Wholesale Destinations warns of the online travel duopoly Expedia Inc and Priceline Group

DALLAS, Texas (August 8, 2017) – Wholesale Destinations Inc.- One of America’s top travel wholesalers, headquartered in Tampa Florida shared a frightening warning with  travel consumers Thursday at the International Travel Brokers (ITB) convention in Dallas, Texas. Wholesale Destinations is now regarded by many travel industry executives to be the whistle blower in the travel industry revealing publicly that since 2015 the U.S. Hotel industry has been held hostage by the “duopoly” of ExpediaInc. and Priceline Group Inc.

The US Hotel industry brings in a whopping $200 billion in revenue each year and a staggering 91% of all the travel booked in America is booked through Expedia Inc and Priceline Group. The two online travel super giants monopolies.

Does thismonopoly hurt consumer choicesand impede small businesses?

Well members of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, with members such as Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott sure think so. They have begun to lobby the Federal Trade Commission to step in and help broaden the customer options.

Will the U.S. Hotel Industry will besuccessful at breaking up the duopoly? “That is highly unlikely since Expedia and Priceline retain the top lobby firms and congress have become extremely hotel friendly under the new Trump Administration.” States Dean Piccio a travel historian out of Dallas. “With rising vacation costs annually and commissions at an all time high, the growth and Expedia Inc. and Priceline Group Incis truly unstoppable at this point”

Wholesale Destinations states that online retail customers pay more commissions than ever before. Take Expedia Inc as an example,once a small offshoot of Microsoft, quickly became a powerhouse in the travel industry, and now owns multiple brands such as Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, Hotwire, and Trivago. They appear to be each other’s competition with their own aggressive marketing strategies. The truth is that those companies are actually owned by the same conglomerate. The current vision of the company, according to its own website, boasts, “We are aggressive!”, “We will grow and take shares of our competitors!”, and to that they have remained true, only at the cost of consumer’s dollars. Expedia and Priceline Group are both high end retail travel sites. Combined they own hundreds and hundreds of the largest travel sites.

The truth is Expedia’s commission’s range from 20-75%, a figure so high that it makes hoteliers wonder if they are in fact operating a franchise under Expedia’s control and no control of their own. Here is an example; a hotel will offer Expedia ten rooms for reservations. These rooms are not sold to Expedia and there is no income guarantee for the hotel. The rate is set at say $100 and, if sold, the guest will pay Expedia $100 and Expedia will pay the hotel $75. The $25 that Expedia withholds is the commission fee which is used to provide customer service, marketing and seek new business.

The second of the two claimed monopolies of the online travel industry is Priceline Group, Inc. Who is a conglomerate of many well known travel and booking sites. These include priceline.com, booking.com, KAYAK, agoda.com, rentalcars.com, and OpenTable.

Advertising cost Priceline $2.8 Billion dollars last year alone. Yet who do you think covers those costs? You guessed it right. The consumer! Like Expedia, Priceline began business in 1997 with its famous Name your own price line. Beginning in the early 2000’s Priceline began to focus solely on travel and started acquiring leading travel booking sites such as booking.com, agoda.com, and rentalcars.com.

Currently, chain hotel groups have shown an increase in bookings over the last year due to strategic advertising and special deals, such as free stays and membership points. However the chains still find themselves at a disadvantage through the price parity rule which prohibits chain hotels from advertising lower rates on their own sites than those offered through online agencies. Thus advertising through agencies like Priceline and Expedia is a must but a costly necessity. Commission rates have skyrocketed to an estimated 3.5 billion dollars a year. No wonder the chains are seeking to eliminate commission costs by luring travelers to book through their own sites, and seeking to oust the “monopolies”, Expedia and Priceline.

In response to the allegations of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, an Expedia spokeswoman stated that the travel industry is highly competitive and Expedia plays a small role. She also concluded that listing on the company’s site is optional but millions advertise through their site to increase bookings. In return it has only infuriated hotel franchise owners, and has given companies no choice, but to seek out a way to hold onto some of their profits for abilities to cover company costs. With inflation playing a big part, and options left slim due to ill regulations franchises are left to fend for creative ways to stay in business. As long as Expedia and Priceline continue to dominate, there will be charged commissions and advertisement costs, that again the hoteliers and consumers get the displeasure of picking up with their pocketbook.

As the travel industry evolves with technology and advances into the wholesale destination notion, consumers are seeking the advantages of a full package deal accompanied by reduced rates, which holds both the hotel associations and their adversaries accountable to accommodate those options in order to remain part of the industry.

Savvy consumers have sought out alternatives and Wholesale Destinations has become the choice of many as the first wholesale travel agency in America. Wholesale Destinations provides the same exact travel as Expedia and Priceline but has given vacationers and travelers alike, a new way to book vacations and trips of their choice at much lower prices. They charge zero commissions on any travel and make their money like other wholesale clubs such as Costco and Sams Club. Wholesale Destinations profit and operating expenses come as a result of member annual dues. With over 500k members and growing, they seem to be growing a concept that a couple years ago was practically unheard of.

They were named  America’s fastest growing travel agency for the past 2 years by INC 500, TMTC Platinum 500 Club, and was even named the best of the best agency for booking Sandals Resorts for the lowest prices available to the market. Wholesale Destinations fulfillment company was founded in 1992.

Today, Wholesale Destinationshas over 500,000 active dues paying members worldwide and is 100% Debt-free. They boast of zero advertising costs and zero commissions or mark ups to their members and featureinventory from over 150 travel wholesalers providing  travel options to 2000+ cities, in 150 countries and a collection of more than 5000 resorts world-wide! Offering unbeatable pricing with a guarantee so strong that, if a member of Wholesale Destinationsfinds a better deal online that is less than what they offer it for, then they will reimburse its member 110% of the difference. “We believe that beats any other price match guarantee you’ll find out there” says Reimo, an executive at Wholesale Destinations. “What SAMs Club and CostCo do for groceries and tires, Wholesale Destinations does for cruises, resort stays, airfare, hotels, and vacation packages.”

Additional:

Wholesale Destinations has been recognized as one of the top travelagencies in America, associated with ARDA, and are members of CLIA and IATAN. Wholesale Destinationsboard of directors have over 225 years of travel management experience. The agency prides itself on passing on travel discounts and quality of vacations and suppliers that no other player in the travel industry can seem to match. Agency also offers unmatched first class, 24/7 365 concierge service. Wholesale Destinations Inc.  has grown to become one of the largest and most profitable travel agencies in North America. Being a member of Wholesale Destinations Inc. as a consumer you open up access to huge savings to booking luxury properties, hotels, air fare, all-inclusive vacations, cruises, car rentals, railways, guided tours, and many more perks that you would not otherwise get by booking through Expedia or Priceline, because it isn’t lucrative for said companies, and would cut into their commission’s and advertisement costs. By giving the ability not only to save big on travel and vacations  Wholesale Destinations Inc. gives access to choices of  2000+ cities, in 105 countries and a collection of more than 5000 resorts world-wide!

To find out more, please visit www.wholesaledestinations.com

Contact:

Judy Templeton

wholesaledestinationsinc@gmail.com

800-714-3417

URL’s

http://wholesaledestinations.com

http://wholesaledestinations.com/member-benefits/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/wholesaledestinations1/

About Us:

Meet America’s fastest growing travel agency for the past 2 years!

About

Our travel fulfillment center was founded in 1992, Wholesale Destinations is owned and operated in America and it’s board of directors have over 225 years of travel management experience, it has grown to become one of the largest and most profitable travel agencies in North America.

• Over 500,000 active members worldwide
• 100% Debt-free
• Over 150 travel wholesale suppliers
• Winner of many major awards (see right and below)
• Recognized as one of the top travel agencies in America

 Industry Awards

• CLIA Diamond Agency
• Inc 500 Fastest Growing Travel Company
• Vacation.com Fastest Growing Travel Agency 2 years in a row
• Vacation.com Power of Partnership Award
• Celebrity Cruises Partner of the Year
• Viking Cruises Platinum Circle
• Apple Vacations Platinum Agency
• TMTC Platinum 500 Club
• Sandals Resorts Best of the Best
• Celebrity Cruises Partner of the Year
• Carnival Cruises Excellence Award
• and many many more!

– See more at: http://wholesaledestinations.com/about-us/#sthash.bOITf70Q.dpuf

Rip Repair on Historic Oil Painting by Henry Chapman Ford, Santa Barbara, California

Vintage, historical oil painting Bishop Ranch – Glen Annie, Santa Barbara, CA 1875 by Henry Chapman Ford was very dirty, ripped and trashed. http://www.FineArtConservationLab.com Click on SEE MORE

Why we do NOT patch ripped paintings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOk0vk3w5zs

Contact info

Art conservators: Scott M. Haskins, Oriana Montemurro, Virginia Panizzon 805 570 4140 faclartdoc@gmail.com

Historical notes

Lots of vintage oil paintings pass my way for conservation with a dramatic story attached and so it was with this landscape that was ripped to shreds. Like many old paintings, it had old brown brittle ripped wrapping paper on the back… it looked like it had been through a war… and perhaps it had, of sorts.

The artwork in this story was part of “a pile of paintings” found in a storage shed, the damaged dirty oil painting had been thrown away… then fished out and “thrown into a deal” with an art dealer who bought the whole pile. Horse-traded along with other items twice more, it finally ended up in my hands to “save it if you can.” Well, saving and preserving art is what we do! It’s especially satisfying if its historic. Wouldn’t saving and preserving history for future generations give you the good worthwhile feeling of being socially conscientious?

Carefully looking it over I removed the old paper on the back and saw an inscription on the back written in a handwriting style that I recognized! Actually, I was stupefied! This painting’s location was less than a mile from where I live.“ Bishop Ranch – Glen Annie, Santa Barbara, CA.” Wow, it was a California historical painting! I immediately looked on the front of the painting and in the dirty lower left corner was the barely visible monogram of renown early California artist and Santa Barbara resident, Henry Chapman Ford, with the date, 1875.

HCF and I are old friends! My efforts in preserving and restoring his highly desirable, valuable paintings began in 1978 when I moved to Santa Barbara. I was asked to help salvage from the outer darkness of “Pigeon Row” storage at the abandoned Mission Inn in Riverside, CA one of the most important historical collections of paintings… considered by many art historians as a National Treasure; The Missions of California… by Henry Chapman Ford. Since that time, we have done painting conservation treatments on dozens of other paintings by Ford. All this to say, by the time this painting of Bishop Ranch – Glen Annie came into my hands, I knew intimately the work of Henry Chapman Ford.

In Goleta, California a few miles up the coast from Santa Barbara between the exits on the 101 freeway of Glen Annie – Storke Rd and Los Carneros on the North side of the road is a beautiful open space with an old ranch house nestled in the trees. That property used to extend back into the hills and up a canyon. To the locals it is known as Bishop’s Ranch but historically it was known as the Glen Annie Ranch of Tecolotito Canyon.

Colonel William Welles Hollister fell in love with this Goleta Valley tract of land the first time he saw it in 1854 as he was on his way to San Francisco. In the 1860’s he returned to Santa Barbara, buying up several Mexican land grants, but couldn’t get the owners of the Tecolotito Canyon area in Goleta to give it up.

The land he lusted after was owned by Nicholas A. Den. But then in 1862, Den died suddenly at only 50 years old. Not long afterwards, the heirs of the Den estate were open to selling off property as they needed additional monies.

Hollister was so in love with this land and so anxious to get it that he hastily purchased 5,100 acres from the family for $10 per acre when the current market value was only 10 cents! He wanted it ASAP, and the Den family eagerly accepted his generous offer.

In 1870 things were going well on the ranch. With the date of 1875 on the painting by Henry Chapman Ford, it was possibly a commission during a prosperous time when homes were being added to the property and existing residences upgraded. For Ford, his visibility and notoriety were being enhanced by his undertaking of the painting of the romantic and historic Missions of CA, which he had begun the year earlier, in 1874. Ford received much notoriety and enthusiasm from the public throughout California for his work. Besides being a patron of the arts, Hollister also became one of Santa Barbara’s leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists, financing and developing such projects as the Arlington Hotel, the Santa Barbara News-Press, Stearns Wharf, and the Lobero Theatre. But winds of a legal war were blowing.

For the rest of the story, go to http://www.fineartconservationlab.com/disaster-emergency-response/rip-repair-and-saving-historical-painting-of-bishop-ranch-santa-barbara-goleta-by-henry-chapman-ford/

 

 

Best Cannabis Web Design

Why buy the best cannabis web design and internet marketing?

With the clock counting down to January, investors flock to California as the state prepares to legalize the recreational sales of cannabis. Cultivation, transportation, dispensary, distribution, and other licenses are going to be available to businesses that are complaint to state and local laws. As of October, license applications will be available. This means that for anyone who is serious about making some legal money, the time to be pulling triggers is now. As warehouse space fills up and equipment is purchased, domains and keywords are being targeted by cannabis internet marketing companies. Branding your company and sticking out from the competition has become more important then ever as the race to state licenses heats up. Will your brand be known? Or will it be lost on the 19th page of Google?

What is the best cannabis web design and internet marketing?

Cannabis Branding:

We all want something more professional than a “pot leaf” right? Something that tells our customers that we have the best product and it is exactly what they are looking for. Companies like Apple have set the bar for branding, and with a market flooded with companies who want to be exactly like Apple…will you the be the orange? Will your company stand out from the rest? Ocean Grown Agency, LLC knows how to get you cannabis company branded.

The Best Marijuana Web Design:

Let the user feel your company as your cannabis website funnels the customer through your services and information. We aim to have the user feel the experience of being in the store just by viewing your site. How do we do this? Ocean Grown Agency, LLC creates the best cannabis websites that are both user-friendly and functional. All of our sites are SEO optimized and run to their fullest potential. Talk to a project manager today about a design for your company. 

Cannabis Social-Media Marketing and Management:

What better place to find cannabis users than application such as Facebook or Instagram? We see pages with tens or even hundreds of thousands of followers already taking advantage of the massive opportunity happening online! These followers can convert into cash, just with a click. Have your brand seen by your target audience in your targeted locations. Look at conversion rates and make educated and experience based changes on your campaigns.

Organic Cannabis SEO:

Get the search engine results your company deserves. This is where the big brands make their name and prepare for a nationwide attack. Get the attention of millions with traffic that is unparalleled to any paid campaign. The same results, free. What most people don’t understand is that this doesn’t happen overnight. With the correct PR and back-links, our Organic Cannabis SEO experts can speed up the process. However, for most, this is a long-term project. The best way to get SEO…

 

Cannabis Content Writers:

Creating articles like this one can both create positive content that attracts your targeted audience and contains keywords to generate organic cannabis SEO. Ocean Grown Agency, LLC offers the best cannabis websites with the best cannabis content. That is how we plan to rank our sites. We would like to take a second to thank the best cannabis content writers……you welcome

Google Ad-Words, PPC & other Internet Marketing:

Your website is Search Engine Optimized and your blog is running. Traffic is flowing through social media and your site is converting clicks into cash. How can we optimize this process, save the most money, and increase our conversion rates? Our team of cannabis internet marketing experts have years of experience with Google Ad-Words, Pay Per Click campaigns, and other various forms of internet marketing. The the right research, you get results!

Marijuana Newsletter:

Why create a newsletter? Your company is already blogging right? There is a lot of misunderstanding on why newsletters are sent out. Yes, you can target your customers and get repeat business through specials and coupons, but having a newsletter is a great way to connect to the cannabis community. Let them know of events or landmark court decisions.

Please reach out to the best cannabis web design team by filling out the form below. Leave us a short description of your company and one of our project managers will get back to you shortly!

The End Of Jeff Session

How Could The End Of Jeff Sessions Create A Cannabis Boom?

Sessions Under Fire:

If you pay attention to what is going on with the Trump Administration, we understand if you don’t, you probably know about all the tension between Trump and Sessions. It is also very clear that people can easily be removed from his administration and replaced, as seen by our new Chief Of Staff John Kelly.

Here is something you might NOT have known! Jeff Sessions is currently being sued by a NFL star, a 11 year old girl with epilepsy, and a veteran with PTSD for Cannabis being on the schedule 1 substance list . Marvin Washington, who played for the Jets and had a 11 year career in the NFL, is suing sessions stating that the players are being  “fed” opiates at the end of the season and that they should have alternate pain alternatives. The lawsuit also goes on to point out that in order for a substance be be a schedule 1 drug, it cannot have medical benefits. However, the US government has a patent that disagrees . Here is the complaint filed by the 11 year old girl and the NFL star.

Click here to load document. 

The Trump Administration:

As you could probably imagine, the Trump administration creates a certain unease in the marijuana community. With more and more states and local governments creating medical and recreational laws and licensing opportunities, the time to invest in the cannabis industry in now. For now, the Department of Justice has no budget for prosecuting medical cannabis via the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment (later renamed to the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment).  This wonderful amendment, however, does not cover the recreational sales of marijuana.

Jeff Session’s Stance On Cannabis Is Clear:

On May 1, 2017 Jeff Session wrote a letter to congress and federal law makers regarding cannabis and the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment. This is what Jeff Sessions said:

“I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,”

“The Department,” Sessions continued, “must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”

 

The Start of A Cannabis Boom

Jeff Sessions leaving the Trump administration would open the position of Attorney General who is both the chief law enforcement officer and chief lawyer of the United States government. With a business man in office, who will have a hard time ignoring the money flowing in through cannabis tax, there is opportunity without Jeff Sessions. This could mean a very quick change in federal laws that could potential decriminalize the schedule 1 drug all together and create a national market. For investors this is the beginning of a fully legal cash crop that is sure to change history.

To talk to a project manager about investments in California, or to get some more information on federal and local laws: