My Vacation Lady recently received a vacation request for 6 nights in 2 islands in Hawaii for Oct 2018.
Their total budget was $4000 total for 6 nights and they had some points to use for flights. OK, that was good if they had enough miles for round trip flights since flights were running $900 + per person.
They really wanted 5 star hotels in Maui and Kauai (3 nites each), ocean view rooms and a convertible in each island. Convertibles and an inter-island flight would run about $1000 or so which would mean about $3000 (maximum) for their hotels and excursions. Sorry but that wasn’t going to happen.
This is what we call- champagne taste on a beer budget
What can you do when your vacation dreams exceed your budget?
So is there a way to get the client’s dream honeymoon closer to their budget?
Instead of spending 3 nights in 2 different islands, it would be less expensive to visit 1 island and stay in 1 resort for all 6 nights.
- They would be saving about $300 on inter-island flights.
- The cost of the rental car is less (per day) for longer rentals
- They had mentioned a 5 star hotel in Maui that they wanted but IF they switched to another 5 star resort (that we tend to like better), they are offering some promotions and with our contacts and agreements with the hotel, we would be able to add complimentary breakfast (but the hotel alone in an oceanview room was 90% of their maximum budget)
- If they were ok with a partial ocean view room instead of an ocean view room, we might be able to save more money a couple of hundred $$ but still were running a couple of hundred over the $3000 mark.
If they changed to a 4.5 star hotel for 6 nights in Maui, they could save some more money as well.
In a deluxe ocean view room with breakfast daily in the Ka’anapali area, we were now in a more reasonable range that left some room for excursions and their convertible. A Partial Ocean view room with breakfast daily, would save another $150 or so.
We would typically suggest switching destinations to something closer and where it is less expensive to fly to but in this case, this couple wanted to avoid zika and had no passports.
One thing that we always try to teach our clients is that a deal is only a deal, if it’s the right vacation for you.
My Vacation Lady is dedicated to helping our clients find the vacation that is right for them at a budget that they can live with. We are not miracle workers but we are pretty darn good at what we do. So if you are getting frustrated with what you want and what you want to pay, we may have some suggestions for you.
