Who is Vacation Specialist.
Vacation Specialist is an approved travel technology service for TPI – Travel Planners International. Our mission as a full-service travel management company is to develop the most efficient and effective tools for our travel advisor clients.
We are unrivaled throughout the travel industry for providing independent travel advisors just like you with the leading-edge resources they need to build and manage a successful travel business under their own unique brand and niche.
What sets us apart? Why our websites?
We are owned by Ken Gagliano, the co-owner of TPI – Travel Planners International. We have over 35 years of experience hosting travel advisors and developing technology and marketing tools to help build your business. We have earned the reputation of being the best in the business.
The content, offers, promotional pricing, all group cruise rates are all powered live from the supplier, to TPI, and to your website. This means you are promoting the latest and best offers by TPI and Signature Travel Network to your customers 24/7. Don’t waste your time with other website services as none offer what we do. Only Vacation Specialist is connected to TPI and Signature Travel Network to provide these services. Other sites won’t offer group pricing on thousands of sailings and any TPI negotiated promotional offers like cruises with special amenities for your customers.
Cutting-Edge Technology: Our state-of-the-art, fully customizable travel advisor websites feature easy-to-use technology with optional full booking capabilities.
Unparalleled Level of Support: Our seasoned team of technology experts are here to provide you and your travel business with the highest level of support every step of the way.
Do you have a proven track record?
At Vacation Specialist, we have a proven track record for making your travel business a thriving success. That’s what makes partnering with us such a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Ready to get started? Contact us today. We look forward to working with you to make all your entrepreneurial dreams come true!
Do I have to be an current travel advisor with TPI – Travel Planners International host agency?
Yes. It is a requirement. You also have to be signed up with TPI’s network Signature Travel Network.
Can my clients and I book online Air, Hotel and Cruise Bookings?
Live Airfare will be added in summer 2024. Hotel bookings can be added to your website. Cruises can also be added but by default are ‘quote only’ unless subscribed to the ability to book. This is available under our optional addons.
Please see link below for specifics on cruise lines:
https://vacationspecialist.com/cruise-suppliers/
Another option is to add co-branded or affiliated booking links to your site.
What are the booking fees charged to me?
When a booking is made booking fees will apply. Cruise Only – $3 per booking, Hotel Only – $3 per booking, Insurance – $ 2 per booking. Booking fees will be debited from your TPI-earned commissions.
What is the commission on Air, Hotel and Cruises?
Air bookings are not available. Hotels are typically 15% and Cruises are 16%.
What is the typical build time to make my website?
Standard websites like Website Package 1 & Website Package 2 typically take 2 to 3 weeks. Custom websites like Website Package 3 & Website Package 4 is typically 4 to 6 weeks.
Who manages my website?
We take care of all the content that is filtered to your site on a daily basis.
Our content team updates the supplier content as often as we receive it.
When you first sign up for your new website, our support team will help you setup and customize your website.
Once your website is up and running, we’ll hand access over to you (email will be sent to you) and you are able to make limited changes to your website on your own. For example: You can change your logo, background, theme, colors, header images and Advisor Special Offers. On the other hand Custom Websites can be completely customized.
Our websites are built on a user-friendly template (WordPress) based platform that allows for limited easy editing and maintenance. Of course, our support team is always available to help and assist you with any changes you need to make to your website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time. Please send requests in to support@vacationspecialist.com or visit our contact us page at https://vacationspecialist.com/contact-us/
We also have LiveChat available on our website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time.
If you want to make a lot of changes and have flexibility, we recommend a Custom Website: A WordPress custom site is from US$4595.
I need help with my website, who do I contact?
Our support team is happy to help you with your website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time. Please send requests in to support@vacationspecialist.com or visit our contact us page at https://vacationspecialist.com/contact-us/
We also have LiveChat available on our website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time.
I need help with my email, who do I contact?
Our support team is happy to help you with your website. Please send requests in to support@vacationspecialist.com or visit our contact us page at https://vacationspecialist.com/contact-us/
We also have LiveChat available on our website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time.
Do you host my website?
Yes. It is hosted through AWS. Backups are on a 7-day rolling system.
Do you have website training available?
Yes. Our support team is happy to help you with your website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time. Please send requests in to support@vacationspecialist.com or visit our contact us page at https://vacationspecialist.com/contact-us/
We also have LiveChat available on our website. We are available M – F, 9am to 5pm Eastern Time.
How do I log into my website?
Login credentials will be forwarded once your website is complete.
Do you have reporting or site statistics available?
Site Kit by Google is installed. You can add your credentials individually.
Can I customize my website? What features are available to me?
Yes, your network Website Package 1 and Website Package 2 have many features that can be customized. For example: You can change your logo, background, theme, colors, header images and Advisor Special Offers. On the other hand Custom Websites can be completely customized.
If you want to make a lot of changes and have flexibility, we recommend a Custom Website: A WordPress custom site is from US$4595.
Are your websites mobile friendly?
Our websites are mobile friendly and responsive.
Do you have supplier content available?
Absolutely. We have content that is automatically updated daily from over 100 popular suppliers.
Can I add or adjust the suppliers I feature on my website?
No. Because these are the preferred suppliers of the host travel agency TPI. The network sites are very limited in what you can change. On the other hand Custom Websites can be completely customized.
If you want to make a lot of changes and have flexibility, we recommend a Custom Website: A WordPress custom site is from US$4595.
Can I add co-branded or affiliate/supplier links?
Yes. Pages can be added as links to ‘Advisor Special Offers’. Adding to the menu is not possible as this navigation menu is fixed.
Can I add a blog to my website?
Yes. Although we don’t currently have our own blog feature, we have many ways to connect your blog to your site.
We can create a link that goes directly to your blog. It will be added to the menu under ‘Travel Info’.
What is SEO? Do you have it available?
SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of getting traffic from the free, natural and organic search results on search engines. All major search engines such as Google and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.
Yes. We do have it available at an additional cost.
Do you support SEO?
Yes. We are not an SEO company, but we have tools built in to help support your SEO goals.
You can use the built-in Yoast plugin to optimize your network site, full optimization is better with a custom-built website through us.
If you want to make a lot of changes and have flexibility, we recommend a Custom Website: A WordPress custom site is from US$4595.
Can I link to my social media pages from my website?
Yes. We encourage advisors to connect their social media accounts to their website. If you are interested in enhancing your social media presence, please set up your profile in the Signature Travel Network portal with TPI prior to ordering your new website.
These social media links will then be automatically pulled over from Signature and then embedded in the footer of your new website.
How can I improve my SEO on a custom website built by you?
Make sure that you have good titles for your pages. Write something unique, rather than the included default text, for the Home, Cruises, and Vacations pages. Make sure you add your city, state and zip code in your site footer. This will be automatically pulled over from Signature and then embedded in the footer of your new website. Please set up your profile in the Signature Travel Network portal with TPI prior to ordering your new website.
More things you can do to improve your SEO on a custom-built site:
Add ALT text to your images. Add some headlines to your text. Headlines will be pre-formatted to stand out from regular text and are coded in such a way that search engines are able to “read” them.
Check your spelling and grammar! You don’t want to drive away clients who have come to your site because of simple, preventable errors!
Complete Google’s site verification (make sure to choose the verify by META tag option!)
Update your about us page to list your specialties and where you’ve been recently. Show your clients why they want to book their vacation through you. This will be automatically pulled over from Signature and then embedded in the footer of your new website. Please set up your profile in the Signature Travel Network portal with TPI prior to ordering your new website.
Create a new page to keep clients coming back. Maybe a weekly specials page, or a tab for some of the various cruise line/vacation packagers weekly deals (Some ideas include Royal Caribbean Sales Event, Celebrity Exciting Deals, Holland America Flash Fares, Norwegian Cruise Lines Weekly Deals, Carnival Spotlight, Silversea Luxury on Sale, Rockwell Weekly Deals, Pleasant Holidays Weekly Deals).
What is Google Analytics and do they impact my website?
Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracts and reports website traffic. Yes, they impact your website. We will help you with this.
What is the Google Verification META Tag and how does it impact my custom-built website by us?
Meta tags are a great way for webmasters to provide search engines with information about their sites. Meta tags can be used to provide information to all sorts of clients, and each system processes only the META tags they understand and ignores the rest.
What is a Sitemap and how does it impact my site?
A site map is a directory of your website. Search engines can use the site map to improve their indexing of your website. A site map is automatically generated for you as you edit your website.
I was contacted by a 3rd party company stating they could help improve ‘my custom built website’ SEO, what do I do now?
This is something that commonly happens when you start a new website or purchase your domain. This is something that you can choose to do but we would encourage you to try to improve your SEO on your own first. If you decide you would like to go with a 3rd party company, we encourage you to do a bit of research on the authenticity of the company as well as their background.
What if I miss a payment for my website?
Monthly:
If you have a monthly membership and your payment does not go through on the payment date – then you are sent an email about it. You will have a 5-day grace period before your site is deactivated. There is a $200 service fee for reactivation of websites. There is a $25 service fee on multiple missed payments – for each missed payment.
Annually:
If you have an annual membership and your renewal payment does not go through on your payment date – you are sent an email about it. You will have a 5-day grace period before your site is deactivated. There is a $200 service fee for reactivation of websites. There is a $25 service fee on multiple missed payments – for each missed payment.
