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Old 01-23-2005, 07:10 PM   #1
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Thumbs down 60% off travel

Just wanted to pass this along to anyone that travels.
You save 60% from all reservations - car-flight-hotels-theme parks-cruises.
It's worked for me and it has been a great way to make some extra cash.
Visit my web site http://www.kviquez.prttravel.net
or call me if interested 225-205-1804
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Old 11-07-2005, 09:06 PM   #2
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Re: 60% off travel

Massagelondon;

There are two unfortunate facts about this post.
  • Kathia thinks marketing like this would produce positive results for her business and her company.
  • As expected from her post, you consider it nothing more than a scam.
I don’t work for Kathia’s company, nor do I agree that her “Marketing” is effective. I do however, in fairness, need to tell you she is not only right, but it is also very legitimate. What you consider a scam has been going on in the travel industry for decades. What Kathia doesn’t effectively tell you is she is talking about “FAMs” or “Familiarization Trips”.

Back when there was a “Brick and Mortar” Travel Agency on every corner, they offered these same “FAM’s” to Travel Agents. The idea is that Vendors or Properties would offer these reduced rates and roll out the red carpet in order to have you, the Travel Agent, come back and sell their property as a vacation destination to customers.

The problem is that traditional “Brick and Mortar” agencies started going out of business in the late 1990’s because airlines figured out that people started booking travel off the internet and they didn’t need to pay these same Travel Agents commissions any longer. These same people started surfing for other specials from the likes of Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia and even more Agencies went out of business. In all 600,000 Travel Agents lost their jobs back in the late 1990’s. These FAM’s didn’t go away however, and companies like Kathia’s use these FAM trips to attract potential recruits into her business. What Kathia’s company doesn’t tell you is that certain vendors are having problems with the likes of Kathia’s company. Only wanting the discounts, but not selling any full paying fairs.

There are a couple of ground rules that Kathia does not mention. This is how I market these same FAM’s to people who like to save 50% to 80% on their next trip.
  • It is a courtesy and not a right to get these huge discounts. Vendors will not toss out a full paying fair in order to give you this 60% discount.
  • Depending on your level of Credentials, you are elligable for certain discounts. My RTA card with my company gets me about 50% of the FAM’s out there. I also have been certified with CLIA, (Cruise Line Industry Association) which opens more doors for FAM’s and larger discounts.
  • Many vendors will give you one trip at the reduced rate, but will require sales from you of full paying fairs in order to qualify for another FAM with them.
My wife and I have enjoyed many trips anywhere from 50% to 80% off the rack rate and have been treated like royalty during our visits. We specialize in selling Honeymoon packages with a DJ company here in Atlanta. You better believe my wife and I need to make sure there is romance to be found where I send these newlywed couples.

If given a choice, my friends, family, and church members will book travel with me instead of a highly advertised web site like Travelocity. In return, when they do book travel from me, I get 60% of the travel commissions which range anywhere from 3% to 20% of the total price. The difference is my company happens to be a full fledged Travel Agency, and Kathia’s company is a Network Marketing Company that just happens to sell a little bit of travel.

I hate the way you perceived this post, but in all honesty, I can’t blame you. It’s people like Kathia that make my job that much harder to attract people that would otherwise enjoy owning their own business in a $7 Trillion a year industry. I love what I do, I make good money, I take fantastic trips at a fraction of the cost, and I have incredible tax advantages. (I’m a Travel Agent, these vacations aren’t vacations, they’re business trips!)

Writing this makes me want to go on anther trip. You can preview where I find some of these trips @ http://www.famnews.com/preview.php.

I hope this helps clarify what is in fact very real.
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