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Building Relationships in the Travel Industry

In a story for the Boston Globe last year, I interviewed Jacob Tomsky, author of the best-selling “Heads in Beds” (Doubleday). Tomsky spent a decade in the hotel industry, seven of those years manning the front desk at an upscale Midtown Manhattan hotel. He told me that folks who book their room online from websites like Hotels.com often received the worst room in the hotel while the people who booked through a travel agent often receive the best room. Why? Because the travel agent usually has a personal connection with the general manager or director of sales at that hotel and calls 2 to 3 days prior to ensure that the hotel knows their client is coming. Like many businesses, the travel industry is all about relationships. Our clients at ActiveTravels often receive free upgrades and that’s because we send a VIP email telling the general manager that our client will soon arrive. We’ve already developed wonderful relationships with properties around the globe so they know us and appreciate our book of business. Lisa will meet hundreds of those general managers next week when she’s in Las Vegas for the largest travel conference of the year, Virtuoso Week. She has over 400 meetings already lined up with the top hotels, outfitters, and representatives from countries around the globe. Meeting people face to face and having their contact info will help us ensure that you always get the best room available on your next trip. 
 
I’m off to Saratoga to hang with my high school buddies. Have a great weekend! 
 

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TripAdvisor’s Not So Trusted Travel Advice

TripAdvisor, which bills itself as the world’s most trusted travel advice, just came out with their listing of the Top 10 Beach & Sun Destinations in the World. Number one on the list is Providenciales, otherwise known as Provo, in the Turks & Caicos. What a joke! I last went to Provo to write a scuba diving story on this Caribbean locale for Islands Magazine. Except for a sublime stretch of beach that was crowded with many overpriced hotels, I found the place to be another one of those scruffy islands in the Caribbean with no mountains, no waterfalls, no tropical allure, no beauty. It’s a culturally void locale where you can pop into the local bar and watch Monday Night Football on TV and feel like you’re back in the States. In fact, my favorite part of the trip was actually leaving the island and going underwater on a far more enchanting dive.

Number five on that same list is Myrtle Beach. This is one of the top beach destinations in the world?! Are you freaken kidding me?! Then there are two locales in Mexico, one in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, San Diego. Sure, they threw in the Cook Islands, Boracay, Philippines, and Byron Bay, Australia, but these are also bizarre choices. The first article I ever sold was on the Cook Islands, so it remains a nostalgic place for me. There’s a nice island trek across Rarotonga, but the landscape is not even in the same league as other South Pacific locales, like the mind-blowing verdant volcanic landscape of Bora Bora or any island in the Marquesas, French Polynesia. As for Byron Bay, it’s a popular place to hang for celebrities, but it can’t compete with the beaches north of Brisbane, like Coolangatta, or the largest sand island in the world, Fraser Island.

This list wasn’t made by any one who can remotely call themselves the most trusted voice in travel.  Judging from the list of locales, many of which are easy flights from the Northeast, I think it was written by some editor in the corporate offices of TripAdvisor in Boston, who has rarely traveled farther than Fenway Park. TripAdvisor is best used as a reference for hotels once you know exactly where you are going. I would never use them as expert opinion to find a stunning beach locale. Instead toss this list in the garbage and take my trusted expert advice, culled from over 20 years of being a professional travel writer. If you want one of the top beach and sun destinations in the world, start with Capetown, Folegandros, Greece, Kas, Turkey, the Gold Coast north of Brisbane, the Big Island of Hawaii, Savusavu, Fiji, Bahia, Brazil, Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, the Seychelles, and yes, Bora Bora!
 

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This is the Summer to Go Rafting in Idaho

With the deluge of snow and rain in the Northwest thanks to El Nino, whitewater rafting outfitters are already predicting this could be a banner year due to high water levels. ROW Adventures, once named the world’s #1 Tour Operator by Travel & Leisure magazine, offers 5 and 6-day jaunts on Idaho’s legendary Snake River including all food, beer, wine, guides, rafts, and full-service camping. Cruise through Hells Canyon on Class III and IV rapids on a rip-roaring ride through the deepest river gorge in North America. This is not the Colorado River, where you freeze your butt off in the water. Temps on the Snake average a perfect 70 degrees in summer. Or sample the Salmon River, one of the original rivers in the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Middle Fork of the Salmon boasts more than a hundred rapids in as many miles. What this means is a rip-roaring ride through narrow canyon walls, with glimpses of bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain elk on the shores and eagles and ospreys flying overhead. Once you reach land, you can hike up side canyons, soak in natural hot springs, fish to your heart’s content, or use the time to gather your thoughts and simply breathe.
 
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Get Lost in the Lushness of the Naples Botanical Garden

When you wake up every morning watching a hawk tend to her nest in upper branches of a palm tree, like I did last week in South Naples, Florida, it’s hard not to appreciate the nature of this part of the state. This only whet our appetite for the Naples Botanical Garden, where every type of palm tree imaginable shades the walkways as you peer at another glorious orchid or stop to sniff the lemon verbena and mint plants. We walked across the bridges in the Japanese Garden, spotted herons and egrets in the creek beds, and then stopped for salads and sandwiches in the café. An added bonus was the live jazz performance in the meadow on Sunday afternoons. There’s a reason why the parking lot was packed on this cloudless afternoon—this is a gem of a spot to spend several hours in a tropical oasis. 

 
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Happy Father’s Day from ActiveTravels

I often joke with my kids that they grew up in the pages of The Boston Globe (the photos on the left are Melanie from a story on mid-coast Maine and Jake from a story on Costa Rica). Lately, I’ve been writing about our family trips for Virtuoso Traveler, like the stellar time we had in Switzerland with Backroads last summer. This is what I live for, creating Dream Day experiences with my family. And it’s probably the number one reason we started ActiveTravels, to hopefully form lasting memories for other families. Thankfully, you don’t have to always travel the world to savor a moment with your children. On Monday, we threw the bikes on the back of the car and drove to Arlington, Massachusetts, to bike along the Minuteman Bike Trail to Davis Square and the latest trail extension into Somerville. It was a leisurely spin, stopping for cold brews, and watching a family of newborn swans, and it was glorious. On Father’s Day, we’re heading to Chinatown for dim sum and then strolling to SoWa Open Market to listen to music, see the art, and grab a beer. Have a Fantastic Father’s Day and get out there with the kids to create an unforgettable experience! 

I want to thank Amy for her wonderful job showing us around the Big Island of Hawaii and the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario. I’ll be back next with blogs on my recent trip to Medellin and Cartagena. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Favorite Fall Foliage Travels—Biking the Confederation Trail, Prince Edward Island

In September 2004, I was fortunate to receive an assignment from Canadian Geographic to head to Prince Edward Island and write about their relatively new Confederation Trail. The Canadian Pacific railroad that once connected Prince Edward Island’s small villages last roared through the interior in 1989, leaving in its wake hundreds of kilometers of track. By 2000, the tracks were pulled and the line replaced with a surface of finely crushed gravel, creating a biking and walking thoroughfare called the Confederation Trail. Crossing the entire island, the trail starts in Tignish in the west and rolls 279 kilometers to the eastern terminus in Elmira. One of the most scenic stretches starts in Mt. Stewart in King’s County along the sinuous Hillsborough River. You’ll soon reach St. Peter’s Bay, a large inlet dotted with mussel farms and lobster traps. After crossing a bridge that rewards you with glimpses of the island’s fabled red cliffs, you’ll arrive at the rolling Greenwich Dunes. If you were wise, you grabbed a room at the nearby Inn at St. Peter’s to spend the night. 

 
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Viva Italia!

Maybe it’s the lure of Italian cooking, the chance to finally see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican in Rome, biking through the countryside of Tuscany, or driving along the spectacular Amalfi coastline, that has made Italy such a hot destination in 2010. I just received a call from Go Ahead Tours in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who noted that bookings are up a remarkable 55% on trips to Italy compared to last year.  So much, in fact, that they decided to host an event on April 10th called “A Taste of Tuscany in Boston.” On hand will be best-selling author Frances Mayes, who’s releasing her new book, “Every Day in Tuscany.” Italian food and wine will also be presented. Join in the festivities at the EF Center on 1 Education Street in Cambridge from 2-5 pm. Save a spot by remembering to RSVP.
 

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