruise operator to offer cruises on the Magdalena River on the Caribbean side, with two seven-night voyages between Cartagena and Barranquilla.

AmaWaterways co-founder and executive vice president Kristin Karst told me, “It’s one of our most exciting ventures yet.” She assured me that the company intends to keep “pushing the boundaries.”

The company is seriously on the move. AmaWaterways is currently operating 26 ships in Europe and Asia. It will be adding several new ships over the next two years Read the rest of this entry »

When you think of US destinations that embody the “travel as a living classroom” theme, Washington DC is undoubtedly at the top of the list. With back-to-school season here, there’s no better way to enhance your child’s education than with a fun and enriching family getaway to our nation’s capital this fall. From the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol Building and beyond, it’s an experience filled with countless teaching moments. Beyond the iconic monuments and memorials, Washington DC boasts incredible museums, stunning architecture, rich culture, natural beauty, and so much more.

I stumbled upon this article from over ten years ago by accident this morning and thought it was worth bringing back to life.

Everybody knows that there are no “Magic Pills” when it comes to building a business. You may be wrong. Yes, there just might be a pill or two.

There seems to be a pill today for just about everything … from headaches to painkillers to weight loss, to cholesterol control… to unforeseen “intimate moments” for you old guys. Yet most sales and marketing gurus, coaches and trainers are quick to remind you that there are no “Magic Pills” for business success. Read the rest of this entry »

I woke today with my mind in full gear. This sign of mental activity caught my attention. Although I cannot explain why, I decided to take what was spinning in my head and turn it into today’s article submission. I may seem to be meandering. Here goes.

The first thought that shot through my mind when I opened my eyes was, “I’m not dead yet.” I looked straight up and saw the ceiling before peering out the window to see what appeared to be a sun trying to brighten up the day. “Mike.”, I said to myself. “It seems you have been given another opportunity to do some good today. What are you planning on doing?” Read the rest of this entry »