Re: No Thanks!

On 11/18/11, Dick wrote:
> Hello Daclan: I'm sorry but you can protest till the cows come
> home, I have asked for quotes every year for the last 15 and
> the smaller companies are always more expensive. I am not
> plugging EF or Explorica but they are the 2 that always come
> our cheapest and seriously, my kids have a great tour every
> time. It is always the adults who complain. The adults who go
> for free I might add. Kids are rarely disgruntled and they
> get the same experience paying $1,000 less than were they
> staying in a 5 star hotel as opposed to a 3. I've used both EF
> and Explorica and they are identical but they are the 2 that
> I will continue to consider.
>
> DICK
>
>
>Dick, I totally have to agree with you. I have been traveling with EF for the last six
consecutive years and I am very pleased with them. My students
love it and have never complained. Like you said, it is always
the adults that complain. The hotels that we have stayed in
have been comfortable and very clean and the meals have been
great. EF offers the best price in the market. Other companies
charge anywhere from $500 to $1,000 more for the same tours. I
would like to add that I travel with EF not because of the
incentives but to be able to offer my students an unforgetable
cultural learning experience that they are not able to afford
with other companies.
>
>
>
> On 10/25/11, Declan Pratt wrote:
>> Dick, I am afraid I have to disagree with you also. Full
>> disclosure: Like Dave (who I do not know) I am an
>> educational travel company veteran who now owns & operates
>> his own company customizing tours both within the US &
>> overseas. You claim Dick that small/independent tour
>> operators are always more expensive, but that is simply not
>> true. At Global Explorers LLC we specifically aim to match
>> or better the prices of the cheapest of the major operators
>> (EF & Explorica) whilst offering what we (& our many return
>> group leaders) consider to be a far better tour - better &
>> centrally-located hotels, better & more logically-located
>> restaurants, customized sightseeing that fits the group's
>> wants & needs. We offer all this with the same levels of
>> liability insurance etc that the large operators offer, for
>> a similar or better price. As you said, it's not rocket
>> science - we don't have a huge office building in Boston on
>> a street named after our company (EF) or any of the other
>> huge overheads. Similarly whilst we do offer a ratio of
>> free places, we don't offer travel rewards etc. But the
>> dedicated & experienced educators who have chosen to travel
>> with us are not in it to get a new laptop at their
>> students' expense so a quality trip at a great price has
>> worked well for us as a business model. Please try more
>> small/independent operators & don't assume all (I agree
>> some are) will be higher priced. Best of luck in your
>> future travels, Declan