Paying less for travel accommodations

Paying less for travel accommodations - Teachers Travel Club

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	Welcome to Educators B&B! Our network involves members hosting members. Membership is open to all current, former and retired educators so our members have common experiences to share. It entitles you and your immediate family (partner and children under 18) to use our B&B Travel Network. Two adults and children under 18 travel for $40 per night when using the same room. Additional adults must join the network to travel with you. Travel companions who are not educators can be sponsored by you. The membership price for a family is $36 a year (from the date you join) plus a one-time $10 non-refundable initiation fee. Dues are payable by check or by Visa or MasterCard. You will also receive newsletters and email bulletins about new services we've added and stories about our members' travels. Renewal notices are sent each year in the month anniversary of your joining. Existing travel credits will be applied toward membership renewal. Booking A Trip Members booking a trip, go to Member Log-In. If you are not a member, you must first Join the Network. Then check out our on-line Membership Directory and find the city you would like to travel to. Select at least four hosts you would like to stay with. Send us your trip itinerary using the online booking request form. Once we have a host for you, we immediately contact you with their phone number and email address so that you can introduce yourself and get directions to their home so when you arrive you will have already communicated with them and won't really be a stranger. So we can get you the hosts you choose, we need at least two weeks notice prior to your trip departure. We also need a Must Know Date (MKD); the date when you need to have your trip confirmed. Check on the status of your trip on the website by going to Member Log-In or phoning us. During our busy season (June through September), the more advance notice you provide, the better chance we have of getting you the hosts you choose. We can not call prospective hosts more than eight weeks prior to your stay, however you can make your booking as far in advance as you please. We will work on requests in the order they are received. Please contact us if you do not receive a written booking request confirmation, or you receive one that contains errors. Locating Hosts Search our online Membership Directory to locate hosts in the locations that you would like accommodations. Our members live primarily in suburban areas or larger cities. For example, there are only three listings for Washington, D.C., but there are more than fifty members in Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Crofton and Falls Church, Virginia, with easy access by public transportation into the D.C. area. In San Francisco, we list approximately 10 members, but we have over 141 members who live in the Bay Area. So, check surrounding suburbs and small city names when booking larger cities. There is usually better parking if you are traveling by car and the quiet suburb might offer you a better night's sleep after a fun-filled day in town. Flexibility and planning ahead is the key to a successful trip! Booking Fees Apply To All Travel Options A $5.00 booking fee (domestic and international) is charged for each separate host confirmed (regardless of length of stay or whether it is a B&B stay or a Home Stay). If your membership dues are not current when you make a trip booking request, we will automatically charge your renewal to the credit card number we have on file. Trip Confirmation and Cancelling a Trip Your trip is confirmed when a host you requested agrees to host you. If you cancel after your trip is confirmed there are cancellation fees. When cancelling, contact us and your hosts immediately. Also e-mail us at host@educatorstravel.com or call us at (800) 956-4822. All cancellations are charged the $5 (domestic and international) booking fee plus a $4 (domestic and international) fee for each night cancelled. You are charged for each night cancelled because each night has been reserved specifically for you and makes your host unavailable for other members. If you cancel less than 48 hours prior to your first night's stay (7 days prior for international trips), you will also be charged for the first night. If you need to cancel before a host is confirmed, there will be no fees. Billing Prior to booking your trip, we need to have a valid MasterCard or Visa number and expiration date on file. Once we confirm a host for you, we will call you with their phone number so you can work out arrival details. We will then bill your credit card and mail you a statement. All travel is billed by either MasterCard or Visa. Hosting is Fun and Helps Pay for Travel Our members report that hosting other members is fun and helps pay for their future travel. As a host, simply provide clean accommodations and a serve-yourself continental breakfast. You do not need a license or have to meet any local zoning requirements because this is a private club. We will phone you with information about the traveler's occupation and interests so you know who is staying with you. Also, your guests will phone and introduce themselves so they will not be strangers when they arrive. This is a reciprocal organization, but you can always decline a hosting request if it is not a convenient time for you. Most people only host once or twice a year, though many wish they could host more! Hosting is the key ingredient of the Network's success. If it is impossible for a member to host, the alternatives are participating in the Home-Stay option or sponsoring new members. To join go to our online application form and you can start planning your next vacation right away! Travel Credits You can earn travel credits by: 1. Hosting ($10 a night); 2. Allowing someone to stay in your home, a Home Stay, while you are away for a five days or more ($20 a night); 3. And by referring new members to the network ($10 each member). Travel credits can be used to pay for accommodations when you go on a trip or to pay for your annual membership dues. Credits are cumulative and you can use them at any time. Accrued credits not used for travel will automatically be used to update membership at the end of a member's billing year. Additional adults traveling with you and your partner must join the Network. Members can sponsor friends or relatives even if they are not educators. Over 99% of our members are educators. Make sure that the person who joins gives your name as a reference so we can credit your account. Home-Stay Program Members who will be away for five days or longer and would like someone to stay in their home when they are gone can put their place in the Home-Stay Listing page. A Home Stay is only $50 per night to the traveler for the entire house. The home owner receives $20 in travel credits per night. Cancellation charges and booking fees, which are outlined above, apply to Home Stays as well. To book a Home Stay: 1. Check out the Home Stay Listings; 2. Use the online Booking Request Form to book the trip; 3. We will contact the member and let them know of your request; 4. We then coordinate the details between both parties; Personal Recommendations If you are still hesitant to join and wish to talk to one of our members about the network, please contact us and we will call a member in your area to obtain permission for you to contact them. Helpful Tips Although we usually will contact you by telephone, we also like to communicate with you by e-mail since it is fast, inexpensive and allows us both to have a record of our communication. When contacting us about a trip we are working on for you, please refer to the trip number we have assigned to your trip. Remember, our members are not commercial Bed & Breakfasts but educators just like you. It is important to plan ahead especially during the busy season. That is why we need at least two weeks notice to book your trip. During summer and school vacations, the more time you give us the better chance there is that you can get your first choice. However, we do not call members more than eight weeks in advance of your stay because many members can't commit that far in advance. Please get your request in as early as you can. To be fair, we work on a first come, first served basis. It's Easy to Become a Member and Travel!