When winter dominates outside and summer holidays with hot sun and alluring beaches it seems somewhere in the sky-high distance... It was at this time that travel agencies begin to announce a promotion called “ early booking"and offer summer tours on very attractive terms.

Many tourists who were hoping to slowly take a closer look and ask the price of offers for the upcoming season, or even grab luck by the tail in the form of last-minute travel packages, find themselves at a loss. What to do: book a tour in advance or wait until the last minute?

In order to make the right choice, you must first understand what, exactly, early booking is and what pros and cons it has? Read our material and you will find out in what situations it is more profitable to use this service.

So, early booking of tours- this is a specially developed system in which a travel agency books you a place in a hotel before the start of the so-called. "high season" in the country where you want to go. At the same time, you receive a significant discount on the tour.

For example, you are planning to relax in Turkey, where the high season begins in May. This means that in order to receive a discount on this promotion, you must book and pay for the tour before the beginning of May, even if your trip takes place in October. In the early booking rules, the tour operator clearly indicates all its conditions: the start and end date of the promotion, within what period full payment must be made, the amount of the discount and penalties for subsequent cancellation of the tour.

The size of early booking discounts depends on the tour operator and the country you are planning to visit. Usually the discount is about 15%, sometimes it reaches 30% and even 50%. It's about about the discount that is provided for accommodation as part of a tour package. The question arises, how is such a reduction in cost possible?

The fact is that it is more convenient for hoteliers to plan the occupancy of rooms in advance and receive money for them, which is necessary for the normal operation of the hotel. It is more profitable for them to give a significant discount to tour operators for early bookings and distribute the entire block of seats than to solve the problem of unfilled rooms during the peak season, losing even more significant amounts on “last minute” rooms. When booking early, it is easier to analyze which countries the bulk of tourists will come from, which means which menu to choose, which animators to invite for the summer season, etc.

The early booking service is also beneficial because by using it, you don’t have to worry about currency exchange rate fluctuations (as a rule, the rate rises throughout the high season). Once you have paid for the tour, any changes in the foreign exchange market no longer affect the cost of the tour. You will not need to make any additional payments if prices for hotels and air flights increase.

Another great advantage of early booking is the freedom to choose a suitable hotel and room. Travel agencies offer tourists a huge selection of hotels of different categories. And each hotel, in addition to the generally accepted objective parameters (star rating, type of food, area, additional infrastructure, etc.), has one very important subjective characteristic, which tourists are often guided by when choosing a tour. This is the popularity of the hotel, which is based on a reasonable price-quality ratio, on such important “little things” as the friendliness of the staff, the quality of food in the restaurant, and the attractiveness of the animation programs.

The most popular hotels are those that have the best price among equal in quality or the best quality among equal in price. They are in demand among tourists from all countries where similar promotions also take place. Such hotels are the first to be sold out, and by the middle of the season there are usually no vacancies in them (as managers say, the hotel becomes “stopped”). Therefore, the likelihood of purchasing a tour to a decent hotel at a good price shortly before departure is practically zero (not counting random last-minute offers that arise in the event of someone’s refusal, etc.). This is why experienced tourists use early booking services.

During the early booking period, a travel agency has much more opportunities to choose the optimal conditions for each specific tourist: not only a convenient flight and the best hotel, but also the most successful room. Indeed, in many hotels, not every room has a balcony overlooking the sea or pool. When booking in advance, you get an advantage in choosing a room upon check-in (except in cases where an additional fee is charged for such a service), since all wishes of tourists are considered at the hotel in the order in which booking requests are received.

By the way, this is why early booking is especially convenient for families with two or more children, because in hotels the number spacious rooms, as a rule, is limited.

You must understand that all the advantages of early booking are balanced by the rather strict conditions of this promotion. When purchasing a tour, you must immediately pay 100% of its cost. If for some reason you later cancel the paid tour, the tour operator will charge a fine ranging from 50% to, often, 100% of the cost of the tour. After the end of the promotion, changes in the last name, travel dates, number of people, room category in bookings are, as a rule, not permitted. Although, when choosing a tour, you should carefully read the contract and discuss all possible nuances with a company specialist. All changes are made according to the tariffs in effect on the day of the changes.

Thus, early booking services are beneficial:

  • Families with children. It's no secret that a children's holiday requires a good hotel with baby food, swimming pools, playgrounds, animation, mini-clubs and increased requirements for cleanliness and comfort. And everyone understands that these are not the cheapest hotels. When booking early, you will save from 20 to 40% of the seasonal cost, and you can also choose a hotel where children stay for free or receive big discounts for accommodation.
  • For those who prefer good expensive hotels, because When booking early, the discount goes specifically to the hotel; the savings will be maximum on good hotels.
  • For those who need a holiday in a specific hotel. If you book a hotel in advance, when the hotel is not yet full, there is a guarantee of confirmation up to a specific room.
  • For those who are planning a vacation with a large group. Again, early booking is a guarantee of a sufficient number of rooms in a certain (especially small) hotel.
  • .For those who plan their vacation at times of peak demand (periods of the highest season, popular holidays, during school holidays and so on.).

Now a little about last-minute tours as an alternative to early booking. Closer to the departure date, last-minute tours appear, sometimes with very attractive prices, which imply a quick decision and departure in the coming days. There are several reasons for the appearance of such tours: a tourist’s refusal of a trip, a failure in the reservation system (when rooms that were considered sold out long ago appear), etc.

When hotels that are overpriced relative to the declared quality remain on sale, last-minute tours seem especially attractive. But you need to understand that you will still have to choose from what is left, and often it will not be what you would like. And if you have planned your summer rest In July-August, it’s better not to count on last-minute tours at all. This period is the most popular among vacationers, and demand here exceeds supply.

In addition, it is not a fact that the price for a hot tour will be lower than what you would pay if you booked early. After all, it is often simply impossible to predict what prices will be in the high season, what the cost of last-minute tours will be and whether there will be any at all.

Therefore, it makes sense to count on last-minute tours only in the following cases:

  • if you absolutely do not care when to fly;
  • if you are more attracted by the low price than the optimal price-quality ratio (for example, if you are not going to spend a lot of time on the hotel premises, you plan to attend many excursions, discos, etc.);
  • if you only need air tickets, since often air tickets as part of a last-minute tour are cheaper than when purchasing tickets separately.

If you are a supporter of thoughtful decisions and are used to planning your vacation in advance, you should not buy tours in a hurry. After all, what your vacation will be like depends largely on the hotel you choose. By using the early booking service, you can not only significantly save your budget, but also choose the best accommodation option.

If you have decided on a hotel and are sure that you will be provided with a vacation on time, you can safely use this service. No wonder it is so popular in the world now. According to statistics, ¾ of European tourists resort to early booking. In our country, the popularity of this service is also growing every year. You too will appreciate all its advantages!

Early booking is a profitable purchase of a tour with discounts from 10 to 50 percent. As well as the opportunity to plan your budget and vacation in advance.

Why should you book your tour in advance? 5 reasons.

1. The opportunity to save money and gain mutual benefits.

If you book a tour using the early booking system, this means that the tour must be purchased before the start tourist season, for example, a few months before your trip. All tour operators and hotels are very interested in selling as many tours as possible by the beginning of the season, thereby providing themselves with clients and preventing themselves from economic worries and various situations. Hotels want to have a large number of tourists, so they give good discounts. Likewise, tour operators have their own interest in planning tours in advance. By providing discounts on ready-made tours, tour operators thereby reduce the risks of not selling tours. As a result, the discount under the early booking system is obtained from the discount of the hotel and a specific tour operator. The discount greatly depends on the hotel and destination. Typically it ranges from 10 to 50 percent. Early booking means buying a tour at a profit!

2. Large selection of tours.

If you are thinking about a summer vacation in winter, or in summer about winter holidays, then you have an amazing opportunity to choose any hotel that is presented by the tour operator from whom you are going on vacation. Before the start of the summer season, almost all hotels are free and bookings are confirmed quickly. As everyone knows - best deals sell out first. Don't miss the chance to be among those lucky ones who vacation in best hotels during the peak season, paying a low price for the tour!

3. Tour planning.

Early booking gives you a great opportunity to plan your trip! You will be able to choose a hotel and airline in advance, purchase the necessary things and pack your suitcase, make an excursion and entertainment program, read the information about the country you are going to. In general, you will have a lot of time to plan your vacation in the way that seems ideal to you.

4. Flight.

If you book a tour in advance, then you have the right to choose a flight from your favorite airline, as well as on the desired dates and convenient departure times. For example, this could be an early flight (morning) to the planned country, and a late flight (evening or night) back. Convenient isn't it? Thus, with the early booking promotion, you can choose any flights that will be accessible and convenient for you and your family!

5. When does the early booking promotion take place?

Typically, tour operators conduct early booking promotions 2 times a year - before the start of the summer and winter seasons. This way you can buy tours with discounts all year round! For example, book a vacation in Turkey in February for June, and in July book a trip to Thailand for January or Austria for New Year's dates. So plan your vacation in advance, save money and bask in the pleasant thoughts that in a few months you will go to long-awaited trip which will bring a lot of emotions and pleasure!

Where to buy a tour with early booking promotion?

It is best to buy a tour with an early booking promotion from a reliable and proven tour search engine. For example, from the site tour-poisk.com - where you can choose a tour at the best price and compare prices from a large number of reliable tour operators in Russia.

Which hotel should you choose?

Of course you want to choose only the best hotel to spend unforgettable vacation. On the page: the best hotels - a selection of hotels that you will want to return to again and again! Why guess, read a bunch of reviews, and so on, when there is already a formed database of the best hotels, selected by professionals!

30 words about early booking:

If you don't have time to read. Using a specific example. Early booking is when you buy a September tour to the Canary Islands in February for 149,000 rubles, in May – 170,000 rubles, and in August – 195,000 rubles. The price of a tour increases closer to the departure date in approximately the same proportions.

And now let’s learn more about what early booking is, what subtleties a tourist needs to know, how to understand whether it’s worth buying a tour in advance, or leaving the purchase until the last hour.

What is an early booking promotion?

Early booking promotions are seasonal offers from tour operators. This is when it makes sense to buy the same tours that you can buy in the summer in advance, but (!) at a better price.

Who sets the prices and rules of the game? Travel agency?

Tour operators themselves determine prices and time limits. For example, a special offer is valid from February to March, or from January to April. The tour operator also decides what the price will be.

The practice is that such early booking promotions are held 2 times a year: in spring and autumn. In the spring you can buy a tour with an early booking promotion for the summer, and at the end of the summer the winter offers begin to apply.

Which countries are the most popular and what are the benefits of early booking promotions?

The most popular early booking promotions for summer are Canary Islands and Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, as well as other countries of southern Europe, where tourists are accustomed to a good and comfortable annual holiday.

Using our example, which we described at the beginning of the article, you can clearly see what the price for the Canary Islands was in the spring (according to the early booking promotion), and what it became towards the end of summer.

There is a tangible benefit to this. You pay less, just in advance. Usually 20-30 percent. And 3-4 months before departure.

The same thing happens with New Year's tours.

Buy a tour for the New Year in August, and you will see that in October-November (provided that by this time they are not sold out yet!) it will cost at least 1.5 times more.

What is early booking? And how profitable is it?

Those. no longer 60,000, but 90,000 rubles (the numbers are given as an example). As we can see, the benefit of up to 20-30% when purchasing a tour with the early booking promotion is obvious!

  • Favorable tour price for early booking promotion is the first advantage

Let's talk about something else. It often happens that you are looking for a tour shortly before departure, but the necessary offers, hotels, rooms are no longer available. Has it happened? So what remains for the tourist? Choose from what is available, what is left on this moment. But this choice is not always pleasing, don’t you agree? If you wanted to go to 4, you go to 3. I dreamed of a sea view, but got a city view. So, lo and behold! When purchasing a tour with an early booking promotion, you have a completely blank slate - almost all hotels and dates are available. And the earlier you deal with the issue of booking, the wider your choice.

  • A wide range of offers is the second advantage

So, everything is clear on the pluses. Convenient, profitable, in advance, profit! Now about the cons. But they exist. Welcome, now we’ll find out what subtleties a tourist needs to know when purchasing such a tour.

What does a tourist need to know about the features of early booking?

The most important feature Early booking (!) is the procedure for paying for the tour. For some tour operators, it can be installed even within 3 days after the tour is confirmed. For many offers, the payment deadline ends on the last date of the month. For example, April 30. Those. it may look like this: the tour for September must be 100% paid before April 30.

How can I find out the payment procedure?

When you contact a travel agency, the travel agent selects an early booking tour for you. Then he clarifies the payment procedure for the special offer that you liked. Then he tells you this payment procedure. And you decide whether it’s convenient for you to pay this way or not. Will you be able to deposit 50% in a couple of days, and another 50% (let’s say) in two weeks, or won’t you be able to?

  • The payment procedure is important

Who sets the payment procedure?

The payment procedure, as we already know, is established by the tour operator. Each offer may have its own procedure, and it is better for you to clarify this issue with a travel agency employee at the time of purchasing the tour. In this case, you will be able to plan your payments and pay for the tour on time.

  • You need to know the procedure for paying for a tour under the early booking promotion

What else is important? And that's not a plus

Be sure to remember and write it down in your notebook if you don’t remember. It’s not so easy to cancel a tour purchased through an early booking promotion. And it happens! I made a reservation, but I can’t go. But what to do if you bought a tour but can’t go? If you cancel the tour (most likely), you will need to pay a fine that the tour operator will impose for canceling the tour, or find other tourists (replacement) and change the tourists’ data.

  • Difficulties in canceling a tour purchased through an early booking promotion

These 2 features of buying a tour with early booking promotions that you just learned about are perhaps the most important. It's better to think about this in advance. You never know if your vacation will have to be canceled or unforeseen matters will arise.

Perhaps you would like to know about current promotions, countries, resorts and prices. Our staff will be happy to help you in this matter. All you need to do is just call our office or leave a request. Submit a request now

How popular are early booking promotions among tourists?

Popular. Quite. Those who know exactly the dates of their vacation, those who have planned a budget, those who have calculated that it is convenient and profitable, buy in advance. There are more and more such people. Which means that favorable prices it's not cheating. And people really felt and saw real benefits from such a purchase. Unfortunately, not every person will be able to buy such a tour. Why? This primarily applies to those whose vacation (vacation dates) are determined shortly before departure.

  • If you do not know the specific dates of your vacation, then it is unlikely that you will be able to buy a tour with an early booking promotion.

What's the result?

  • There are early booking promotions that make it convenient to buy a tour.
  • There are pros and cons. The advantages are price and choice, the disadvantages are payment and cancellation.
  • In winter we buy for summer, in summer for winter
  • The choice to buy or not to buy is yours.

To buy or not to buy – that is the question?

Whether to buy a tour with the early booking promotion or not to buy is your decision! Weigh the pros and cons. Evaluate the profitability of the offers. Right now you can find out from our employees what early booking promotions are currently in effect. Just leave a request for a specific country, dates, time period, and we will definitely find you a great offer at a competitive price.

+ Free Bonus for our clients: reference materials How long to fly from Yekaterinburg to the most popular resorts

Tell us about it now

How to choose a last minute tour

How to choose a last minute tour | We answer

This article presents the whole truth about last-minute travel packages.

Last minute trips are very popular due to their low cost. Tours to the same country for the same duration can cost half as much. Tour operators often offer discounts that are even more profitable than 50%. You can really get to your favorite country with a good discount! Search best options for yourself, be vigilant and remember that vacation with minimal costs is also possible.

Advantages

There are a lot of last minute trips to countries that are popular for holidays: Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria. Tours to these countries are booked in bulk.

As a rule, it is not possible to sell all the tours and the travel agency begins to lower prices. A person who is “sitting on suitcases” and eager to go to any country just to relax can take advantage of this chance. First of all, you should understand that a last-minute tour is not a gift to you. The company provides a service - it sells the voucher cheaper, and you help the company not to go into the red and not let the voucher burn out.

Underwater rocks

Last minute tours are intended for those who depend only on themselves and are able to quickly make a decision. But there is one cunning marketing ploy used by many companies.

Dispelling 7 myths about “Early Booking”

They lure customers with imaginary last-minute tours. It turns out to be quite effective advertising - a real trick for consumers: they are allegedly selling a last-minute ticket at a full price. To avoid falling into this trap, don’t be lazy to compare prices. Don't go for too low a price. Before signing any contract, study it carefully. The contract must specify return flights, the name of the hotel and the number of stars.

How to find a last minute tour

Finding a last minute trip directly depends on the popularity of the country in a given period of time. Don't forget to resolve your visa issue in advance. If it is not needed to travel to the desired country, this is a double plus. There are many websites on the Internet that offer last-minute tours. What points should you pay attention to when searching for them?

  • Often travel agencies offer discounts on tours if you ask to book something. This happens due to the fact that you save their time, eliminating the need to select a ticket for you. Certain companies write: “Providing a discount when booking a tour from the website.”
  • Do not ignore the number of days on the tour. Not infrequently, last-minute tours at low cost are vacations of up to four days. This option is not always suitable for everyone.
  • Don't forget about seasonality. When the time approaches the peak season, the price of all tours increases.
  • If you need to get to the departure city, think in advance how you will organize this. This point is important to consider before purchasing a tour. During the season, it is not easy to purchase train tickets to cities facing the sea.

How to look for a last minute ticket

You will need

  • computer, internet access

Instructions

In order to find out about the availability and cost of last-minute trips to the country you are interested in, contact any travel agency or last-minute tour store.

Let the manager know that you are interested in these types of offers.

To find last-minute tours yourself, make a list of travel operators you trust and use their services. Some of the most popular Russian tour operators are Tez Tour, Pegas Touristik, Coral Travel, Natalie Tours, S7 TOUR, Sunrise Tour, Transaero Tour, Biblio-Globus, Sunmar Tour, Neva Travel Agency, Anex Tour and others. Go to their websites one by one and enter the criteria you need in the standard tour search engine. As a rule, last-minute trips appear 1-3 days before the start of the trip, keep this in mind when choosing your departure date. To see more full list offers, enter only mandatory criteria in the search engine, such as the city of departure, country and number of tourists.

Consider travel options to different countries, because... There may not be a similar offer to the country you are interested in, but there will be last-minute tours to another, no less interesting one.

There are usually more last-minute offers in the capitals, this is due to the huge number of flights at airports compared to other cities. Consider flying not only from your city, but from all nearby international airports.

Once you find a trip option that suits you, do not delay in paying for it, because... last-minute offers will most likely be of interest not only to you and may quickly disappear. Please note that you may need to depart on the same day.

Pay for your chosen tour on the website using a plastic card or at a travel agency nearest to you. Many travel companies give an additional discount on the trip if you find it yourself and do not use the services of managers.

A last minute tour is a good way to relax while saving a significant amount. Any trip usually includes air/train tickets, reserved seats at the hotel, transfer and insurance. Generates such a package tourism services tour operator Sometimes it happens that he bought a block of seats on a plane/hotel in advance and was unable to sell them before the start of the tour. Then, a few days before arrival, the tour operator sharply reduces prices for tours. A last minute trip in this case can cost several times cheaper or even be offered at the price of a flight to a given country.

Instructions

To find a really good last minute tour, take a few preliminary steps. Before you start looking for a last minute tour, try to clearly define your own vacation requirements. Answer the following questions for yourself:

– in which country do you want to relax;

– what attracts you to this country – beach holiday, ski resorts, sightseeing, historical excursions, shopping, etc.; – what budget do you plan to allocate for your vacation; – which city is preferable for your trip; – what level of hotel and with what infrastructure would suit you; – which tour operators organize tours to the chosen country in your city; – what you might neglect when choosing a hotel/city/country. After this, familiarize yourself with the hotel database of the selected country or city - decide which hotels you would like to go to, and, conversely, which one is not suitable for you under any circumstances. Also decide which tour operator you would like to travel with, since its work also largely determines how comfortable your vacation will be. This preparation is necessary so that you can quickly make a decision on purchasing a particular tour. In the decision-making process, you may simply not have time to even briefly familiarize yourself with the infrastructure and location of the hotel, as well as reviews of the hotel or tour operator. So, the country and city of your holiday have been determined, the list of your favorite hotels and tour operators is in your hands, start actually searching for a last-minute tour. Go to the website http://ruspo.ru/ - this is one of the few free tour search systems from all the largest tour operators in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc. On the main page, select the “Last Minute Tours” category. Specify the search parameters for tours - departure city, country and city of vacation, departure dates and number of nights of stay, number of guests, hotel category, meals, tour cost. In a few seconds the system will display possible options rest according to specified parameters. Choose the one that suits you best and go to the official website of the tour operator who offered this tour. On the tour operator's website, by filling out a similar search form, make sure that such a tour is available. Now all that remains is to purchase the last-minute tour you found at the nearest travel agency.

Helpful advice

If you need to monitor prices for tours, subscribe to free newsletters of last-minute tours on travel sites such as “Vacation Shop” (http://maot.ru) or “Buy a Vacation” (http://kupiotpusk.ru).

  • Search for a tour from tour operators

note

Be careful with visa information. Find out whether a visa is required for your chosen country and how long it takes.

  • Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators
  • where to look for last minute tours

How to choose a last minute tour

Last minute tours always have their own clientele, but before you take advantage of such a trip, you need to have a clear idea of ​​what it is and how to use it. It is important to get answers to other questions as well.

Why "burning"?

Most often, “last minute tours” mean tours that were not sold out due to early booking. The cost of such a tour decreases the closer the departure date. It is important to understand what is still burning: hotel reservations or plane tickets?

If tickets are “burning”, it means that the company has bought seats on a certain flight; if it comes to hotels, therefore, a certain number of seats have been booked. It was not possible to sell these vouchers until a specific date, so they were transferred to the “last minute” category.

For a tourist, the second option is preferable, since a cheap hotel may be included with the ticket, but when it comes to the hotel, it was a four-star hotel and will remain so.

Why such low prices?

You should not think that the reason for the low price of a tour always lies in the unimplementation of the tour.

Not all last-minute tours are packages of excellent hotels and excursions that have lost value as the departure date approaches. This option is possible and occurs quite often, but it is far from the only one.

The low price may be based on the following factors:

  • Hotels with a small number of stars, inconvenient accommodation, for example, in rooms of small size, without windows or with a bad view of their windows.
  • The hotel itself may not offer tours or entertainment.
  • Frequent night travel. This is possible in case bus tour. You will, of course, save money on a hotel, but you won’t have to wait for comfort. It is quite possible that after several such night trips you will lose any interest in the sights at all.
  • Transfer or other transportation required by the tour package, the level of which is in full agreement with the price of the tour.
  • Placement at random. You pay first for the cheapest accommodation and right before departure, about a day in advance, you will find out which hotel the Fortuna system sent you. The chances of being in the “two” and “four plus” are approximately the same.

The most favorable option for a traveler is the unsold vouchers due to the short-sightedness of the travel agency. For example, a travel agency may miss the mark popular destination season and buy a large number of trips to Egypt, and the people go to Turkey. In this case, you can count on a high-quality package of services.

As you can see, before “falling” for a tempting price, you should inquire about its reason. You definitely won’t have to count on extreme frankness, since this quality is not popular in sales. So be prepared for the fact that you will have to figure out the details yourself in a roundabout way. To help you, guide questions, reviews of hotels, descriptions of the advantages and disadvantages of various brands of vehicles.

Available and unavailable tours

There is an opinion that it is realistic to purchase a “last minute trip” only to countries where a simplified visa regime. It is not true.

You can go to both Ukraine and China - the visa regime does not matter. Although not entirely true. It matters in terms of the date of payment to the agency. If you are traveling to visa-free country, you can purchase a ticket even one day before departure.

When purchasing a trip to a country with which Russia has a visa regime, you will need to pay 1-2 days before the last date for submitting documents for a visa. As a rule, this is within 7-10 days before the departure date. Of course, if you already have a visa, then everything becomes simpler.

Possible clientele

Now let's talk about who is most suitable for last minute tours. This tour is for you if:

  • you have free time, 3-5 day fluctuations in the departure date do not bother you at all;
  • you are not picky, food and living conditions are not particularly important to you;
  • you don’t care which air carrier you use;
  • you are not afraid of the prospect of no last minute tour, and therefore you will spend your vacation in your native land.

The tips below will be useful to those who are still willing to take risks, but travel on a cheap last minute ticket.

  • Take care of your own attitude. Get in the mood that you are going on vacation to another country to change your gray everyday life to the sun and sea (variations are possible). After all, in fact, it’s such a small thing - mold on the shower curtain. If you have the right mindset, this is unlikely to have a significant impact on your mood.
  • It’s better to leave the idea of ​​using a “last minute ticket” on holidays and at the height of the season. At this time, you definitely can’t count on free cheese.
  • Call several travel agencies, look for information on the Internet regarding popular and unpopular destinations this season, compare prices. Travel agents are still interested in selling a trip at a higher price, so it is better not to rely on data only from their lips. Always use multiple sources of information.
  • Give up laziness. You will need unprecedented efficiency, because with a last-minute ticket you can choose today - pay tomorrow - leave the day after tomorrow. You just don't have much time to think.

Early booking or last minute trips?

Positive aspects of the company

Pros:
1.BGT is a large federal chain, tourists follow the name, so even in a crisis there are sales, compared to competitors.
2. As a rule, a pleasant team (depends on the office, but in 90% of cases this is true) and loyal office managers (again, not everywhere).
3. Free training, they hire here with or without experience, they teach you how to sell tours to mass destinations, after leaving here you can easily get a job in another “hot” network.
4.Good organization of the work process, there is its own CRM, a website with various tour options, where clients come from.
5. Offices in the city center.
6. Previously, managers had a real opportunity to grow into office managers, I don’t know how it is now.
7. If you do not work in Yekaterinburg, then an additional plus is the absence of senior management in the office, since the founders of the company moved to Yekaterinburg.

Negative aspects of the company

I worked in the company for almost 3 years, I have a clear understanding of all the problems of this network:
1. “BGT - Large federal network, tourists go by the name” - a plus, also a minus, tourists go by the word “last minute”, everyone will expect discounts from you, ask, beg, beg, you may not give up, but there is a high probability that they won’t buy from you.
The contingent of tourists is also specific, I have heard stories about how a potential client drank vodka in the office while a tour was being arranged for him and about how inadequate tourists ask for a refund just before departure.
2.

7 ways to buy the cheapest tour! How and where to look?

Stupid work schedule, offices are usually open from Monday to Sunday from 10.00 to 22.00, weekends are floating, if your office is in a shopping center, you will work according to the shopping center schedule, even on December 31st and March 8th.
3. Here you will be taught how to sell Turkey 3* and Pattaya 2*, however, in a normal agency with a good clientele, this knowledge is unlikely to be useful to you.
As I already wrote, the average client is not rich, so you are unlikely to calculate individual tour in Fiji with 3 stops, for competitors you will always be a thorn in your side as a “last minute agent”, which means your price on the labor market will not be so high after OSH.
4. I wrote in the pros regarding the organization of the work process, but this is the main disadvantage.
Around 2012, the company changed its marketing concept: they introduced a white top, black bottom uniform, with some kind of pioneer ties, it feels like the management is really looking up to Sberbank))
From that time to the present day, total control of employees has been introduced.
There should certainly be control, as well as the quality of service, but the regulations on regulations on regulations, which are being pushed by the new regulations, are too much...
What is the value of one script for a telephone conversation and the phrase: “We are waiting for you at the bank!”, which should end every conversation, regardless of the question, despite the fact that in the office in front of you there may be a group of tourists who also need advice, but for now you If you don’t ask 15 questions on the form and clarify: “Can I help you with anything else?”, the telephone conversation will not end.
There is still a lot of bureaucracy there, both for employees and for office managers.
5. Probably the most important thing is the salary, with such requirements and workload, an ordinary manager receives a salary of 10 - 15,000 rubles +% of sales, as you understand in the low season and crisis% is not at all high, considering that everyone is waiting for a discount.
And if sales go really badly in winter, you will be offered to work part-time for 5,000 rubles.
In general, I can advise young university graduates without children and families who are ready for overwork and constant monitoring for the sake of experience. I don’t recommend it to others, and an agent with extensive experience won’t go here.

Early booking or last minute tours - the price of the issue.

Early booking

When we plan a vacation, we assume that we can go anywhere we want in any month at any time of the day or night. However, this opinion is erroneous. As a rule, only last-minute trips can be purchased a few days before your vacation. And it is far from a fact that a spontaneous vacation will be successful, since you will not have the opportunity to choose the place and hotel that you have dreamed of going to for so long. The remaining last-minute trips dictate their own rules. When going on a long-awaited vacation, you still want it to be at a decent level. Therefore, the early booking service will give you certain guarantees, relieve you of unnecessary hassle and stress, and besides, this offer will be beneficial for you.

Early booking means purchasing a tour in advance, which allows you to save money. The minimum period for using this service is approximately two months to 25 days. When planning a vacation in advance, a package of services, including choosing a hotel, flight, transfer, has a fixed price, which will not change in the future with an increase in prices for hotel rooms, fuel and, accordingly, the travel itself

Early booking conditions vary from country to country, but the benefits are always clear.
Constantly traveling people already know that it is most profitable to plan a summer vacation in winter in order to save a lot on it.

Advantages of early booking:

– direct discounts from hotels up to 50%

– almost one hundred percent probability of confirmation of hotels in short supply that are in high demand during the season

– with early booking and timely payment, the price of the entire package is fixed and there are no additional payments or recalculations

When you already know exactly where you would like to go on your vacation, the next step is to call travel company. If you go there as soon as possible, then you will not face the risk of missing plane tickets, hotel rooms, or increased prices for tours. Well, of course, by booking your trip in advance, you will pay a lot less money than usual. Acceptable price The explanation of the tour is simple: not only the client benefits, but also the tour operator, who receives a stop sale on the main destinations.

Last minute tours.

To reduce costs for an upcoming vacation, many prefer another way to save, the so-called “last minute tours”.
Pros and cons of the “quick fix”.

Last minute tours are an offer for people who are ready to get to their desired country as soon as possible. At the same time, each person wants to incur as little costs as possible to purchase a long-awaited voucher. Contacting a travel agency to purchase a last-minute tour is a good choice for a vacation at reasonable prices.

A hot tour is a trip that is about to expire and in order not to lose the cost of the tourist package and expenses (as well as the pre-paid air ticket), the tour operator reduces prices.

Since the price of a last-minute tour is much lower than cost, such tours sell out very quickly. And the sales period for such a tour is several hours. In the morning there may be a large number of offers in various directions, and by lunchtime everything is already sold.
Is everything really so rosy in purchasing a “last minute tour”?
As they say, “in every barrel of honey there is a fly in the ointment,” and, unfortunately, this case is no exception.
Hot deals can be compared to sales. Everything seems cheap, but the right size, color and texture are very rare. And, as a rule, quality suffers first. And the case with last-minute tours is no exception. Places in good hotels, extremely rarely, “stay away” until the last moment.

Early booking - pros and cons. How to save and not lose

There remain those options that other tourists, for whatever reason, refused. And this is usually poor service, the location of the hotel and other good reasons that you may also not like. But due to ignorance, you can buy a “last minute tour” and ruin your long-awaited vacation. In any case, only you can decide which way to save money you are interested in: early booking or last minute trips.

Let's summarize everything that has been said.

Early booking:
+ Thoughtfulness of the solution.
+ Large selection of tours with accommodation in good hotels.
+ Interesting “price” offers from tour operators for “Early Booking” or “Special Offers” promotions

Conclusion: early booking is beneficial if you have a desire to go to a certain resort, a certain hotel and a certain room, if you carefully plan your vacation, a set of excursions, a route, and places to stay.

Last minute travel packages.
+ Low price vouchers.

— Gathering things and documents is hectic, so you may forget about something or not have time;
— Before you fly off on a tour, the hotel you plan to stay in must send confirmation about reserving your room. Usually confirmation from the hotel arrives within up to 3 days. A situation may arise that at the time of departure there is no confirmation yet. And it’s not clear where you’re flying or whether you’re flying at all?

— New Year And Christmas, May holidays, children's holidays - these are high dates in tourism, when there are many more people wanting to relax than there are seats on planes. That's why last minute tours from Perm on holiday tours appear extremely rarely!

— If you are buying a last-minute tour to a visa-seeking country, you will need to collect a package of documents for a visa as soon as possible. If any certificate is completed incorrectly, you will not have time to redo it. Incorrectly completed or incomplete documents may result in a refusal to issue a visa. Since when purchasing a last-minute tour, all documents are submitted at the last minute, there is a high probability that your visa will not be issued on time. In this case, your vacation will be canceled and you will not fly anywhere.

— disappointment from your vacation is possible if the downside of a cheap last-minute tour turns out to be poor or low-quality service at the place of stay (at the hotel).

If you want to buy a last minute tour and are ready to wait for it, then it is better to leave a request in advance. As soon as a last-minute tour appears, the manager will call you immediately. In this case, you need to book it in time - take your passports and money and come to the agency as soon as possible. If you decide to think until tomorrow or until the evening, there may no longer be places available.

So, if you are ready to sit on your suitcases and wait, it will appear last minute tour to Turkey or not, and you don’t care which hotel you end up in, you can leave us a request for a last-minute tour (by email, phone, ICQ or request from the website).

If you want to choose a tour without rushing, weigh all the circumstances, and receive all the accompanying documents in our office, then it is better to book the tour in advance. We can always offer you the best prices by early booking, by various special offers and shares.

Last minute tours

What is hidden under the “Last Minutes” sign?

As you understand, we'll talk about travel. According to advertising signs, these are not just trips, but ones on which you can save money. If you have never encountered such a concept, and you are given such an opportunity, then let's look at what exactly tour operators mean when they offer us to go on a trip at a very competitive price.

There are three main reasons for last minute tours:

  1. Refusal tours.
  2. Sale of package tours to selected hotels.
  3. Seasonal sale of tours.

Cancelled tours are trips that were ordered for a specific person or group of people, but due to personal reasons, people are forced to cancel the trip. To meet the needs of its clients, the travel agency offers their tours to those who wish, and the cost is reduced.

What is early booking: pros and cons

Among the shortcomings that can be seen in such a proposal are only the timing of departure to the place. The higher the discount, the closer the flight. You may only have a couple of days to get ready.

Pre-registered foreign passports of Russian citizens will allow you to take advantage of this opportunity, which can significantly save your costs on the trip you were planning to take. If the country you are going to requires a visa, then your passport must contain visas for a long period. Otherwise, you are unlikely to be able to complete the documents 2 days before departure.

Guide any travel companies tries to be as objective as possible about the situation regarding the quality of provision of paid services in all hotels to which they send their tourists. Sometimes they hear such feedback that they decide to terminate cooperation with one or another hotel and enter into an agreement with another. At the same time, there still remains a small number of vouchers to those hotels with which future cooperation is not planned. They become those “last minute tours” for which the travel agency is ready to make a certain discount.

A seasonal tour sale has much in common with almost any sale of seasonal goods, be it a Christmas tree or summer shoes. It's no secret that there are ups and downs in tourist activity depending on the season. So, by choosing a trip in mid-September, at the height of the school year, you can spend less than what would be required for a trip in mid-July.

On our website, we offer only the most interesting options for “last minute tours” in real time. If you are mobile, have on hand Required documents for a trip to a visa-seeking country, we are always ready to resolve current issues within 1-2 days and go on vacation; you can leave a deposit and wait for a favorable offer.

We wish you to relax not only qualitatively, but also profitably!

Tips for tourists

The most joyful thing in advance booked tour- this is the knowledge that you are definitely going on vacation! But the benefits of planning travel in advance don’t stop there. Let's figure out why early booking is becoming increasingly popular among tourists - even those who were skeptical about the offers of travel agencies.

Early booking is considered to be purchasing a tour before the start of the season, that is, 1-3 months in advance. But in practice, a truly profitable booking is 4-5 months before the vacation or even earlier. If you are lucky, you can save about 50% of the final cost of the trip. Agree, not bad?

There is no catch here, the benefits of early booking are easy to explain. Resorts, hotels and air carriers actively make money from tourists during the hot seasons, which different countries happen in different time. But in order to prepare for the influx of travelers, during the low season all participants in the tourism industry try to find resources for this. Hotels and airlines are looking for funds to repair rooms, planes and other needs - they sell tours to tour operators at a low price, and tour operators immediately begin to sell them in order to immediately return part of the invested funds. Everyone benefits immediately, including the traveler.

The ability to plan trips in advance will allow you to save significantly on travel!

What to do before booking:

  • Coordinate vacation with management

    Even if you do not know specific departure dates before booking a tour, discuss with the management at least the approximate time of your vacation. It will be incredibly annoying if you buy a great tour for the end of August, and the boss says that in the last month of summer you have to be in the office because it’s not your turn to relax, this time is occupied by another employee. Always be one step ahead of the rest and remember that in the phrase “early booking of tours” to Europe, Asia and anywhere else, the key word is “early”.

  • Decide exactly how you want to relax

    Literally everything depends on how you want to spend your time on vacation: where you should go, what region of the country, what months, and even what hotel to stay at. Decide what is more pleasant for you - noisy streets in the city center or a relaxing holiday on the coast away from civilization, an all-inclusive system or just breakfast and a large package of excursions. If you are going on a trip with a warm family circle, simply choose the most comfortable apartments, and if you want to establish contact with locals, communicate and make new acquaintances, think about the fact that residents of other countries also go on vacation. For example, in Madrid, as in many other European cities, at the end of summer it is much more difficult to meet a local than a tourist.

  • Solve all problems with documents

    If you dare to book early tours to Europe, the USA and other countries where a visa is required, check all your documents. The passport must be valid for at least another period three months after the end of your trip. If you neglect this condition, you may be denied a visa. In addition, any tour is issued according to your current documents. And if you bought a trip, planned everything, and then suddenly lost your passport or decided to get married and change your last name, and then all your documents, then problems cannot be avoided. For making any changes to the information about the persons who booked the tour, hotels and airlines will ask for a substantial surcharge.

  • Collect enough money

    Most often, early booking of tours for holidays and not only involves 100% payment within a fairly short period of time, up to three days. When planning to go on a trip and contacting a tour operator for offers, you should at least roughly estimate beforehand how much the trip will ultimately cost, whether you have that amount of money or whether you can quickly collect it.

How to book a tour in advance

There are two key points in planning a trip: travel time and destination. It’s worth starting from them when it comes to early booking tours for 2018.

If you have decided on your vacation dates or direction, it's time to act! The rules are simple: it is best to plan a summer holiday in winter or early spring, and winter holidays in summer and early autumn.

The travel agency will select options for you according to the requested criteria. In the summer they will offer to book a trip to, in, in, and ski resorts for the upcoming winter season. And in winter you can think about holidays in, on and other popular summer holidays countries. The best thing is that it will cost you several times less than a few weeks before departure, and in addition, you will be able to choose exactly the travel option that suits you perfectly. Early booking guarantees a wide choice of offers: all the scarce hotels that are booked during the high season will be available, and you will not have to sacrifice your comfort and be content with what is left.

All travel agencies actively practice early booking of tours, so do not hesitate to contact us even six months in advance

Tour cancellation and travel insurance

If you buy a ticket in advance, you will most likely have to pay the entire amount for it in a fairly short time. And the only disadvantage of early booking tours for holidays and vacation periods is that if the trip is cancelled, you will lose a significant part of the money, if not the entire amount. For refusing a trip or replacing one traveler with another, you will be subject to a large fine - from 40% to 90% of total cost tour. And in some cases, according to the rules of the concluded contract, the tour operator may not return anything to you at all, so always carefully read the conditions stated in the text.

Unfortunately, the risk of trip cancellation always exists. In the 4-6 months that separate you from your trip, anything can happen: you change your job, move to another city, decide to have a child, or, in the end, you simply change your mind.

Cancel the trip from minimal losses incredibly difficult, so some decide to take out travel insurance.

The list of insurance events for which you may be compensated for damage will include:

  • illness of close relatives or yours, requiring only hospital treatment;

  • refusal of a visa;

  • military training;

  • death of a relative requiring your return;

  • subpoena;

  • contraindications to vaccination, which is mandatory for entry into the country.

But if you attempted suicide, ended up in the hospital due to alcohol intoxication, cannot travel due to work, pregnancy or quarantine, became a victim of fraudulent tour operators or found yourself in the epicenter of a terrorist attack, insurance against travel restrictions, unfortunately, will not help you in any way.

Early booking of sea tours

Holidays at sea - early booking. This is almost always the case, even if you are gathered in . By the way, what is stopping you from planning a trip to Russian resorts, to Crimea or Krasnodar region? If you think that booking a trip is logical and makes sense only abroad, and on the shores of Loo you will somehow find refuge for yourself, then you are very mistaken. Even the most pessimistic travelers, confident that they are always being scammed, cannot deny that package tours and tours are not evil, but a guarantee that you will get what you wanted, because tour operators would not be able to sell such a quantity unfavorable offers Every year.

Most people prefer a beach holiday in the summer, so it is very important to take care of purchasing a sea tour in advance.

If you are going to the sea in the summer, like most tourists, then the deadline for early booking is usually April. And if your plan is to hide from the New Year’s snow somewhere on the beaches, then you can plan a year in advance, but certainly no later than November.

Early booking of tours for holidays

When the question arises about early booking of tours for holidays, it is important to understand: these are global holidays or only Russian ones. For example, with the same New Year, everything is quite clear - it is, one way or another, celebrated almost everywhere in Europe and even in some Asian countries. Therefore, flights not only from Russia, but also around the world in late December - early January are always expensive. Accordingly, the cost of tours also increases.

And if we are talking about May holidays or Orthodox Easter, then everything is not so simple here, and you will probably be able to find a ticket without much markup due to calendar dates.

Booking tours to Europe

Early booking of tours to Europe also has its own nuances. When planning a trip to the country, be sure to check the schedule national festivals, religious holidays and other events that may enrich or mar your stay there. By obtaining such information in advance, you will be able to catch those events that interest you and avoid those that you would not like to encounter. For example, in some European countries there are significant floods and storms in autumn, spring and even summer, which recur from year to year. And all the capitals are flooded with tourists most of the year, and if you want to go to museums and narrow streets freely, and without jostling with elbows, choose the least popular months among tourists - February or November.

The practice of early booking of tours is very common today, and if you manage to plan your vacation competently and clearly, then feel free to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to save money and plan for everything. For many Europeans who like to plan everything in advance, for example, Germans, this has long become commonplace and commonplace.

Now is the time to think about a vacation in the summer of 2017. In this regard, the question of the “Early Booking” promotion, which has been on everyone’s lips for several years now, has become more relevant than ever, but not everyone fully understands what it is . We will dispel the most common misconceptions and speculations about the Early Booking promotion.
And the head of the sales department of the tourist operator “Muzenidis Travel”, Evgeniy Kiselev, will help us with this.

What is “Early Booking” really?



This promotion has existed on the Russian tourism market for several years, and more and more tourists prefer to book tours in this way - in 2016, every fourth tourist from Russia vacationed in Greece using “Early Booking”.


If you don’t go into details and speak in simple words, the essence of the “Early Booking” promotion is that you simply book your vacation in advance, and for this you receive incredible discounts, which can even reach 55% of the full cost of the tour.

How it works?

This is a completely mutually beneficial promotion for all participants in the “tourism process” - travel agents, operators, hoteliers, and most importantly - for tourists. By taking advantage of this promotion and booking a tour in winter, a tourist is guaranteed to receive a huge discount that he cannot get with any other promotion, and can also choose any holiday dates he needs for the next summer, hotel, room category and even type of food.

Big discounts are not the main thing!



Of course, it’s nice to book a tour at half the price, but there are other reasons to use Early Booking. Considering the huge demand in the 2016 season for the main destinations of the tour operator Mouzenidis Travel - Greece and Cyprus - it is simply necessary to book a tour for the summer of 2017 in advance, since at the height of the summer season there will simply not be rooms available in all the best hotels.
They will not be more expensive, they simply will not be available in principle, and you will have to choose from the rest. And few people want to risk their long-awaited vacation, so it’s best to book an “Early Booking” tour and gain peace of mind that this summer you will definitely be able to enjoy a quality vacation.
Also, the “Early Booking” promotion has very flexible payment rules, namely: 50% of the cost must be paid within 5 days after confirmation, and the remaining 50% at any time convenient for the tourist, but no later than 2 weeks before arrival. Essentially, this is a tour in installments, but without any risks.

Why do tour operators, travel agents and hoteliers offer such discounts?

As has already been said, “Early Booking” is beneficial for everyone, and now we will tell you something that few people talk about - what is the benefit of this for tour operators, travel agents and hoteliers.
It will be no secret that winter is not the most profitable season for tourism, so travel agencies are happy to take advantage of the additional opportunity to ensure financial stability and well-being in winter period, which is the “Early Booking” promotion.
Also for travel agencies this is an opportunity to lay the foundation for the future summer season, and in order to encourage agencies to take advantage of this (and now, not all agencies understand the real prospects that Early Booking opens up), the tour operator Mouzenidis Travel has launched an additional promotion “Minus -10% when paying tour within 5 days after confirmation of the tour”, that is, tourists will be able to receive another -10% in addition to -55% for “Early Booking”, and relax for only a third of the real cost of the tour.
For tourism operators, this is an opportunity to start making a profit from the future summer season long before it begins, which allows them to provide better service for tourists, more accurately plan flight programs and pay for guaranteed hotel room quotas, taking a more confident position in the tourism market and offering the most competitive prices.
For hoteliers, this is a good way to sell rooms in advance for next summer already in the winter and renovate the number of rooms, improve food, expand the entertainment infrastructure before the onset of the season, so that in the summer they can welcome their guests by offering them the highest quality vacation and get regular customers who will come to them and next summer, and maybe even in the fall, during the velvet season.

Myths about Early Booking

Despite all the advantages of the promotion, sometimes controversial situations arise that need to be sorted out and finally dispelled all the myths that “Early Booking” has acquired.

Myth No. 1: “The discount will be even greater in summer”

8 years ago, when the “Early Booking” promotion first appeared, situations often arose when hoteliers and tour operators, having incorrectly calculated their capabilities, were forced to take big discounts at the height of the season. But in eight years, everyone has already learned from their mistakes and the tourism market has changed a lot.
In the 2016 season, we did not observe such cases that in the summer prices were lower than for “Early Booking”, and given the great popularity of the main destinations of the tour operator “Mouzenidis Travel”, the demand for which already exceeds supply, in the Summer 2017 season this situation is completely excluded, that is, by booking a tour in advance you are guaranteed to win. In any case, loyal cancellation conditions allow you to rebook an already paid tour for another at the current price.

Myth No. 2: “The flight on which the tour is booked may be cancelled”

In principle, of course they can, but only due to some force majeure situations from which no one is immune. But in this case, the tourist will be offered worthy alternatives and many bonuses during his vacation (“upgrade” rooms, bonus excursions, individual transfers and much more). Responsible and experienced tour operators, like Mouzenidis Travel, realistically calculate their capabilities and the potential of flight departure cities in the summer, thus eliminating the possibility of flights being canceled for reasons that not enough tours are sold.

Myth No. 3: “I’ll book a tour in advance and won’t be able to fly”

For the tour operator Mouzenidis Travel there is absolutely no difference in the cancellation rules regular tour and the Early Booking tour. That is, if you cancel your tour 2-3 weeks before departure, you will receive a full refund. If you have serious circumstances that do not allow you to go on vacation, then all tours from Mouzenidis Travel include a “No Travel Guarantee”, which, for really serious reasons, allows you to avoid fines from canceling the tour.

Myth No. 4: “I’ll book for some dates, but they’ll give me vacation for others, and I won’t be able to go.”

If you want to change the dates, change the room category or change the number of tourists in the room, you can do this at the same discount with which you originally booked the tour. This is really useful if, for example, you are not given vacation on the dates you originally expected.

Myth No. 5: “In the summer, the exchange rate will decrease and I will lose money if I pay for the tour in advance”

Half of the tours under the “Early Booking” promotion are paid in full immediately (this is stimulated by the “Minus 10%” promotion for full payment within 5 days after confirmation of the tour). But if you want to delay payment, and initially pay only half of the cost, and the rest 2-3 weeks before arrival, then even if by this time the course national currency Russia in relation to the euro at the time of payment will decrease by 50% (which is unlikely), then you will still not lose anything, since initially you already received a 55% discount on the cost of the tour.

Myth No. 6: “I’ll book the promotion when it ends, but now I’ll wait”

One of the principles of “Early Booking” is that the earlier you book, the greater the discount. The promotion takes place in several stages, each of which has smaller discounts. The last stage of the promotion may end at the end of March - beginning of April, but the discount will no longer be 40-55%, but 15-25%.

Myth No. 7: “The tour operator will go bankrupt and I will lose money”

The Russian tourism market has recently experienced many shocks that may be repeated. Therefore, I recommend that tourists and agents pay attention not only to the cost of the tour, but also to its quality, as well as the reputation of the tour operator. Choose only experienced and trusted tour operators who have major financial funds behind them - airlines, hotel chains, bus fleets.