Information
for our
Professional Travel Agent partners
We welcome
inquires from all IATA, ARC and CLIA licensed travel agents and agencies.
Accessible Journeys, Inc. is a wholesale tour operator and travel planner
and we encourage you to contact us about independent itineraries and
our group tours.
For 20
years our only business has been planning itineraries and operating
tours exclusively for wheelchair travelers, their friends and their
families.
To begin
working with you, your agency and your client, we have prepared information
specifically for our travel agent colleagues.
Our
group Tours:
All of our group
programs can be booked by travel agents. Our group programs are commissionable
to all IATA, ARC and CLIA licensed travel agents and agencies. These
are commissions that can not be collected by the general public.
Commissions:
Standard travel industry commissions are paid to all IATA, ARC and CLIA
licensed travel agents and agencies. Our
commissions can not be collected by the general public and are not additional
fees charged to our clients. Inquiries regarding commission schedules
must be accompanied by a valid IATA, ARC and CLIA number. Commissions
are not paid on special events tickets, dinner reservations, VAT where
applicable, companion services, medical equipment, medical supplies,
medical equipment rentals, additional single supplement charges and
administrative fees.
FIT
planning for your client:
Our independent holidays are structured itineraries featuring reserved
accommodations offering a high level of accessibility. It is not possible
for us to design unstructured "accessible routes" without pre-reserving
facilities. Specialized itinerary planning can, at times, require weeks
or months of work with numerous communications to many parts of the
globe.
How
do I become a client of Accessible Journeys:
We require a "goodwill" deposit of $250.00 before we begin
planning any private itinerary, or preparing a quote. When we receive
your clients' goodwill deposit we begin work on their itinerary. We
first need to exchange as much information as we can about your client.
By working closely with you, we create an itinerary designed specifically
with their interests, abilities, and budget in mind. It can be as jam-packed
with activities, or as leisurely as they want. Together we work to meet
their expectations and to plan a holiday specifically designed for your
client.
Next, we create an itinerary and a price quote containing all of the
services and accommodations your clients' request, or desire. If you
and your clients' accept our proposal and ask us to continue working
on their program (to adjust, confirm, or rearrange our services), you
become a client of Accessible Journeys and we begin making your clients'
travel plans a reality.
Is
my clients' goodwill deposit refundable?
YES ! Provided your clients are not departing within eight weeks
of their travel request, their goodwill deposit is returned in two instances;
if they decline our initial proposal, or when they return home after
the successful completion of their tour program, (provided your clients'
had no additional costs, or additional expenses (that were beyond our
control) after their final tour payment (60 days before their departure).
Additional costs or expenses after final payment include, and are not
limited to, unpaid balances to our suppliers for addition services,
communication charges for managing personal matters or situations beyond
our control, processing insurance claims, penalty fees and/or collecting
refunds if applicable).
Upon receipt of your clients' goodwill deposit we create a proposal
containing a travel itinerary and a price quote for all of the accommodations
and services that you and your client requests. When you receive our
initial proposal and discuss our program with your client, your client
can: decline our proposal, accept our proposal as it is, or ask us to
continue working on their proposal by making amendments to our initial
proposal with the anticipation of receiving a second quote.
If your client declines our proposal, we immediately refund 100% of
their goodwill deposit in the same manner as it was presented to our
agency.
If your client accepts our proposal with no further (significant) changes,
this constitutes an engagement of our services and their goodwill deposit
is held and used for telecommunication expenses, postal fees, wire transfers,
and other expenses directly related to their travel planning.
If your client reviews our initial proposal and makes amendments and
requests us to return a second proposal, this constitutes an engagement
of our services and their goodwill deposit is held and used for telecommunication
expenses, postal fees, wire transfers, and other expenses directly related
to their travel planning.
If your clients' cancel their travel plans for any reason after they
have accepted our initial proposal, or after they have made amendments
to our initial proposal, their goodwill deposit is refunded after the
following have been deducted, in the following order: - expenses* and/or
a service fee from Accessible Journeys, - expenses* and/or a service
fees from our colleagues, - expenses* and/or a service fees from your
agency. The symbol (*) indicates expenses deducted are related to your
clients' travel planning and/or travel program.
In addition, we reserve the right to charge a fee of up to 10% of the
trip costs for travel arrangements canceled following the engagement
of our services and/or after the acceptance of their itinerary.
About
close-in departures:
We do not accept "goodwill" deposits for travel within eight
weeks or less before departure. A "prepare to travel" payment
of $250.00 is required for itinerary planning within eight weeks of
travel. Prepare to travel payments are nonrefundable. If your clients
do not accept our proposal we are not able to return their goodwill
deposit.
The complexity of an accessible trip requires substantial time and some
clients have been waiting for months for us to methodically complete
their travel plans. For this reason, our agents and our international
colleagues are not able to drop everything and place your clients' travel
plans in front of every other client without some assurances. We hope
you understand the delicate nature of this and the reason for our nonrefundable
payment. We want to help, and we're more than capable of assisting most
clients in most instances, but the amount of work required to put together
an accessible itinerary at the last minute is monumental, especially
when we have already accepted work from other clients who contracted
us before your client.
Can
our clients use a credit card to make a telecommunications deposit?
YES ! We are a member of the "PayPal" secure payment system.
We can accept Visa and Mastercard credit card only through the "PayPal"
program. The security of each payment and the privacy of your client'
personal information is guaranteed. If you or your client are not a
member, join from our site and receive $5.00 towards your first purchase.
How
we work with travel agents:
By working closely with you, we can create an itinerary designed specifically
with your clients' interests & budget in mind. After receipt of your
clients' "goodwill deposit" and specific information about
your clients' and their holiday, we prepare a preliminary itinerary
and quote. Depending on your clients' destination and touring details,
our initial itinerary and proposal could take as much as 2 to 3 weeks
to prepare. After receipt of our initial proposal, we ask you to review
our proposal with your client and to contact us with any corrections,
changes or concerns.
During this phase we work closely with
you to "fine tune" your clients' program without charge for changes
or corrections. The number and the extent of your clients' changes determine
how quickly we can return a second, a third or even a forth proposal
for their consideration. In our experience of preparing 100's of personalized
itineraries, we've found that we can rarely "hit the nail on the
head" with our initial proposal. Your clients talk with their friends
and neighbors, read travel articles and inevitably make changes. The
back and forth process of refining your clients' itinerary is just that...a
process...so please express to your clients the time consuming nature
of this process.
At the end of this process we present
your clients' with their finalized itinerary and quote. It is your responsibility
to collect and forward your clients' payment to our agency.
What
we need to know about your clients:
To better serve the needs of your client & customize a private itinerary,
include the following information:
(1) Complete name of each traveler (as noted on legal documents)
(2) Age of each traveler
(3) Type & dimensions of the wheelchair being used
(scooters & electric wheelchairs may not be accommodated
in all regions)
(4) Reason for using wheelchair (illness, injury, fatigue, etc.)
(5) Preferred dates of travel & length of stay
(6) Detail special needs, if any
(7) Preferred level of accommodations
(8) Specific interests, attractions or sites to visit, if any
(9) Estimated budget
Can
I get information about proposed holiday plans without sending a goodwill
deposit?
YES ! Over the years we've collected tremendous volumes of accessibility
information about the destinations we serve. Our experienced travel
professionals are happy to discuss your clients' overall travel plans
and assist you with any logistical questions to assist your clients.
It is not possible to provide detailed quotes, or estimates since the
dates of travel, level of accommodation, use of guide services, their
length of stay, and the foreign currency valuation will ultimately determine
your clients' final costs.
Are
your group cruises commissionable?
NO ! Our contract with our cruise suppliers specifically prohibits
us from offering a retail commission. We do offer a "booking fee"
to agencies who place their clients into our group cruises. Our "booking
fee" is a payment from our agency and is not an additional fee
charged to your client.
Can
I get "hotel lists" and accessibility information about a
particular destination?
NO ! That information is best obtained from a travel resource center
and not from a tour planner like Accessible Journeys. Our independent
holidays are structured itineraries featuring reserved accommodations
offering a high level of accessibility. It is not possible for us to
design unstructured "accessible routes" without pre-reserving
facilities.
Does
Accessible Journeys plan driving routes and driving itineraries in the
USA?
NO! This type of holiday is best planned by a professional automobile
association such as AAA.
Does
Accessible Journeys plan driving routes and driving itineraries in countries
outside the USA?
YES ! Working directly with our worldwide offices and overseas colleagues
our itineraries, hotel selections, and travel routes are all designed
with a high level of accessibility by travel professionals who know
accessibility firsthand.
What
makes the services of Accessible Journeys so special?
No agency is better qualified to serve your accessibility needs
in Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, India, Asia, and South America. Members
of our staff have traveled extensively in these regions, inspected hotels,
and we've personally designed our tour programs to maximize accessibility.
The benefits of our personal inspections are available to our group
programs and to your clients who choose to travel independently.
We look
forward to assisting you with your special needs clients. For further
details contact Accessible
Journeys, Inc.
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