travel agent homework

The travel itinerary you’ll send them will cover their first day only. They would like a four-star hotel near the Coliseum, a map and links to a few points of interest, a special event to attend in the afternoon, a dinner reservation, and then a nice club with live music and drinks afterward.

As you find each item, place it into the Travel Itinerary Template (in place of the words already on the template). Please note that “TIME” on the left-hand column is a reference-at-a-glance for your clients. This time refers to the passing of their day. It allows them to pace the events. Arrival and departure times are listed in other fields.

Ordinarily, you would offer your clients a few of the best reservations in every category to choose from. For the purpose of this project, let’s assume that the Marksons have already agreed to whatever you think is best. (Enjoy the moment. It won’t happen very often with real clients.)

Flight Information

Using a flight booking site, find the best rates and times for a flight from New York to Rome in early May. The Marksons are open to a “red-eye” flight, where they fly overnight and arrive in Rome in the morning. They would like to arrive before noon on a nonstop flight.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time of arrival
• Name of the airline
• Departure city
• Arrival city
• Flight/train number
• Class of travel
• Place of departure
• Time of departure
• Place of arrival
• Time of arrival

Car Rental

Using a flight booking site or major car rental site, find the best rate for a midsize four-door with air conditioning and GPS, to be picked up and returned to the airport. 

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• Car rental agency
• Type of car
• Extras
• Pick-up location
• Time of pick-up

Hotel Reservation

Using a flight booking site or major hotel site, find the best rates for a four- or five-star hotel with a king-sized bed. They would like a room with a view in a hotel near the Coliseum.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• Name of hotel
• Street address
• Reservation number
• Phone
• Map link
• Arrival date/time
• Departure date/time
• Type of room
• Number of nights

Map of Area

For these fields, provide links to a good map of the area and three points of interest within walking distance. (Providing a link to Google Maps in general is not sufficient. It must be a map of the area of Rome surrounding the hotel you’ve chosen.)

For the time, you’ll need to estimate the time it will take for them to drive to the hotel from the airport, check in, change, freshen up, and then go out into the city. You obviously can’t know exactly how much time that will take. It need only be a reasonable estimate.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• Point of interest link
• Point of interest link
• Point of interest link

Event

For this event, you’ll need to find out what happens in Rome in early May. Brandon and Paola are a couple in their mid-40s. He’s a sports video producer for Red Bull. She’s a party planner for a fundraising organization. They like big, lively events with a lot of people. Music and performing arts suit them better than quiet tours of museums.

Find an event in Rome that fits into their schedule and appeals to their tastes. Remember that anyone can book the well-known events themselves. If you really want to shine, you’ll find something truly special that they would not be likely to know about—something they can tell all their relatives about the next day (when they praise you as the greatest travel agent ever). This is their one day in Rome on their own. Make it shine.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• Name of event
• Street address
• Reservation number
• Phone
• Map link

Restaurant

Naturally, they both want to sample authentic Italian cuisine from a memorable restaurant with an attentive staff. It doesn’t have to be Michelin-starred, but it should have something special on the menu and a wonderful ambience.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• Restaurant name
• Street address
• Map link
• Phone

After-Dinner Club

To cap off the evening, find this couple a great club where they can dance to live music, enjoy a few drinks, and then make their way back to the hotel with fond memories of the day.

Fill in each of these fields on the template:

• Time
• After-dinner club name
• Street address
• Map link
• Phone