Ski Vacations for Families – 6 Guidelines for Finding the Right Resort
Are you planning a ski trip with your family? Then you need to choose a resort that is friendly towards families and children. There are many types of ski vacations, so you need to find one that is ideal for your needs.You can always find deals on family vacation packages online. Either go with an all inclusive ski package or pay for the expenses, such as the transportation and accommodation, separately.Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for the ideal resort:Ski resorts that are friendly towards families tend to have beginner courses. They offer easy beginner slopes to make it easy for children to learn how to ski. A beginner course will have an easy mode of transport from the ground up to the ski area.
You should look for a resort that offers skiing lessons to smaller groups. That, you and your children can be introduced to the sport comfortably. Even if you know how to ski yourself, you should still consider taking a refresher course.
A family ski destination won’t have a lot of bars and clubs. Sure, the adults in your group should be allowed to grab a drink or two if they want, but there shouldn’t be so many bars in the area that it attracts party-goers.
Decide whether you want to stay in the country or go elsewhere. There are plenty of family friendly resorts in the US, so you won’t have to spend a lot of money to go overseas unless you really want to. You’ll be able to save a lot of money if you stay at a US ski resort instead of buying international plane tickets for everybody. However, going overseas might be an educational experience for your children.
Wherever you decide to go, check and see if the resort has condos and cabins available for rent. You probably won’t be able to fit your entire family in a hotel room. Condos and cabins typically have two or three bedrooms and a kitchen. If you can, choose your lodging near a parking area so you can easily carry the skiing equipment to the door from your car or rental car.
If you are traveling with smaller children, make sure to stay at a resort with good childcare services. Be sure to read reviews on ski vacations online to find out what other parents are saying about the daycare or babysitting services at the resort(s) you are considering.Keep these guidelines in mind, and you and your family should have an enjoyable ski vacation!
Online Hotel Booking in Bodhgaya
Bodhgaya is a destination which is located in the Indian state of Bihar and is prominent for its religious aspects. Bodhgaya holds religious significance at a large-scale. The reason behind such religious significance is Buddhism. Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment in this place through rigorous concentration and meditation. He meditated under the famous Bodhi tree at Bodhi Mandala. He not only attained enlightenment here but also preached his pious teachings for a long time. Since then, this small district of Bodhgaya came into limelight. The place is thronged by devotees and travelers from all over the world who seeks to worship and explore this pious site of Bodhgaya. Some of them visit the place to witness the origin of the most followed religion. Tourists especially from Sri Lanka, Bhutan and other South Asian countries visit this site the most because of the Buddhist influence. There are many sites in this small district which affirms to be the significant Buddhist sites. Apart from Buddhism, there are some other nearby attractions as well like Ajanta and Ellora, Sarnath etc. which travelers can visit in their trip.Bodhgaya provides awakening and inner peace to the travellers. The place itself is an initial way for those who seek to follow the trail of Buddha. It inspires people to follow a path which leads to peace and awakening. People find the meaning of their life. People from every religion come to visit the place to gain the pious insight of Buddhism. Buddhism is considered as the essence of dharma which leads the human soul to the right path. For letting these travelers get the best of Bodhgaya certain travel agents have come forward to organize special tour to Bodhgaya. Understanding the large tourist count every year, people are now focusing on providing accommodation to these travelers. In Bodhgaya people are introducing initiatives where travelers who seek to visit this pious district of Bihar can get the best accommodation with a single click online.With this, travelers can get all the information which is relevant for booking rooms for their accommodation and travelling in Bodhgaya. You can also look for Buddhist tour packages, extension tours, short excursions, transportation and additional travel vacation linked activities apart from hotel accommodation. There is detailed information in a precise format on the website where travelers can compare and choose hotels according to their requirements online. After having sufficient knowledge about the hotel, one can book the room online by following an easy and simple procedure. You will surely get what you see. As Bodhgaya rooms, strictly follow the quality check and provide the best services to its travelers.
Is Your Hotel Ready for the Millennial Traveler?
Before I continue, let’s first make sure we’re on the same page about who were referring to when we use the expression ‘millennial traveller’.Millennials, also more commonly referred to as Generation Y or Generation Next, are people who were born between the early 1980s and early 2000s. They make up about 20% of international travellers and it is estimated that by 2020, they will account for more than 320 million international trips.Phew. Those are some staggering numbers right there! It’s no wonder that hotels are wooing them with everything they have. But for all the effort they’re making, do hotels really have what Millennials want? Do they even know what Millennials are looking for?If you’re not quite sure, let me drop a few hints your wayHint No.1: Technology is their life forceTechnology is to Millennials what water is to fish – life itself. The perks that most of us consider good to have – Internet, Wi-fi, hi-speed mobile data – are essential to their way of living.What this means for hotelsAccording to a report, almost 71% of Millennial travelers considered free Wi-fi an important factor when choosing a hotel. So hotels, pull up your socks and put the technology in place for them. Or they’re likely to walk up to your competitor and book a room with them.Hint No.2: Millennials love their smartphones ‘Technology at your fingertips’ is an expression that’s taken very seriously by the Millennials. He is likely to go for hours without food and water, but not without checking his smartphone. He works, plays, chats, networks, writes emails, watches videos, and stays up to date on news using his phone. Other more complicated actions like booking tickets, making hotel arrangements, and paying bills can also be competently handled by his handset.What this means for hotelsIt’s absolutely imperative that hotels invest in superior mobile technology, starting with a website that adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions. With more than half of millennial travelers using mobile devices to discover and book hotels, the hospitality industry is paying a heavy price for not investing in a mobile responsive website. You might also want to consider getting an app for your hotel, to facilitate functions like mobile check in, check out, payments, and en-cashing loyalty points.Hint No.3: Millennials are ‘social’ creaturesGeneration Y is often criticized for shirking the forms of social interaction that their parents were fond of. They’re considered aloof, standoffish, and a little bit asocial. But the truth is that Millennials do tend to connect to each other, just not in ways that are familiar to us. The online world, especially social media, takes precedence in their social life. Facebook, Twitter, What’sApp, GChat, and Snapchat is where they hang out, check in, upload pictures, start conversations, and share details of their life.What this means for hotelsGiven that social media is one of the biggest influencing factors in the life of a Millennial, hotels must make a concerted effort to have a presence on various platforms. In fact, they must go beyond the token Facebook and Instagram page and build a community online. Reach out to your audience, engage them, solve their problems, and invite them to leave reviews. An active social media profile inspires confidence among Millennials and is likely to win you brownie points in the long run.Hint No.4: Millennials place great faith in peer reviewsGeneration Y is a suspicious lot and they can recognize a marketing gimmick from a mile away. For this reason, they rely heavily on ‘peer review’ to gather information about a place. Whether they’re buying a new gadget or trying out a restaurant in the neighborhood, you’ll see them pouring over reviews before deciding to do anything. They consider it a more authentic and ‘real’ source of information. And you can be 100 per cent sure that they’ll be reading up about your hotel before deciding to stay there.What this means for hotelsDo not try to patronize or trick the Millennial traveller. All your online properties (website, blog, social media profiles) should display accurate information, accompanied by up-to-date pictures. If you’re offering a deal or discount, lay out the terms in black and white. Encourage your visitors to leave you a review on platforms like Trip-advisor or your Facebook page; incentivize the process, if you have to. Should you receive a negative review, take steps to address it and resolve the situation.Millennials don’t expect you to be flawless. However, they do expect you to be transparent and sincere. Mistakes are an inevitable part of your industry and if you’ve taken every possible step to rectify the problem, you will be forgiven. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself at the receiving end of a nasty review posted for the entire world to see.Hint No.5: Millennials are into BleisureGeneration Y is relatively unencumbered by responsibilities at home and are more open to taking business trips. However, unlike the previous generation, almost 62% of millennial travelers will extend their business vacation to explore the place and gain cultural experiences.What this means for hotelsGone are the days when that solitary desk in the hotel room took care of any ‘business needs’ that travelers had. Millennials do not like working inside their rooms. This is the generation that steps out to a coffee shop to sit with their laptops and work for hours. The concept of the ‘third space’, independent of home and office, has been popularized by them. Design hotel lobbies to cater to this demand, so that when they step out in search for a place to work, they don’t have to go very far.Hint No.6: Millennials look for authentic experiencesDespite what might look like their preoccupation with the cyber world, Millennials are always looking for unique and meaningful travel experiences. They want their stay personalized and won’t pass up an opportunity to learn something valuable. Not content with hitting the high spots of a tourist destination, they crave interaction with locals and enjoy immersing themselves in a variety of cultural experiences.What this means for hotelsReject the cookie cutter approach to the services you offer your guests. Offer them a genuine travel experience, one that is immersive, interactive and hands on. Don’t just take them on a regular sightseeing tour that showcases the city from behind the panes of a bus or car window. Take them to meet local artisans, show them the way to the hip and happening underground bar, and expose them to interesting customs and traditions. That’s the only way to add true value to their life and create an experience they will cherish for life.There’s no denying that Millennials are driving the hospitality industry with full force. They already account for a third of the hotel guests in the world, and by 2020, the figure is expected to climb to 50 per cent.To keep pace with growing demands, hotels must show a willingness to evolve and reinvent themselves. They have to put aside traditional methods of functioning, revisit their marketing strategy, and curate unique experiences for Generation Y.Besides, it is in their best interest that hotels up their game. By updating their offers, hotels stay relevant within the industry and equipped to deal with the demands of changing times. Millennial travelers are the cash cow that every industry dreams of, and by catering to them, hotels are ensuring themselves a solid revenue stream for the next few decades, at least.