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ARE YOU ASAVVYTRAVELLER?www.designertravel.co.ukB O O K Y O U R H O L I D A Y W I T H U S A N DT R A V E L L I K E A P R O F E S S I O N A L Message

ARE YOU ASAVVYTRAVELLER?www.designertravel.co.ukB O O K Y O U R H O L I D A Y W I T H U S A N DT R A V E L L I K E A P R O F E S S I O N A L

At Designer Tr a vel we know thatyo u r holidays a re very imp o rtant andth a t's why we t reat every c ustomeras a VIP, work i ng hard to d eliveram a zing holida y experience s .Th e UK travel i ndustry has grownsi g nificantly s ince Covid. Whenbo o king a holi d ay, most cu s tomerswa n t to deal w i th a travelpr o fessional w h o has a sui t ableam o unt of know l edge and in d ustryex p erience to h elp them ma k ere c ommendation s and guide t hemth r ough the bo o king proces s .Ch e cking out t h e credentia l s of yourco n tact might s eem at firs t glance tobe a little on e rous, but i t really canma k e all the d i fference!Ou r “Savvy” Tr a vellers gui d elines arede s igned to en s ure that cu s tomersha v e all the i n formation t h ey need tosa v e time, mon e y, travel s a fe and toge t maximum en j oyment from everyho l iday experi e nce.WELCOME

AN INTRODUCTIONCONSUMER PROTECTIONCONTENTSCHOOSING YOUR HOLIDAYA TRAVEL DEAL LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUETIPS ON BOOKING,PRE TRAVEL AND ON HOLIDAYFINAL POINTS

INTRODUCTIONIf you ask Goo g le, or any o ther search engine forth a t matter, w h at the thre e most expen s ivepu r chases woul d be for mos t households , we canal m ost guarant e e that afte r a new home and cars,tr a vel and hol i days would c omfortably s it in the t o pth r ee.Sp e nding your p recious tim e and money o n holidaysis a big commi t ment and th e team here a t DesignerTr a vel really w ant to help when it com e s to yourde c ision-makin g process. W e hope that o ur SavvyTr a vellers gui d elines will help our cu s tomers,fr i ends, relat i ves and oth e r intereste d parties, a v oidso m e of the co m mon pitfall s that can b e costly orun n ecessarily s tressful wh e n it comes t o travellin gab r oad.Pl e ase join us as we take y ou through o ur recipe f o rbe c oming a “Sa v vy” Travell e r

“CHECKS THE FINANCIALPROTECTION THAT WILLKEEP THEIR MONEY SAFE”A SAVVY TRAVELLER...

When it comes to booking a holiday there are so many choices to consider. Booking throughan agent, booking directly with a travel company, on-line, on the phone or in a retail store.With so many choices, who can you trust? How do you know if your money is safe? How doyou know whether a company will be here today and gone tomorrow? Here is what we wouldrecommend. Always check the following: - Is the company either ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or ATOL (Air TravelOrganisers Licence) bonded or both? Both bodies offer financial protection for certainproducts: - ATOL offers financial protection if you book a package holiday, which includes a flight. ABTA offers financial protection for all packaged products available through ABTA members. HOW TO CHECK FOR ABTA ACCREDITATION:Visit ABTA | Travel Advice & Holiday Information | UK Travel Industry At the top of the screen you will find an ABTA Members search, this page will bring up asearch box where you can enter the company’s name that you are looking for. If the company is an ABTA member their details should appear on the site. HOW TO CHECK FOR ATOL ACCREDITATION: Visit ATOL protecting holidaymakers since 1973 - ATOL At the top of the screen select “check for ATOL”, enter the ATOL number you are looking for orthe company name. Are they regulated by any other financial body? Whilst ABTA and ATOL are probably the most well-known organisations offering forms offinancial protection there are other others. Always check the details carefully with yourprovider. MULTI CONTRACT PACKAGES A package holiday will provide you with the most comprehensive form of financial protection.However, you can often secure financial protection for what are more commonly known asMulti Contract Packages (MCP’s), through your provider. An MCP will always consist of a flight plus other relevant elements, which may includeaccommodation, car hire, transfers to and from your resort, excursions etc. Check with yoursupplier to ensure they have included Supplier Failure Cover (or an insurance to protect yourflight tickets in case of an airline going bust), ATOL cover – Air Travel Organisers Protectionand a TDI option – Travel Disruption Insurance, (maybe called something slightly different!) DO YOUR RESEARCH Consumer Protection 02

En s uring that a travel age n t or travel provider iswh o they say t h ey are migh t seem like aco m mon-sense c o urse of act i on, but peo p le buype o ple and som e times we fo r get to ask t he mostba s ic of quest i ons. So m e simple ac t ions that y o u can take t o protectyo u rself inclu d e: Ch e cking the c o mpany websi t e to see if thepe r son you are dealing wit h is noted a swo r king for th e business. Ch e ck the emai l address th e y are using . Is it aco m pany email i.e. fredb l ogs@designe rtravel.co.u k or are they using a more basi c generic em ail that has no com pany identit y? If you have an y concerns o r want to ch e ckth a t someone i s who they s a y they are c allth e company’s H ead Office t elephone nu m ber. OTHERIMPORTANTPOINTS TO BEAWARE OF Consumer Protection 03

“ASKS ABOUT ENTRYREQUIREMENTS FOR THEDESTINATIONS THEY ARETRAVELLING TO”A SAVVY TRAVELLER...

Rememb er, y our t ravel agent and or tr avelsuppli er, s hould be w orking hard to e nsure thatyour t ravel plan s are all in order an d tha t youhave e veryt hing at your disposal to e njoy troubl e-fre e tra vel. However, as the trave llerthere are a ction s you can take which will help youmake t he mo st of every precious holid ay mi nute.Rememb er, i f you are travelling to mu ltipl edestin ation s ent ry re quirements for e ach c ountr yon you r iti nerar y wil l need to be che cked. A gr eat s ource of i nformation is GO V.UK - i.e. ent er go v.uk/ Mauri tius (just enter yourdestin ation of c hoice ). Befor e you star t loo k ing f or yo ur ho l iday loca t eand c h eck y our P ASSPO RTS t o ens ure y ou ha v esuffi c ient vali d ity f or e a ch de stina tion t hat y ouare v i siti n g ba s ed o n you r trav el da t es. A re y o urpassp o rts i ntac t wit h no v isibl e dam a ge? S omedesti n atio n s re q uire a ce r tain numbe r of c learpages in y o ur p a sspo r t. Check with your agen t or t ravel prov i der t o se e ifthere are a ny s p ecif i c ENTRY REQUIREM ENTS i.e.visas , EST A ’s ( E lect r onic Syste m for Trav e lAutho r isat i on), pre- a rriv a l ent ry fo rms e t c. CHOOSING YOURHOLIDAY04

If you are travelling with CHILDREN, some countries (andcertain products i.e. cruise companies) have specific entryrequirements, always check carefully. Before you book double always check WEATHER sites toensure you are happy with the season you have chosen. Many parts of the world are affected by predictable weather patterns and whilst global warming makes things a little more challenging it helps to be “climate aware”. Are there any MEDICAL or special requirements that you needto consider? From travelling with insulin or other prescriptiondrugs to travelling whilst pregnant, asking questions beforeyou confirm your booking will help you to identify anypotential issues where you may need extra help and support.Are there any vaccination or medical requirements for thecountry or countries you are travelling to? If yes, always checkwith your health provider at the earliest opportunity to makesure you can obtain the required vaccinations within therequired timeframe. TRIP ADVISOR may provide you with recent feedback fromother guests who have experienced a stay at your chosenaccommodation. Visit www.Tripadvisor.co.uk 05

Wh o doesn’t li k e a great d e al? That sp e cial offer t hatlo o ks like it o ffers great value for m o ney. As a w o rd ofwa r ning, if so m ething look s “too good t o be true” i tpr o bably is. F r audsters op e rate in the travel indu s try.As AI becomes m ore widely u sed it’s so easy to fal l foulto less scrupu l ous agents o r suppliers posing as ale g itimate bus i ness.Be a “savvy tr a veller”, as k lots of qu e stions and i fso m ething does n ’t feel rig h t walk away .WHEN IS A DEALTOO GOOD TO BETRUE?

“CHECKS THE WEATHERSTATISTICS BEFORECONFIRMING THEIRHOLIDAY”A SAVVY TRAVELLER...

When i t co m es t o pay i ng f o r you r hol i day N E V E R pay m oney into a per s onal bankaccou n t. I f you are u sing onlin e ban king m ost a utom a ted s ystem s wil l run a ch e ck o nthe a c coun t num b er a n d sor t cod e, th e sys t em w i ll a s k yo u to i ndica te wh e ther theaccou n t is busi n ess o r pe r sonal . If you m a ke a paym e nt i n to a perso nal a c coun t ormake a cas h pay m ent t o an indiv idual you a re l e avin g you r self open t o fr a ud.You s h ould rece i ve a R E C E I P T fo r you r fun d s on comp a ny h e aded paper with i n 24hours of t h e pa y ment bein g rece ived ( most busi n esse s wil l send you a rec e iptimmed i atel y ). O n ce y o u re c eive your r ecei p t ch e ck t h e de t ails caref ully t o en s ure t heyare 1 0 0% c o rrec t .If yo u are maki n g a b ooki n g for A C C O M M O D A T I O N O N L Y , suppl iers o ffer litt l e or nofinan c ial p rote c tion . Alw a ys ch eck w h at p r otec t ion i s av a ilab l e (so me su p plie r s ma yoffer ABTA prot e ctio n whi c h you can c heck ) and a “s a vvy t ravel ler” would pay w ithcredi t car d – m u st b e at l east £100 on th e car d to o ffer fina n cial prote ction ) .If yo u are trav e llin g as p art o f a G R O U P a nd a r e no t the lead passe nger m akin g thetrave l arr a ngem e nts, alwa y s ask for p roof of a n y pa y ment made along with full deta i lsof th e tra v el a r rang e ment s .T R A V E L I N S U R A N C E is n ot an opti o nal r equi r emen t ; it is v i tally impo r tant , and sometrave l sup p lier s , ev e n ce r tain desti natio n s, w i ll n o t al l ow y o u to trave l or e nterwitho u t ha v ing a sui t able polic y in place . Use a co m pari s on s i te to chec k rat e s or askyour t rave l pro v ider for a supp lier that t hey o ffer .Check that your poli c y of f ers s uffic ient c over for a ll e l emen t s of your trip b utspeci f ical l y ca n cell a tion . Doe s the polic y hav e exc e sses and i f so, are you h a ppy w iththe l e vels ?If yo u hav e pre - exis t ing m edica l con d itio n s, m a ke s u re y o ur po licy will p rovi d eadequ a te c o ver. When answe ring quest i ons a bout any m edica tion you m a y be taki n git’s i mpor t ant t o de c lare all m edica tion. In s o me c a ses, cert a in co nditi ons w i ll n o tattra c t a p remi u m on the p olicy it’s just impo r tant to d e clar e so t hat t he co n diti o n isfully cove r ed. E ven m edic a tion for e v eryd a y li f e i. e . th e men o pause must be d e clar e d.For p a ssen g ers w ho a r e wai ting for a conf i rmed diag n osis foll o wing on fr o m me d icaltests , it’ s imp o rtan t to c heck that you c a n pu r chas e a p o licy to co ver y o ur t r ip.If yo u hav e spe c ific requ i remen ts of the p olic y – i . e. c o ver f or a weddi ng dr e ss o r ahigh v alue item that isn’ t cove red o n you r hom e con t ent i nsura nce, make s ure y ouraise this with the i nsur e r.AT THE TIME OFBOOKING

BEFORE YOUTRAVELThe e x cite m ent i s st a rtin g to b uild and n o w al l you have to do is t o loo kforwa r d to your well - dese r ved h olida y . Befo re yo u go: - Use H OTEL O R AI R LINE APPS to ch eck t h e de t ails of y o ur b o oking .Apps c an h e lp y o u ma k e res ervat ions f or k i d's c lubs and r estau rants(even if t h ey j u st u p date you o n a r e stau r ant b ooki n g po l icy). Check out a ny C U RREN C Y REQ UIREM E NTS f or y o ur c h osendesti n atio n s. W h ilst cred i t and debi t car d s ar e wid e ly a c cepte d nev e rassum e , al w ays t ake s ome l ocal curre n cy f o r sm a ller purc h ases andtippi n g! Check that you a re w i thin your weigh t and size allo w ance for b aggag e .All a i rlin e s ha v e st r ict p olic i es fo r BAG GAGE and w h ilst some are m oregener o us t h an o t hers , mis t akes can b e cos t ly! “ Savv y Tra v eller s” mi g htwant t o pu r chas e som e form of t racki n g de v ice f or t h eir l uggag e, Ap p leoffer the A ir T a gs, b ut o t her o ption s are avai l able . 08

We wan t you to t ravel safe . “Savvy Tr avell ers” will share trav el plans wi thfamily or f riend s so that loved ones can f ollow the journ ey an d knowwhere to co ntact you in th e event of an em ergen cy. Social medi a is an at tract ive way of shari ng yo ur ex perie nces. If you aregoing to po st wh ilst you a re away, th ings to co nside r may include: - Is you r pro perty full y pro tecte d whil st yo u are away ? Are yo u pos ting to fa mily and friends or a re se tting s all owing yourposts to be seen by a wide r audience? Lookin g aft er ou r pla net a nd helping to ma ke tr avel a for ce for good is ahigh p riori ty fo r man y vis itors when trave lling for busin ess o r pleasure.We hav e our own flip book that is des igned to t ake y ou th rough thepracti cal s teps that you c an take to make a dif feren ce to the destination /sthat y ou ar e vis iting . Check out M oyo’s stor y by visiting th is li nk:- Design er Tr avel Flips : bi g impact Animal welf are s tanda rds o verseas are ofte n not the same as here in theUK. As a ru le of thum b our advice wou ld be to t reat anima ls overseas inthe sa me wa y tha t we do he re in the U K. If you’ d lik e to read more a boutour ad visor y pol icy a nd fi nd out more abou t web sites , you can visit forfurthe r inf ormat ion p lease visit our websi te us ing t his l ink: -Sustai nabil ity | Desi gner Travel WHILST YOU’REAWAY09

“ALWAYS ASKS FOR ARECEIPT AND BOOKINGDOCUMENTATION ONTHE DAY THEIR BOOKINGIS CONFIRMED”A SAVVY TRAVELLER...

At De s igne r Tra v el o u r cu s tomer s are alwa y s ou r num b er o n eprior i ty. W e do n ’t u s e ov e rsea s call cent r es, a nd a l l ou rcusto m ers h ave o ne m a in p o int o f con t act t hey c an u s e fr o m thestart of t h eir e nqui r y un t il t h eir r eturn home . Here a re a few e xamp l es o f how the t e am h e re a t Des i gnerTrave l do t hing s dif f eren t ly:- We VI P our cust o mers – wi t h ove r 400 0 yea r s of trav e lexper i ence betw e en u s , th a t’s a lot o f pe r sona l con t acts athotel s and comp a nies arou n d the worl d tha t can make all t hediffe r ence . We wi l l te l l yo u abo u t en t ry r e quire m ents and p rovi d e yo uwith t he l i nks t o th e rel e vant websi t es s o tha t you can k eepup to date . We wi l l as k you abou t how you w o uld l ike t o re c eive yourtrave l doc u ment s – e l ectr o nical ly wo u ld a l ways be t h eprefe r ence , but we w i ll b e led by yo u pro v idin g pap e rdocum e ntat i on i f req u ired . We wi l l pr o vide you w ith o ne po int o f con t act, maki n g iteasie r to c ommu n icat e wit h a me mber o f th e tea m whe n youneed u s... . We ar e an i ndep e nden t tra v el bu sines s dea l ing w ith o ver 5 00diffe r ent s uppl i ers. This mean s we c a n fi n d th e pro d uct t hat’ sright for y ou. As pa r t of the U K’s b igge s t in d epend e nt t r avel reta i ler, HaysTrave l , yo u can book with us k n owing that you a nd y o ur h o lidayarran g emen t s ar e in s afe h ands. With a co m bine d kno w ledg e ofover 4 000 y ears of e x peri e nce, multi p le t r avel indu s try a ward sto ou r nam e and a re p utat i on fo r bei n g fr i endl y , ef f icie n t an davail a ble w hen y ou n e ed u s , we aim t o loo k aft e r cu s tome r s forlife a nd s u rviv e and thri v e th a nks t o rep e at c u stom e rs a n d ou rhigh l evel of c u stom e r re f erra l s. If yo u wan t to r ead m ore a bout what o ur c u stom e rs t h ink a bouttheir expe r ienc e of b ooki n g wi t h us h ead o ver t o De s igne r Tra v elRevie w s | R ead C usto m er S e rvice Revi e ws o fdesig n ertr a vel. c o.uk and v isit the p r oduc t rev i ew t a b to findyour p rofe s sion a l tr a vel e xper t . FINALLY10