Travel & Vacation Guide

Travel Souvenir Ideas are necessary when people want to remember their trips for years to come. That is, at least, beyond a hazy memory of a vacation. The purchases made from these ideas are also a way to show friends, family and colleagues that you are thinking about them. Some other reasons that people may want to purchase souvenirs are that you may only be visiting a location once or you may want an item to go with a fond memory related to something you did while traveling. Regardless of whom these items are for, budget and space are important considerations.

When buying keepsakes for yourself, it is important to consider what makes a place special and look for souvenirs with that in mind. Often the best mementos are very personal and take up little space. This could mean something specific to the region. For instance, something made of wood that is only found in that particular pocket of the world. If there is something larger, very fragile or hard to carry that just calls to you, consider making that purchase later as an Online Souvenir. Unique food is another possibility when considering Souvenir Ideas. There could be an unusual flavor of potato chip or an interesting filling for a type of candy or other treat.

Friends, family and colleagues are all people to consider when traveling. A good rule of thumb is to think about people to shop for before heading off to a new destination. In order to steer away from exorbitant prices, keeping a budget in mind is also crucial. There should be some room left for miscellaneous souvenirs as well.

A gift for your best friend will obviously be different from a gift for your boss. Gifts for family will have different requirements yet. In many instances, a museum or other cultural institution is a good place to look for souvenirs.

When shopping for friends or family, choose an item that helps them feel as though they were traveling with you. Perhaps share why that item made you think of them. You could also share the story behind your travel in that area that made it special to you. If someone collects shot glasses, maps or other paraphernalia from around the world, you could purchase an item to add to that collection. It is often a good idea to use some Souvenir Ideas to purchase a few extras. You never know when they may come in handy as gifts.

There are several purposes to buying gifts. Some purposes are to have a concrete way to remember a trip, sharing your experience with family and friends or buying something for colleagues. In order to do so, however, one must have souvenir Ideas in mind. Some of those ideas could be exotic food items, crafts from native plants or items from a museum or other cultural institution. It is often wise to keep these items small and inexpensive. If, however, something large or fragile screams to you as a must-have, it can be shipped or, better yet, purchased later on at an Online Souvenir shop.

Searching for car rental online has never been easier with the help of the internet. You can easily search and compare prices from various car rental suppliers, often on the same website.

Car rental rates often vary considerably depending on what is included in the rate. Look out for those too-good-to-be-true prices – they probably are. You may think you have found a bargain, but it will be a different story when you go to pick up the rental car, only to be told you have to pay for lots of additional charges.

So when you are comparing car rental costs online, ensure you are comparing like with like. There are various extra charges which can push up the price of your rental car, so make sure you look out for them. Often if you add these on to that oh-so-low rate, it doesn’t look so appealing anymore.

What is Included
Most car rental websites will list the inclusions with the rental. These will vary depending on suppliers but generally standard rates include basic insurance and tax.

What is Extra
Again this will vary but look out for the following:

Airport Fees
Also known as a Premium Location Fee, you will be charged extra to pick up a rental car at an airport location. This charge varies depending on supplier and location, but in the UK for example could cost as much as 13% of the rental value.

Vehicle Licensing Fee
This is a Government imposed levy for rental cars to partially recover the registration costs. Approximate cost in the UK: GBP1.22 per day, which over a long period can add up.

Additional Driver Fees
If you want to have more than one driver for your rental car, this is often an extra charge. Daily charges range from GBP4-20 in the UK, EUR4-8 in Italy and from USD3-10 in the States.

Young Driver Surcharge
This is often charged if the driver of the rental car is under the age of 25. In Australia, this ranges from AUD13-22 per day. In France, the Young Driver Surcharge varies from EUR20-35 per day, GBP10-25 in the UK and USD5-45 in the USA.

Excess Reduction
Each rental car often comes with an Insurance Excess which is the amount you would be responsible for if the rental vehicle is damaged. This can often be a few thousand dollars but can be reduced with an optional excess reduction charge which can be paid daily to reduce your excess to a few hundred dollars or even to zero.

Additional Equipment
Things like child seats, ski racks and snow chains are often available at an extra charge.

One Way Rentals
If you want to drop off your rental car in a different city from where you picked it up, there may be a one way fee. Again, this varies depending on the supplier and destination. Ensure you ask before you pay!

All these extras can add up. Sometimes a standard rate may be right for you but if you are picking up at the airport and want an extra driver, for example, it may make sense for you to go with an inclusive rate.

Read the Small Print
Be sure to read inclusions carefully to see what the rental rate covers and which one is right for you. Look for possible restrictions and additional costs and find out what exactly they are before you pay. If you find a low car rental rate, make sure that the additional costs do not outweigh the savings.

At DriveAway Holidays, each car choice will show clearly if it is a Standard or Inclusive rate and will give you a list of what is and what is not included.

People often talk about the “hidden costs” of car rental, but the reality is, they are not hidden at all – you just need to know what to look for.

A few weeks ago a secretary telephoned me in absolute desperation. She was desperately searching for accommodation in central London for some VIPs from abroad. She stumbled onto my website, not really understanding what the service was about. I think the words ‘free service’, ‘apartments’ just helped her to figure out that Quality London Apartments had something to do with accommodation. Apologies for my long opening, but it is a prime example of how little travelers in the UK and Europe know about the serviced apartment industry. After explaining the concept of serviced apartments and helping her find an apartment, I realized that I needed to share this knowledge further afield. Thus, this article is my contribution to open up this elusive industry and offer tips to travelers.

What is a serviced apartment?

A serviced apartment is a flat in a block, which has a separate bedroom, sitting room/lounge, fully equipped kitchen, your own private keys to own door. Serviced apartments can be in the form of a studio flat (all in one room with a kitchenette), one, two or three bedrooms.

All apartments enjoy maid service, utilities and a management team to help….just like a hotel. Guests only pay for a nightly rate and can live in a flat with everything they would have in their own home.

Pros: Serviced London Apartment vs Hotels

 More value for money and cheaper. In a hotel, no matter which star rating, you pay per night for one room which will have a TV, bathroom, sofa and a bed. This is similar to a studio apartment! In an apartment there is a separate bedroom, kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and dining table (exception is studio)

 Pay per apartment and not per person. An example would be paying £250 per night for a two bedroom apartment, which could accommodate up to 4 people, that works out at £62.50 per person.

 Freedom and privacy. An apartment is like being in your own home and there is plenty of space. You have your own keys to your own door.

 Booking is easy, just like hotels. The majority of apartments require a credit card to guarantee, pre-payment before you arrive and that’s it. No deposits, no tenants’ contracts.

Cons: Serviced London Apartment vs Hotels

 Apartments lacks the buzz and services of a hotel such as restaurants and Room Service. Albeit some apartments are owned by hotels and offer you the use of their restaurants and other services.

 No 24-hour service around the clock. The apartments are ran by a small team who work Monday to Friday 9:00am – 6:00pm, so you are on your own during the weekend. There are emergency numbers to call should you suffer an electric cut, but no 24-hours hotel Duty Manager to run to your room.

 No pool, massages, saunas like hotels

What to look out for when booking a serviced London apartment?

1. Quality of the apartment – make sure you find out if they are clean, well furnished and well maintained. How? Check the photos, and ask if you can book an appointment to view the apartment. This is very important if you are staying over a long period of time.

2. Do they have a friendly and efficient management team? If you need the comfort of a welcoming face to greet you on arrival, then ask for an apartment with a reception. Some apartments provide key boxes, so you can arrive any time, but there is no-one to meet you. A friendly and small team will be able to give you a very personal touch.

3. Opening time of the apartments office – doesn’t sound important? Well it is because the majority of apartments’ operations team open Monday to Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm. If you arrive at your apartment during office open hours, then fine, but any other time and weekends will mean that you will need to pick up the keys from a different location.

4. Key delivery by car at the airport? – If you are flying from abroad to London, and do not fancy traipsing throughout London at night to pick up keys, the majority of apartments will hire a taxi to deliver your keys to the airport upon your arrival. Convenient for a small charge.

5. Payment procedure and cancellation policy – every apartment vary in their guest terms and conditions. All will accept a credit card as a guarantee of reservation, some will ask for 100% pre-payment at least 7 days prior to arrival and cancellation can range from 12:00pm on the day of arrival to 28 days. So, before you confirm the reservation, be very clear about the terms and conditions. Ask your apartment agents to explain the procedure to you and read the terms and conditions on your confirmation emails. It will save you a great deal of trouble and headache later.

6. Apartments are always allocated on arrival. This policy is the same as any hotel, so unless you are a regular guest to a specific apartment, apartments are on allocations. In the same breath, some apartments only have a small number of flats, so if you are reserving the only 3 bedrooms penthouse in their collection, then you are guaranteed that specific apartment.

7. Rates become more competitive the longer you stay. In this, we mean you have more bargaining power if you are staying for one month or longer. This is when your apartment agent can really help you by negotiating with a variety of apartments to get you the best deal.

8. Using an apartment agent will also save you time searching, but most importantly they will work with your budget and negotiate a great deal for you. Of course, you also need to be realistic about what you can book, don’t expect to spend £80 per night for a luxury apartment. For example, one of our clients had £300 budget per night for a two bedroom apartment and he wanted something luxury. For those readers who know London well, also understands that this budget is actually very small. Despite that, we booked him and 3 friends into the Victoria Park Plaza luxury apartment (£150 per night less than the usual price) for £300 per night with free breakfast, gym and access to the executive lounge. Any apartment agent worth their salt can and will move mountains to help you.

What if I don’t like the apartment when I get there?

If you really feel that you have been hard done by, tell the apartment management team and ask to be moved to another apartment. All of the apartments that we work with are very customer focussed and try to help guests enjoy their stay. If this does not work, talk to your apartment agent, if that is how you booked. Best advice though, is to ask all the right questions before you book an apartment.

Your appetite for apartments is now whetted – how do you find London apartments?

1. As already explained, you can choose a free search and book service of an apartment agent or go direct to a specific apartment that you know. Both methods are absolutely fine, dependent of your knowledge of London apartments. Using an agent will mean that they will search far across their portfolio and present you with a variety of choices…all within 10-15 minutes. Agents are impartial and will only (good agents anyway) recommend the quality apartments for your needs.

2. You can use search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN to find apartments. Type in keywords like ‘London serviced apartments’ or ‘quality London apartments’ and so on.

3. Stating the obvious but, ask for a recommendation from friends and acquaintances.

4. Check on Tripadvisor and other customer review websites.

Summary

If you have read this far, then thank you for your time. I have tried to make this article clear and as helpful as possible, but I welcome your comments and any further information that you feel is very important.