27 DEC 2017: This time of year, we think about people. There are a number of industry people who have had a huge influence on me over the years. But there are people who I’ve met travelling, who have had a lasting impression too, and taught me a lot.

Some of you will remember Contadora Island off the coast of Panama with horror. We were there twice for two weeks each time, and remember it with great fondness. We met Marni and Jack there, and they had a PHD in travel.

Ask people who seem able to travel a lot how they manage and somewhere in the conversation you’ll usually hear how they’ve learned ways to cut corners and stretch their travel budgets without spoiling their holidays.

You all have clients who travel on budgets so tight that buying a coffee ruins their day, but that’s not what I mean.

There are plenty of smart, relatively painless ways to travel more, visit expensive destinations and have more money left over to shop.

It was right after Christmas, we were on Contadora island, a cheap time to choose an all-inclusive, advised Marni. They didn’t pack a lot of clothes, they did pack things that made them happy, and more comfortable. For instance; Jack had his martini kit: eyedropper for the drop Vermouth in a small container, a bottle of Beefeater Gin, four martini glasses, plus the pitcher. More important than an extra shirt said Jack.

They took the “Go” to the airport, so they didn’t have to pay parking, or for a car, and then gloated about the savings.

Marni taught me that you can waste a lot of money at the airport. Pack a lunch. Use an insulated bag as a carry-on. You can’t take a full water bottle through security, but you can carry an insulated mug to fill right after you go through. She suggested that if people are planning a big investment at duty free, to check their prices first. When I asked an Air Canada flight attendant if she bought cosmetics at duty free, she said they were cheaper at the wholesale outlets even with the tax. I make sure to buy my sunscreen, batteries, and over the counter drugs before I leave Canada, and a month ago, when I couldn’t take my small bottle of suntan lotion in my carryon, I paid $10, for a tiny bottle worth about $3.99 at the departure lounge, I made up mind I’d start hunting for tiny bottles, and never again shop at the airport.

Marni thought people who had to buy blankets, and ear phones on planes were just plain stupid.

That was their regular two-week trip to the sun in January, and the beginning of a long friendship when we discovered we lived within ten minutes of each. We often reminisced about the cold spaghetti for breakfast on Contadora.

In May, before high season they always went to France.

They rented a car from the travel agent they used regularly, and didn’t book the upgrade in advance. Of course, they filled the car with gas before they returned it. They beat the drop-off charges by asking if the agency had a car on the lot that needs to go back to the city they were headed for. When we had dinner together, I always took a notebook. Jack taught me to use the phone in the lobby or the street. Leave the hotel number and the room number and tell the folks at home to call in 10 minutes. That way the charges will be Canadian long-distance fees – always cheaper.

When cell phones came along, he had an unlocked phone, and bought sim card for the area.

When they ate out, they had their biggest meal at lunch time when the prices are lower, and either ate in the markets, or in the low cost, tasty restaurants that are often found around, or even inside, the permanent markets in many cities.

Time your visits, they taught me. Many museums and galleries have a free day, or no charge after a certain hour.

European churches usually charge now, so go to a service to see inside for the free.

Don’t buy first-class rail tickets in Europe; they aren’t worth the extra money. Remind your clients to buy them in Canada and you can book it.

Unless there is a show your client desperately wants to see, in which case they need to book it before they go, tell them to buy their theatre tickets the day of the performance. Big savings.

In the summer, Marni and Jack took a road trip. They did not eat at the chain restaurants for every meal, they shopped the supermarkets, and bought deli dishes, hot and cold. Cheaper and better than a burger. Their cooler came in really handy. They thought Airbnb was the best invention ever, and liked cooking in someone else’s kitchen.

Fall is the big trip of the year, and their agent always keeps an eye out for a really good deal.

Much success and Happy New Year to all of you.