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Heading For The Honeymoon | |
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COOL TRAVEL MAIL'S
TRAVEL TIPS
Tips & Advice for the Seasoned and Armchair Traveler Alike!
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http://www.CoolTravelMail.com
April 8, 2008
I am terrible at buying wedding gifts.
Once, on the night before a college friend's wedding, I
chipped in with five other people for some patio furniture
I'd never seen and didn't really think about. Nobody, it
turns out, checked beforehand to make sure the happy couple
actually had a patio.
Another time - and this time I was actually in the wedding
party - I drove myself crazy trying to find the perfect
gift. I never did. Instead, I basically gave them a fancy
IOU that said something special would be arriving soon.
That was 19 years ago. As far as I know, they're still
waiting.
In this week's issue:
* BLENDERS VS. BOARDING PASSES
* THE HONEYMOON AGENT'S CUT
* REGISTRY REALITY
P.S. If you're interested you can now post comments on this
and recent issues on our forum at... Travel Tips Forum
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BLENDERS VS. BOARDING PASSES
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Honeymoons are often the biggest travel adventure of a young
couple's life. It's an excuse to spend outrageous sums of
money that become increasingly difficult to justify as you
add children, mortgages and other responsibilities into the
marriage mix.
It's also one of the few opportunities people have to get
others to pay for their travel dream vacation.
Honeymoon travel registries have become an increasingly
popular trend in recent years. Newlyweds like them because
they pull more resources into the travel planning and
generally allow couples to upgrade their travel plans.
They are especially attractive to couples who get married
later in life, or who have already been married at least
once before. These are people who - if they needed a bread
maker or a juicer - probably already have one.
Honeymoon registries generally work by allowing a couple to
select elements of their honeymoon - airfare, hotel nights,
meals, tours, golf rounds, spa treatments, admissions,
spending cash … whatever - that friends and family can put
money toward as wedding gifts.
So, instead of investing in unusable outdoor furniture, I
could have picked up the honeymoon couple's tab at the hotel
Tiki bar. That probably would have kept me on their
Christmas card list.
What kind of honeymoon gifts can you buy for a newly hitched
couple?
The Big Day (http://www.thebigday.com) one of the top
honeymoon registries on the Internet, lists the most recent
gifts purchased through the company on its website. Last
time I looked, it included horseback riding for two, airfare
from Los Angeles to Tahiti, scuba lessons and diving, a
toiletries organizer, a sailboat cruise for two, breakfast
in bed and 500 miles of airfare.
There are several honeymoon travel registries available on
the Internet. Many travel agencies also provide honeymoon
gift registry services.
As with anything else, you need to be a smart shopper when
choosing a honeymoon bridal registry. Here are some tips:
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THE HONEYMOON AGENT'S CUT
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* Beware of fees.
Honeymoon registries typically charge a "service fee" based
on the total dollar amount of gifts contributed. This means
the couple gets a check before the honeymoon, minus the
registry's cut.
If you're not careful, this can erode the actual value of
the travel gift by as much as 15 percent, according to Susan
Breslow Sardone, editor of About.com's guide to honeymoons
and romantic getaways.
Honey Luna (http://www.honeyluna.com), one of the oldest
registries, charges 15 percent of the total gift purchase.
So, someone wanting to buy a new couple a $200 night at a
hotel would actually have to pay $230.
The Honeymoon (http://www.thehoneymoon.com/), another of the
veteran players in this field, charges a sliding scale fee,
starting at 8.85 percent, that decreases as the total value
of the gifts booked through them increases.
The Big Day does something similar, starting at 9 percent,
and offering discounts when the total purchase hits $2,000.
If the honeymoon travel package hits $3,500, the fee drops
off completely.
* Know who you're dealing with.
Honeymoon registry companies, which are basically travel
agents who specialize in this area, are not the only ones
providing this service. Increasingly, lodging chains are
also offering to collect money from wedding well wishers to
pay for a honeymoon stay.
These chains, which include Marriott, Starwood and Sandals,
usually don't charge a fee because they're booking their own
properties. On the flip side, it limits what the money can
be used for. Couples may select only tours, meals and rooms
operated by the company and affiliated businesses.
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REGISTRY REALITY
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* Be aware that you're on the hook.
In a traditional wedding registry, you post a wish list of
gifts. If nobody ends up buying you that imported set of
sushi knives, no big deal.
Honeymoon travel, however, requires money to be spent up
front. You've got to book flights and hotel rooms, and
that's got to be done in advance. If you've spent more than
you can afford and your friends and family don't come
through, you could find yourself collecting empty deposit
bottles to raise some vacation spending cash.
* Beware of expiration dates.
Always ask, particularly when dealing with lodging chains.
Starwood's registry gifts, for example, expire two years
after their purchase date.
* Don't assume you're getting a good deal.
In fact, you're probably not. As soon as you use the word
"wedding" in a discussion with travel professionals, they
know there's an opportunity to get you to spend more than
you'd normally be willing to part with.
Well, that's it for this week, group. Thanks again for
reading, and please keep those comments, complaints and
questions coming in.
You can send me an e-mail message at: Email Pierce
Until next week, thanks for reading.
Your Tipmeister,
Pierce
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