Fees
As valued clients or potential clients of TopDawg Travel, we want to inform you of some policy changes for the agency. These changes reflect the changes in the travel industry with regards to how suppliers compensate agents for bookings.
As of April 1, 2011 TopDawg Travel will be initiating a fee structure for most types of bookings with suppliers. Fees will be invoiced to your email address via Paypal. Through Paypal you are in control and will be able to pay securely with a charge card.
| Airline tickets (per ticket) – domestic | $ 50.00 |
| Airline tickets (per ticket) – international | $100.00 |
| Hotel bookings – direct through hotel or consortium website | 10% of nightly room price (before taxes) X # of nights |
| Hotel bookings – through consolidators | 8% of nightly room price (before taxes) X # of nights |
| Car Rentals | $ 35.00 |
| Cruises -research and booking fee | $250.00 |
| Vacation packages - research and booking fee | $250.00 |
| Private customized travel planning & arrangements | $500.00 |
- Fees are effective April1, 2011.
- Fees will be invoiced to your email address via Paypal for a secure method of payment.
You might ask why we have transitioned to a fee based agency. As a full service travel firm, we sell cruises, tour packages and escorted tour programs. We also are capable of arranging private tours, utilizing highly qualified English-speaking guides on a worldwide basis.
In the travel business, a custom planned vacation is called an FIT (Foreign Independent Tour). Being given the opportunity to arrange an unforgettable vacation for our clients is one of the privileges and pleasures of being in this business. We are pleased to offer this service to our most discriminating of clients. As you consider working with us on your vacation or travel planning, there are some things we would like you to know so you can be a fully involved participant in the planning process.
Planning fees
Our nonrefundable fee for vacation research and planning is $250, whether for a cruise, an all-inclusive package or an escorted tour. For the private customized travel arrangements, the fee is $500. Here is why:
When a tour operator like Trafalgar, Abercrombie & Kent, Tauck Tours or Globus Tours designs an escorted vacation experience that appears in their brochure, their staff of two or three specialists take upwards of two years to design, develop and implement a new tour. Hotels must be contacted and rates negotiated, routes must be mapped and evaluated, restaurants must have personal contact and guides must be selected based on a specific criteria.
When we plan a personal journey for two or more, each of these same steps must be followed. But we don’t have two years to work on the program, and we cannot share the cost among 40 or more guests. In addition the vast majority of our custom clients request special arrangements such as cooking lessons, insider shopping opportunities, or “closed to the public” cultural experiences.
The Next Steps
We will conduct a thorough and detailed consultation enabling us to produce a time line and list of inclusions. Hotel/resort type, room types and the amount and type of guided tours desired will be discussed. We will discuss cost and try to establish an overall budget. We then finalize what you want for your travel and then work with suppliers to create the itinerary for you. Within two to three weeks we will have a proposal and cost to present to you. Changes can be requested at that time without any additional fees. At this point an non-refundable deposit will be required to secure the itinerary (private villas, private islands, etc. may require a different type of deposit). The amount of deposit varies from itinerary to itinerary. Final payment is normally required 90 days prior to your departure date. You will also be required at this time to purchase travel insurance or sign a waiver declining the insurance. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance.
Cost considerations
At this point, it is important that we discuss costs. Although some of our clients are affluent, unless instructed otherwise, we feel it is our duty to control costs wherever possible, without sacrificing the quality of your vacation. The following information should be helpful to your understanding:
• Custom travel arrangements can cost from 40% to 200% more than a group tour offered by a major tour operator.
• In Western Europe, private arrangements including a deluxe hotel, full-day sightseeing with a driver and English-speaking guide, special events, etc., can easily cost upwards of $750 per person per day. Guides who speak fluent English, have university degrees and are registered historians do not come cheap.
• In some countries, such as Israel, there are strict rules about the amount of time a driver can be on the road, requirements about where they can go, and your responsibilities in contracting with them. The fees can range from a per hour amount to a 24-hour contract.
• We use only top-rated four- and five-star properties when planning private travel.
• Italy and France are currently the most expensive countries in Western Europe for customized travel arrangements. Greece and Turkey are still good values.
• Significant savings are achieved when two couples share one guide and one automobile. Keep in mind that a couple doing custom arrangements might require the same number of guides and drivers as a tour bus with 40 guests.
• In some countries, such as Italy, registered guides may only lead guests in the city where they live. So, for a day trip out of Florence to Siena, our Florence guide can take you there, but we must also hire a Sienese guide to take you around the city.
• Sometimes, rather than set up a private guided vacation, you would be better served booking local guides on an as-needed basis through your hotel. We utilize the best suppliers to set up your entire vacation based on rates for both land and air. We can, in effect, create a custom package for you that includes just the basics, transfers, hotels and airfare at a package rate that is lower than the components would cost on their own. For our clients who want the basics on an affordable basis, this is the best strategy.
• You will always receive a price for the entire vacation on a per-person basis. You will also receive a list of everything that is included. You might wonder why you won’t receive a breakdown of what each hotel costs, etc. For the answer, imagine walking into any travel firm, picking up any brochure with a tour in it, and asking the agent what each hotel is actually costing the tour supplier. Your agent would have no way of knowing, because all net hotel rates are proprietary and, by contract, may not be divulged.
• All our custom arrangements will be quoted to you as a total trip cost. If, for example, you’d like to reduce the cost of a first proposal, we can advise you about what we recommend eliminating, however the final choice is yours. Please understand, we are never given the actual costs the supplier is using.
• Our capabilities are worldwide. We can have you making a special dish or full meal with the chef in the kitchen of your hotel. We can have a professor bring the history of the area you are visiting alive as you walk its main street. You can view art in a private home or crush grapes during the wine making season. The only limit is your and our own creativity. From honeymoons to multigenerational family reunions, from individuals to groups of friends, our full-service approach and worldwide contacts can produce the best possible custom vacation for your needs.
WA-SOT # 602 302 021
