LAS VEGAS - DAY #3

April 10, 2014

Boy we were running slow the next day (April 2).  We had a full day of FAM trips and site inspections planned.  Travel Agents can participate in FAM (or Familiarization) Trips and site inspections to familiarize themselves with the “product” they are selling.  These are absolutely free of charge.  Today we started out on a tour bus to Las Vegas Weddings with a wonderful tour conductor. She showed us two of their wedding/event venues and gave us great advice on what our clients may want when they are looking to get married or have a vow renewal in Las Vegas.  She gave us a few trinkets, too, while on the tour.

Our next stop was the El Cortez Hotel in downtown Las Vegas.  This hotel is steeped in history with illustrious owners and a great past. One of the fun things about the El Cortez was some of the slot machines still take real coins. Nothing beats the feeling of walking around a casino with a bucket full of quarters.  Some of the rooms in this hotel are the original rooms from the '40s. 

By this time we were ready for lunch.  We walked down a few blocks to The Container Place. It is owned by the owner of Zappos.  They have refurbished old trucking containers into small shops and rent them to start-ups at a reasonable price to help them get their businesses going.  When the start-up gets to a certain level of business, they are then launched out into the “world” and another moves in.  It also has a great play place for kids and a treehouse for adults. There is a concert venue on the site, too.  I had a great pulled chicken sandwich.

Our next stop was The 4 Queens.  This hotel also has a great history of renowned actors/actresses who have visited. Many on our tour ran over to Binions where they have a display of $1 million in cash that you can get your picture taken next to. 

Last, but definitely not least, was my favorite stop of the day.  We toured The Golden Nugget. This four star hotel is a resort right in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas.  It boasted fabulous dining and great family fun.  There is a shark tank that you can swim up to or take a waterslide through the middle of it.  Even though it was very windy and chilly, there were many children and a few adults still having a lot of fun on the slides. 

We were exhausted by this time and more than happy to board our shuttle back to Bally’s.  Once we returned, we took a nap, grabbed some dinner, got a little work done and went back to sleep.  Our friends drove over and arrived in the middle of the night.

Travel Tip:  It is cheaper to eat and drink and also to buy souvenirs (or a nice sweatshirt when you’re cold) in Downtown Las Vegas.

Travel Tip:  Fremont Street is something you should experience one evening when visiting Las Vegas.

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If you’d like us to check prices on a specific trip you are planning to take, please email to travel@services-foryou.com.  

LAS VEGAS - DAY #2

April 9, 2014

Day #2 - April 1 - Stacy and I had a chance to get a bit more acclimated.  We wanted to get our F.O.R. You work completed so we set alarms and woke up to do so.  It turns out that the hotels in Las Vegas do not offer free internet.  We both tried to get our phones’ hot spots to work and they wouldn’t even connect. The bandwidth was way too slow in the room.  Well, it was time to grab our computers and explore our hotel for a place where we could get a meal and get some work done.

The Paris was a beautiful hotel/casino that looks like you are wandering through the streets of actual Paris with décor and painting to create this ambiance.  We found a small diner called Cafe Belle Madeleine where the sandwiches were delicious and the prices reasonable.  They didn’t have internet so after a meal we wandered out to the casino floor.  Stacy put $5 in a quarter machine and won $250 within 10 minutes of playing.  We cashed out and went back to our room to get ready for a free FAM show.

Travel agents are often invited to see shows for free so we can experience them and tell our clients who are booking trips through us all about them.  On Tuesday we went to the Flamingo Hotel and saw The Legends show. We sat right up next to the stage.  It was a great show that was very entertaining, with a Michael Jackson that knew all the moves and a very entertaining Marilyn Monroe.  The woman who played Tina Turner did an awesome job. 

After the show, Stacy and I decided to head somewhere to find a drink and/or dinner.  We checked out Margaritaville and walked through the new LINQ nightclub.  We ended up at Toby Keith’s Bar and Grill since we both love country music.  We ordered our first drinks and noticed they were very strong.  Next we ordered appetizers and a second drink.  I highly recommend trying the Mason Dixon and Mac and Cheese Balls. They were both very delicious!  We decided to stay and listen to the band that was playing that night (and just in case Toby showed up, which he didn’t).  Well, we met so many people there in the bar from all across the United States and the drinks and music and dancing were so much fun that we stayed until they closed it down at 2am.  Leo, the bartender, was awesome also as he charged up our phones for us and only used them to take a few pictures.

Tomorrow we will pay for closing down the bar but we had an amazing time.  I only launched Stacy out of her wheelchair once on the way back to Ballys.

Travel Tip:  The internet in Las Vegas sometimes costs money and is often not fast enough to do your work.

Travel Tip:  FAMs are a great way to become familiar with “product” as a travel agent.  

LAS VEGAS - DAY #1

April 8, 2014

This week I'm going to share my travel business with anyone who wants to listen.  First, though, I want to go back and give you a little insight into who I am and how I got involved in YTB.

On November 16, 2013, I decided to join the network marketing group YTB.  I swore I would never be in network marketing because I am not a salesperson and refuse to carry around product.  I run a company that I founded and it's going well. I work a lot of hours and love my job. I really didn't need one more thing to do.  Well, I had been exposed to YTB before by a person who I now call a very close friend.  We learned on the trip to the Bay Area that November weekend that we have a lot in common and I so respect the person she is and the fact that she is amazing!  Why did I join YTB, though?  Well, originally I joined YTB because I was already booking travel for my clients and was leaving money on the table every month in the form of travel commissions for doing something we were already doing at F.O.R. You anyway.  I also love to travel and the perks are awesome when you travel as a travel agent. 

YTB has an annual regional conference and this year it was held in Las Vegas.  Stacy Sandoval and I left for Las Vegas on Monday, March 31.  Allegiant flies out of Fresno to Las Vegas every Monday for only $33-$37.  There are a few things you should know about Allegiant Air.  The first thing is it’s a big airplane, not like the SkyWest little bitty plane that flies out of Fresno.  They also have a weight limit of 40 pounds for your checked luggage and the only free carry-on you are allowed is one item, such as your purse.  Ouch, I had a hard time staying under the weight limit.  Pay for your checked luggage online before your flight date to save a ton of money.  The flight was great and we even had a Fresno friend sitting behind us on their way to Las Vegas to celebrate her husband’s retirement. 

We spent a wonderful day with friends who live in Las Vegas and then headed to check into our hotel.  We stayed at Bally’s.  It was a great location right in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.  We were able to get a refrigerator and a coffee pot by asking for them.  I was not, however, able to secure free internet.  The internet fees in Las Vegas are atrocious and the internet/phone service at Bally’s was a challenge the entire week.

Travel Tip:  Always be nice.  It will get you a lot further than being mean to others.

Travel Tip:  If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.