EuroWorld Holidays works with your group to make their European trip the most memorable ever. Together, all as equal partners with my reliable European and river cruise suppliers, we design a special program that takes into account the most important destinations, experiences and budget.
We give you an opportunity to work directly with 12 of the top professional
central European ground agents/DMC's (Destination Management Companies) and 5
European-based river cruise companies. The DMC’s customize all group
itineraries and specialize in operating senior tours, corporate incentives and
meetings, ad hoc and affinity groups, at a competitive price within their
locality and their areas of expertise.
How would our relationship work on a logistics basis?
When organizing a group program with us, you would talk initially with
EuroWorld Holidays to set up a sample itinerary. I would consult with my DMC partners
and they would come back with suggestions on how to make the program flow
better, or to make it less expensive. Once an itinerary is agreed upon, we
would initiate costing procedures and get back to you with a formal proposal in
writing with dates, rates and specific program inclusives. When we have reached
an agreement in principal, a contract would be written by my DMC partner and
sent directly to your travel company. A signed copy would be returned
with the stipulated deposit amount, if needed, directly to that DMC. All
payments are made directly to them and I act as a troubleshooter, until the
program operates. It is important to note that there will be no more than one
or two expert travel organizers, at the most, that you will have relations with
at each DMC's headquarters office. All organizers speak fluent English and
they are prepared to communicate with you by phone, fax and/or email.
There is generally a reasonable amount of flexibility with deposits and
scheduled payments, depending on the hotels and availability. The most
important point in a solid business relationship is honesty and communication.
All land program quotations are made only in guaranteed local European
currencies, usually the Euro, and the Swiss franc, when in Switzerland. This
financial arrangement minimizes your prices and maximizes your profits. In some
instances, special payments can be made in U.S. dollars and converted into the
applicable local European currency by the DMC partner through their bank. This
is the next best method of payment. We always discourage exchanging U.S.
dollars into European currency with your local banks primarily due to the fact
that exchange rates in the U.S. are not competitive. EuroWorld Holidays can
also recommend trusted companies that will assist you with checks and/or bank
wire transfers in European currencies. We can also discuss with you, at length,
the financial benefits at your disposal when you are willing to take currency
exchange responsibilities. After all, why pay a large multinational land
operator up to 20% extra, just to be your European banker. That makes no
financial sense at all. Plus, you can put as much commission as you want onto
these noncommissionable prices as the programs are customized for you and they
are not published in any brochure.
We usually give you a choice of booking 3-5 star hotels. They could include;
superior tourist class (when applicable), first class and/or deluxe hotels for
your group programs. We always recommend that they be centrally located in and
around the city centers, unless otherwise specified. We will also try to
recommend properties that we consider to be "good values". My DMC partners know
all their local hotels intimately, both good and bad.
It is also worth noting that EuroWorld Holidays and our ground operator
partners make quotations only when we are holding confirmed hotel space (specific number
of rooms and exact dates only). If hotel rooms are not available during your
preferred dates, we will suggest flexibility. EuroWorld Holidays encourages
date flexibility, whenever possible, in order to allow our ground operator
partners the opportunity to negotiate better than published group hotel rates
on your behalf. Once dates are confirmed, you can be confident that your group
is positively booked. We do not use bait and switch tactics, as is often used
by many large multinational land operators. This questionable ploy allows them
to switch your guaranteed hotel to another less interesting property within
their specified price categories. These changes will cost you more money in the
long run, and it will often make you look bad in front of your group customers.
When do I meet the DMC's? Do they do sales calls here?
As previously discussed, an introduction to my ground operators is usually made
after initial deposits are received and the contract has been signed between
your group travel company and my local European DMC partner. A formal
introduction can also be made earlier in the process, if agreeable to all
parties.
Many of my DMC partners do come to the Chicago area to do formal sales calls at
least once a year. Most of them are in the Chicago area for several days in the
fall at the annual ITME (Incentive Travel & Meeting Exposition) that is held at
McCormick Place. The next convention is from September 23-25, 2008. Scheduled
appointments for personal introductions to EuroWorld's DMC partners at ITME
should be made well before the show begins. Personal sales calls are also
possible at your Chicago area office, usually on the day before the show opens.
EuroWorld Holidays utilizes our expertise while facilitating communication and
ideas between group travel companies, like yours, and the ground operators.
When we all come to agreements on your group programs, they get your business.
How to use European tourist offices as providers of valuable free information.
This could include; city and country maps, brochures, listings of special
events, local specialty products and savvy travel tips.
Scheduling of videos, CD's and/or slide show presentations to your group, or
potential group gatherings, that, when combined with practical travel tips,
will allow your group participants to feel more comfortable and confident
during their upcoming European travel experiences. Photos from our personal
collection of slides are available to print on brochures and websites.
Extensive files and practical personal travel information on various central
European destinations, trains, river cruise ships, hotels, restaurants,
museums, upcoming events, local specialty products, souvenirs, etc.
Opportunity to partner, or possibly, sell into, various programs with other
EuroWorld group travel clients. We will recommend appropriate exchange rates
and commission levels to facilitate individual buy-ins.
27 years of personal experience in traveling across Europe and 24 years of
organizing European travel groups for students, leisure tour groups,
congresses, conventions, corporate meetings and incentives.
What European countries & destinations are covered?
EuroWorld DMC partners are based in the following locations:
Paris, France Specializing in Paris, cruises on the Seine River, Normandy, the Loire Valley and the Ile-de-France. As this partner used to work with a major European land operator, it is also possible to arrange motorcoach tours that would cover the entire country of France. Creativity, excellent hotel contacts and an intimate knowledge of Paris make them exceptional partners.
Lyon, France Specializing in the Saone/Rhone River region, barge and river cruises, wine tours from Beaujolais and Burgundy, to the Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf-du-Pape region. Lyon is their home base but they can also operate programs in Provence, Nice/Monte Carlo and Geneva, Switzerland, among others.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands Specializing in all parts of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. An extremely innovative DMC partner that can arrange anything from brewery tours to visiting tulip fields to elegant evening functions to excursions through various World War I and World War II sites.
Lucerne, Switzerland Specializing in programs to Switzerland and Italy for coach tours, FITS, incentives and corporate meetings. Always very "can do" and extremely efficient. This partner can organize train tours through Switzerland, castle dinners, golf outings and private dinner cruises on the beautiful Swiss mountain lakes. They can also arrange coach tours through central Europe out of the Zurich and Geneva international airport gateways.
Prague, The Czech Republic Specializing in group programs in the beautiful city of Prague, the spa towns and the wonderfully quaint villages in the Czech countryside. They can organize tours to crystal glass factories and to the world-renowned breweries of the country.
Vienna, Austria They also have a branch office in Salzburg. Specializing in programs to Vienna, the Danube River area and Salzburg. They can also arrange formal dinner parties in the beautiful castles and palaces located in and around Vienna, opera tickets, and wine tastings in the Wachau region.
Budapest, Hungary Specializing in travel programs in Budapest and throughout Hungary. Their high quality is only exceeded by their excellent prices and their great relationships with the local hotels. Their local DMC partners in places like Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia and Romania allow travelers to be confident in organizing extension programs into these lesser-traveled areas.
Munich, Germany Specializing in land programs in southern and western Germany, as well as, parts of the surrounding countries. This DMC is an excellent land operator for coach tours extending throughout central Europe from the Frankfurt and/or the Munich gateway. They also work with tickets and corresponding land programs for groups to the Oberammergau Passion Play that will take place again in 2010.
Madrid, Spain This DMC has a long history of working with American travelcompanies and they are known as one of the top ground operators in all of Spain. Besides the Madrid home office, there are branches located in Madrid and Seville to further service group and incentive programs throughout all parts of Spain. We are pleased to advise our potential group clients that partner is also experienced in organizing wine tours.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
This new DMC partner for EuroWorld Holidays is based in one of the most beautiful cities in southern Europe. They are extremely versatile as they are able to operate group programs in all of Croatia from Istria to Zagreb to Plitvice, and south along the coast to their home office in Dubrovnik. All of the republics of ex-Yugoslavia can be visited with their expert assistance. We encourage our groups to consider tours through Slovenia (Bled and Ljubljana), Bosnia-Herzogovina (Mostar and Sarajevo), Serbia (Belgrade and Novi Sad) and into the up and coming destination of Montenegro. We also work with this DMC on 7 night cruises along Croatia's beautiful Adriatic coast from Rijeka to Kotor Bay and back to Rijeka.
What river cruise companies do you represent? Why are
they so exceptionally priced?
First of all, I currently work with 5 major European-based river cruise
companies on a group and/or charter program basis. I also partner with a German
company that is considered to be a "cruise broker". This partner is extremely
valuable as they allow me to expand the number of ships and river cruise lines
that I can work with on a group basis.
When you contact EuroWorld Holidays, you provide me with detailed information
on your potential group program. This would include the following; The period
of time that your group wants to travel, which river is most interesting, the
minimum and maximum number of expected travelers, the budget range, preferable
number of days on the ship, anticipated land arrangements needed on a pre-
and/or post-cruise basis. I take all this important information, look at the
ships from the 5 companies I work with on a regular basis and consult with my
"cruise broker" so that he can also look for the best match for your group.
When our search is completed, we send the information to the travel company
and/or the group leader for questions, revisions, comments, final itinerary
approval and pricing.
The cruise prices are so exceptional for many of the same reasons that our land
programs are:
We eliminate the currency markup differential and allow you
to earn additional revenue by accepting the currency exchange
responsibilities, as our prices are quoted in Euros.
By working with
European-based river cruise companies that do not have major sales and
marketing offices in the U.S., you are eliminating the bloated bureaucracies
that force these major U.S.-based cruise lines to charge your group for their
astronomical budgets for these services. These are totally unnecessary
expenses for your group’s purposes.
Finally, our "hardware," better known among the traveling public as river
cruise ships, match up very well to our competitors on a first class, and even
with the so-called, “deluxe ships.” Minor differences do exist on routing and
services on board, as each ship and cruise line have different policies.
Another of our advantages over our competition is that port taxes are already
included in our cruise prices. Plus, we can keep tours offered from the ship on
an optional basis, or we can cost them into the program on a group basis, it’s
your choice. It is a disadvantage, especially on a pricing basis, to be talked
into a "one size fits all" approach. Your group does have choices in the
marketplace so why pay twice as much for a similar ship and a comparable
program. Please review the specifics of the river cruise description and information for each group package. All we ask is for you to give us an opportunity to show you why it is
in your group's best interest to work with EuroWorld Holidays.
When should our group begin planning for a 2009 European river cruise?
It is best to start planning for 2009 soon after January 1, 2008. Many of the European-based cruise lines begin finalizing their schedules in late January/early February. By this time, they have already issued contracts for the majority of their charter customers and they have probably satisfied the date demands for their tour operator partners who plan multiple departure programs. Usually, by mid-February, or shortly thereafter, they are ready to take firm requests for groups that are interested in a single departure. As you can imagine, the longer you wait to put in your request, the more competition there is for the best dates, for your preferred itinerary and for the newest ships. Please review the specifics of the river cruise description and information for each group package.
