FTCO's Travel Expert Spotlight Featuring Tom Karnes of LaMacchia Travel

Join us today for the latest travel deals and tips for active travelers from our trusted travel experts.

Transcript

Intro

Welcome everyone to the Friends That Carry On Podcast, where we dive deeper into our trips, unpack tips, and everything in between. Now, sit back, relax, and get ready to go on a trip with your favorite group of friends.

Brian Romine

Hello everybody and welcome to the Friends That Carry On weekly travel podcast update, where we’re sitting here in June amongst the Coronavirus, hopefully winding down, and we’re a group of friends that like to travel and like to keep up with what’s going on in the travel industry. And today in the studio, we have Tony Price and Jim Scott, and we’re really happy to have Tom Karnes back with us again from LaMacchia Travel Agency in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Tom was with us a couple weeks ago and he’s kind enough to join us today to give us some perspective on what he’s seen and maybe talk a little bit about some good deals that might be out there. Tom, welcome back to the show.

Tom Karnes 

I appreciate it. It’s nice to be asked back a second time. It always kind of reflects on how well the first time went.

Tony Price

Now, the question is, is this the first time you’ve been asked back?

Tom Karnes 

Is it obvious in my voice?

Brian Romine 

I thought there was a little bit of a surprise in the voice there.

Tom Karnes 

It happens all the time.

Brian Romine 

Good. Nah. We appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today. Things are certainly still kind of the Wild West out there, it seems like, and a lot of people are not really sure what to do, how to plan, including us. So, we’ll be happy to maybe get some insights and updates from you. What are you seeing?

Tom Karnes 

Absolutely. A lot has been going on in the last week. By the time the podcast runs, who knows what’s going to be happening. But when you’re looking at an industry’s loss, think of this. 4.6 million jobs, that’s just in the United States. 4.6 million jobs have been lost in the tourist industry. That’s literally everything from your hotel, hotel maître D, all the way up to vice presidents of large corporations and airlines. The numbers are staggering especially when you look at revenue. Revenue loss is at about $314 billion.

Brian Romine 

Wow.

Tony Price 

Wow. Crazy.

Tom Karnes 

Yeah. And if you’re like me, numbers are overwhelming and we get a little bit desensitized by the numbers out there. So, when you take a moment let it digest, it’s pretty epic what’s going on and what’s happened in the travel industry. Again, across the world, across the globe, many people have been affected by COVID-19, but truly, the travel industry is one of the worst yet by far. So, those numbers came out this week. One of the things we see that’s a bright light and, to me, is one of the best things is, you know what? The government’s back issuing passports, everybody.

Tony Price 

Yeah!

Tom Karnes 

[inaudible 3:10], isn’t it?

Jim Scott 

Absolutely.

Tony Price 

Yep.

Brian Romine 

Are they doing it in person yet or it’s still just via the web?

Tom Karnes 

Right now, they’ve introduced the three-phase program. The first phase is they’re getting some people back into the offices, again, social distancing, making sure they’re managing the number of people in and out of there. That’s going to be them starting to process passports that were submitted prior to the shutdown. So, they’re just going to kind of get in there and get a little acclimated. They will also continue processing passports for emergencies, but it’s like death, family. It’s not just because they got the smoking deal in Mexico, that’s not going to work. You got to have a legitimate reason to be able to do it within a day. The main part of phase one is just getting back and getting all those ones that are in the pipeline facilitated. That just launched this week. I’d say in a couple more weeks, we’re going to be looking at phase two, which is going to bring the majority of the staff back to the business. And again, continue processing the submitted, and that’s when they’re going to also start taking in office appointments.

Brian Romine 

Cool.

Tony Price 

Nice.

Tom Karnes 

[inaudible 04:22] a couple months out, it’s just going to be business as normal. So, we’re very, very excited about getting the passport processing up and operational.

Tony Price 

That’s great.

Brian Romine 

So, are you seeing some renewed activity on your end then with people reaching out and asking about what you have available for booking?

Tom Karnes 

It’s funny because it was very slow. Everything we’ve been doing in facilitating is managing existing bookings or canceled bookings. One of the other big topics that’s going out there right now is, “Hey, man. Where’s my refund? I canceled this trip three months ago. I still haven’t seen my money.” So, we’re answering a lot of questions about that that are popping up. And I will tell everybody, major tour companies and cruise lines, they’re taking up the 90 days to get refunds. So, we’re talking to the consumers, everybody’s frustrated, we get it. A travel agency doesn’t hold the funds, the tour operator cruise line does. We’ve had people threatened to sue us and we’re like, “You know what? Do what you got to do, but all I can tell you is you are getting a refund. By the time you talk to an attorney or something,  that refund is going to be there. So, just be a little bit more patient with us.” And then we get people that want to dispute their credit card charge and we’re like, “Do not dispute it.” The best advice I can give to anybody out there that’s waiting on a refund and they’re guaranteed the refund, do not dispute it. Because what happens is, whatever company you’re dealing with or cruise line, they now need to look into your reservation, which means they’re going to pull your pending refund out, review what’s going on, see if you have a legitimate reason to dispute discharge. And when it’s all said and done, 99% of the people we’ve dealt with do not have a legitimate excuse to dispute it. So, guess what? You go back into the refund queue, but you go back in at the end of the queue.

Brian Romine 

That’s good advice. I would not have known that.

Tom Karnes 

It’s just patience. Like I said, we understand money’s tough, everybody’s having a tough time, and let’s be honest, a lot of concern is, “Hey, our travel agency is going to go out of business, or tour companies, cruise lines. Are they going to run out of money?” and I get it. From LaMacchia travel standpoint, we’re sympathetic, we’re there with our clients through all 90 days or 60 days, whatever it may be, answering questions, guaranteeing them, tracking the process. So, patience. Patience is really, really needed.

Brian Romine 

Yeah. Tom, are you able to take those deposits where people might be asking for refunds and maybe convert them into credits or at discounts for future travel rather than them actually taking the refund?

Tom Karnes 

Absolutely. That’s a great question. Basically, it’s like working with your cruise liner, your tour operator. You’re doing them a favor by not asking them to give you money back, and in return, what companies like Funjet Vacations are doing, this is one of my favorite things, this Funjet Vacations will say, “Okay. Since your trip got canceled, we’re going to hold your $2,000. If you let us hold your $2,000 instead of refunding it, we’re going to allow you to book a trip that must be completed by the end of 2021 and we’re going to make that a $2,400 credit.” So, what they’re doing is they’re giving a 20% to 25% increase in the value for letting them hold on to the money and you to use it in the next year.

Tony Price 

Nice. That’s great.

Tom Karnes 

This is for people that didn’t even buy travel insurance because travel insurance does not cover COVID cancellations. So, there’s a lot of people out of money because it was the exception to the policy, but most of the companies and airlines have been working with people saying, “Hey, we’ll give you a credit.” So, it’s that infamous ‘we’re all in it together’ thing. Let’s work with each other on it and everybody’s going to come out of this okay.

Jim Scott 

That’s very cool.

Tom Karnes 

I digressed there because you did ask me if I’m seeing things loosen up and the refund thing popped into my mind because we’re booking a lot of people who do have those credits on the books with us in the tour company. So, there’s been some openings and I will tell you, I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people that are booking for 2020 still. I was in the mindset that, “Hey, you know what? We’re not going to see a lot of activity. It’s going to be a 2021 business, we need to get through the next six months and make 2021 epic.” but in the last week, the doors have opened a little bit. We’re seeing people looking to go September, October to Mexico, to the Caribbean. We’ve done some last-minute trips to places like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, of course, Disney World. Orlando was pretty popular for a while. But, people are traveling domestically. If the doors are opening, then we’re very excited.

Jim Scott 

That’s great.

Brian Romine 

Yeah. How about internationally? We’re in the US here. So, are you seeing anything break loose there at all?

Tom Karnes 

Just Mexico, Caribbean. But when we start talking about Asia, in Europe, those conversations are probably the least ones happening. In our books this year, we had a record season for Italy in Europe and all those trips got cancelled. Many of them got future travel credits. The people with the future travel credits haven’t even really started talking about it next year because it’s such a trip of substance. They really want to get a feel of what’s going on and what that experience is going to be for a traveler before they do.

Tony Price 

Yeah, I can imagine for people who don’t travel on a regular basis, several times a day, across Europe, they’re doing like a once in every few years type of vacation, they want to make sure everything is rocking and rolling, and open. Whereas, people like us who travel three or four times a year, we’re like, “Dude, I just opened the door. Let me get in.” As long as I can get a glass of wine, a cup of coffee and a bagel, I’m good.

Brian Romine 

Sit on a rock, just don’t put me in a 14-day quarantine.

Tony Price 

Exactly.

Tom Karnes 

Right. What you just mentioned about ‘give me open the door and give me a glass of wine’, the other thing was announced this week is, American Airlines and Delta Vacations are no longer offering alcohol on the plane.

Jim Scott 

I saw that, I was like, “What?”

Brian Romine 

I haven’t heard about that.

Tom Karnes 

Yeah, it hurts. I felt better about myself when I had an excuse to start drinking something.

Tony Price 

Now, I’m going to feel really bad when I sneak in my minis onto the plane.

Brian Romine 

Did they mention the reasoning for that?

Tom Karnes 

Again, interaction with passengers on board, to minimize the interaction, which is kind of silly because they’re still handing out water, but I guess the credit card is not back and forth. And I think it gives them an opportunity to be able to minimize any type of situations that could arise from too much alcohol consumption as well, especially during these times. People I think are nervous about flying and some good group of individuals are also a little offended that you’re taking some of their liberties away, so they can get a little belligerent. So, I think it’s kind of a two-fold myself.

Brian Romine 

So, this probably won’t be a permanent, this is just during this time.

Tony Price 

Yeah.

Tom Karnes 

Correct. And I think the minis come in under three ounces, so everybody doesn’t really need it. You should be able to get it through TSA. This is a judge-free zone by the way.

Brian Romine 

Absolutely. That’s three ounces per bottle, so as long as you have 10-12 three ouncers …

Jim Scott 

I’m sure. I know several people probably would be taking their shampoo bottles out of their little travel thing and making room. How long is the flight?

Tom Karnes 

Just don’t make the mistake of trying to smuggle alcohol in, whether it could be a bottle and put alcohol in it because from my high school experiences, no matter how much you wash it, you will never ever, ever get the shampoo out of the bottle.

Jim Scott 

Words of wisdom.

Brian Romine 

That’s a travel update you probably don’t see here very often.

Brian Romine 

That’s my special nugget right there.

Tony Price 

That’s cool. But as you said so, Mexico, I know we were talking about several locations last week or so, what are you booking out? I know Cancun and then we’re starting to open Playa, and a few others. How are you seeing activity now?

Tom Karnes 

Companies like Hard Rock Resorts, it switches AIC. They have Hard Rock Resorts in Unico. They’ve come out with deals right now that are absolutely unbelievable. Unico is a five-star top line luxury resort in Riviera Maya [inaudible 13:13] and we have been selling, this is what the airfare from Chicago, airfare for four nights, all Inclusive $840 per person. That’s everything at a five-star hotel. We have probably booked 40 to 45 of those reservations in the last 48 hours.

Tony Price 

When are you traveling? What’s the travel time?

Tom Karnes 

That’s a great question. Sorry. We have our first person arriving this Sunday and our last one in the window frame is December. They’ll arrive December 15th.

Tony Price 

Nice. And that’s including airfare?

Tom Karnes 

Yeah, that’s including airfare on United or American out of Chicago or Frontier and we’re booking it with Funjet Vacations and Unico. And then Hard Rock Riviera Maya also has pricing that’s very similar. Here’s my nugget, I think I’m the kernel here with nugget. These resorts have unlimited resort credit. So, your golf is included, your massages are included, your excursions are included, but you have to pay 25% tax on it. At Unico and Hard Rock, if you book a tee time and say you pay $200 for golf, it’s what the value is, you’re using your resort credit. You’re basically paying what’s 25% ($50) for that call. So, not only are you getting a steal of a deal to be able to stay in this ultra-luxurious hotel, which is a nod to the people of Riviera Maya because all the artwork, all the furniture, everything in the resort is locally made and sourced. It is one of my favorite resorts. You also get to take advantage of this unlimited resort credit. That’s pretty standard with Hard Rock.

Jim Scott 

That’s pretty impressive.

Tony Price 

Yeah, it is.

Brian Romine 

Can our listeners find that on your website? The link to that specific trip.

Brian Romine 

You can find it on our Facebook page because that’s where all the activity is. So, if you go to LaMacchia Travel on Facebook and find us, we have these specials and deals like that constantly. We try not to be a special board. We’re not one of those places that’s going to email you and infringe upon it, but it’s a great opportunity for you to take. It’s a great site that’s going to update you in deals throughout the time and things like the passport office opening because it changes so quickly. I don’t think we really changed it on the website. And that’s where all the business came from, all these bookings. We have had over 16,000 people see that offer.

Tony Price 

Wow. That’s amazing.

Jim Scott 

Wow.

Tom Karnes 

For us, we’re normally a 2,000 share or something like that. It just goes to show that people are ready to go.

Tony Price 

Yeah, absolutely. That hotel, do they have limited capacity? Are they keeping the volume down?

Tom Karnes 

Well, because it’s this short window, like I said, before the end of the year, you can travel, except it doesn’t really apply over Christmas and Thanksgiving, the space is getting limited. I know it’s because we’ve been booking a ton of it and other agents have been. So, it’s not falsely advertised. There’s a lot of companies we’ve dealt with over the years that throws a few rooms out there available for this. This is a legitimate offer. They’re selling as many of these rooms as they can at that price.

Brian Romine 

Cool.

Tony Price 

That’s impressive.

Tom Karnes 

It really is. Again, by the time this podcast comes out, that special will be over, but I’m pretty confident we’re going to have another one that’s going to be out and we won’t post the deal if we don’t feel the quality of the hotel is worth it. We’re not about lowball discount deals. We’re excited about this because this is an experience and it just happens to be really inexpensive.

Tony Price 

Yeah, that’s cool. Just real quick, you participated in our full episode that we did. This is our travel update, so this is actually going to drop in just a couple of days.

Tom Karnes 

Oh. Excellent!

Tony Price 

We want to really try to get people up-to-date information of what’s going on now. So, probably will drop in just a couple days.

Tom Karnes 

That’s great. LaMacchia Travel l a m a c c h i a travel, check us out. I’m a big proponent for travel agents. If you have your own travel agent, you’re happy with them, contact them and have them see if they can help you out. If you’re not, you’re looking, check us out.

Jim Scott 

Yeah, absolutely.

Brian Romine 

Yeah, for sure. So, what else? Any other one more?

Tom Karnes 

Here’s two quick ones. One, Jamaica is open. June 15th, Jamaica opened back up, which is very exciting because if you’re going to go to Jamaica prior to June 15, you would have had to land and you would have been quarantined for 14 days at your own cost. That means not leaving your room. That doesn’t sound like a great Jamaican experience. What Jamaica has done if they put in some processes right now, where you’re subject to thermal screaming upon arrival in Jamaica and they will quarantine you then if you’re showing symptoms of the COVID. But, Jamaica is open. It’s one of my all-time favorite destinations, so that’s exciting news. Then the other big news, more global, is we’re hearing that Australia is not going to open till 2021.

Brian Romine 

Wow.

Jim Scott 

What? I didn’t hear that.

Tom Karnes 

They’re only allowing citizens and family to travel in and out of the country for emergencies or family business per se. But even if that, they’re going to require a 14-day quarantine when you arrive. So, Qantas has canceled all their international flights as well. That was just a little bit more of a realistic hit. You’re excited about Mexico, Jamaica, you’re having some conversations about Europe, and then when you see, “Austria, we’re closed till 2021.” You’re like, “Yeah, there’s still something going on.” Right.

Brian Romine 

Tom, we can’t end on that one. That’s a little bit of a downer. Give us one more. Good one. What do you got?

Tom Karnes 

Oh, let me see. What do I have here? Those were my bullet points I figured. I’ll think about how my day’s been.

Tony Price 

Yeah, you can’t tell us where we’re not going.

Tom Karnes 

That is true. Obviously, I didn’t do very well myself. What I will tell you right now, though, is what’s going to be back stronger than ever, are going to be European river cruises. The European river cruises for 2021 are now starting to fly off the shelf. If anybody is looking to go, I’m going to tell you what. That experience for a European river cruise combines the best of all worlds. The convenience of traveling, the convenience of unpacking one time, but yet being able to see eight to 10 different cities in three different countries. In the last seven years, river cruising has grown so quickly that they’re now introducing the domestic river cruises. Many of these river cruise companies that specialize in European or Asian river cruises are now coming to the United States. We just heard that Viking, in 2021, they’re going to launch Lake Michigan cruises, the Great Lakes. They’re going to be doing cruises in and out of the Great Lakes. They’ve also started announcing some of the Mississippi River, Ohio River tours as well. River cruising look into it. If you’re afraid to leave the country or you can’t get a passport, look at some of the domestic river cruises that are out there as well. It’s funny because I live right on Lake Michigan, it’s just south of Milwaukee, north of Chicago, and when they announced that Viking river cruise was coming in, it was very exciting news, because it’s great to be able to feature and show off the Great Lakes, but it’s funny because the mentality of the locals here, they almost had a stroke when they saw much it costs. Like, “Hey, this ain’t the ferry from Milwaukee.” It’s comparable to a European river cruise, but let me tell you, the responses were great.

Brian Romine 

That’s fantastic.

Tom Karnes 

That’s where I’m going right now, be in the US, Asia, or Europe, that is an experience you want to be able to take.

Tony Price 

That’s so cool.

Brian Romine 

Can we find information on that on your Facebook page or on your website?

Tom Karnes 

On our website, we have information on river cruises and different types of vacation options on there. And because stuff changes so much, the best way is you can email us, you can request information on Facebook, you can text us. We’re available pretty much by every means and we put you in contact with one of our agents, with this local team of experienced travel agents, and we always tell people from our standpoint, “We’re your advocate. We’re here for you and we need to guarantee your first vacation experience is a positive one and we’ve earned your business because we’re already looking forward to booking your next one. And there’s no next one if we don’t do it right the first time.”

Brian Romine 

Yeah. That’s great. That’s wonderful. Tom, thanks so much for joining us today giving us an update. I definitely learned a few things there. This has been the Friends That Carry On Weekly Travel Update Podcast and we thank Tom, again, from LaMacchia Travel out of Kenosha, Wisconsin for joining us and giving us some good tips. Tom, thanks again.

Tom Karnes 

My pleasure. Thanks for having me, guys.

Brian Romine 

Take care everybody.

Outro

Be sure to join the Friends next week for another great discussion. Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already. You can also find the Friends and other content at www.friendsthatcarryon.com or check us out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook by searching Friends That Carry On. Thanks again for joining us and don’t forget to carry on, friends.