Review: Guerrilla Travel Tactics
Posted: Saturday, June 04, 2005
by ngoldman
Norm Goldman
Authors: Jay Conrad Levinson and Theo Brandt-Sarif Publisher: American Management Association ISBN: 08144-7170-6 This review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews : To read Norm's interview with the author click HERE
If there is one lesson I have discovered over my umpteen years of travelling is that you need to be very creative when coordinating your jaunts in order to glean the most advantageous deals.
This book aspires to be the bible for the cost conscious business or leisure traveler, and it definitely has reached its objectives. Particularly, when you take into consideration that within the pages of one book you have practical replies to the how’s, when’s, where’s, and why’s of the travel industry pertaining to travel costs and more.
The authors advocate, “that guerrilla travelers achieve conventional goals using unconventional means," or as I mentioned earlier, creativity.
No matter if it be airline reservations, hotel accommodations, car rentals, frequent flyer points, or anything else related to travel, it is you alone that has to seek out the bargains and not a travel agent, who for the most part does not have your interest at heart.
A good portion of Guerrilla Travel Tactics is allotted to airlines such as: airfare savings, lounge membership, alliances, navigating the Internet to weed out great deals, getting the most out of frequent flyer points, and seating.
Are you cognizant that when it comes to flying, not all air miles are created equal? Some airlines may give fewer miles when flying at discounted rate.
Would you give up a first class seat that you may have been upgraded to for an aisle coach seat next to a vacant seat and how do you go about securing this seat?
These and many more are some of the “treats" that are delivered to the reader. The remaining sections are devoted to hotels, car rentals, affinity cards, and even how to effectively lodge a complaint.
Of special interest are the informative sidebars of tips and alerts, as well as the appendixes. Are you mindful that booking a deeply discounted hotel room online many sometimes be non-refundable be sure to check over the fine print. If you are concerned about your hotel room, it is a good idea to tip the bellman before checking in and inquiring which rooms he would choose for himself, if he were with his spouse.
Here is one tip I found quite interesting- one of the biggest cons around in travel is paying $495 to become a travel agent without IATA certification. Hotels and airlines are not stupid and they will not provide discounted rooms or airfare for these “so-called" travel agents.
A helpful appendix lists the major airlines, hotels chains, car rentals companies, and hotel consolidators, indicating their web sites and telephone numbers. You also have information pertaining to the frequent flyer plans of each U.S. and International airline, as well as the credit card information pertaining to them.
The authors’ breezy and enlightening style of writing make this frequently dry topic as appealing as it can ever hope to get, while at the same time imparting some super useful information.
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