Travel away the Winter Blues

There are many reasons to travel in the winter, especially if you live in the Philadelphia, PA area.

Record snow falls and freezing temperatures have virtually trapped many area residents in their homes, leading to extensive cases of cabin fever and even more seriously - seasonal affective disorder, commonly referred to as the winter blues.

So how do we break out of this winter blues funk?

Well, one easy and fun way to break your routine and brighten your day is to take a winter vacation.

I know what you're thinking....travel...easy...are you nuts?

Travel can be easy, and fun too. All you have to do is make sure that you book with the right travel agent.

Ok, so now you're thinking...a travel agent....isn't that expensive?

The truth is, that travel agents can save you money on your trip.

According to Barbara Sodano of Utopia Travel, travel agents are able to find and negotiate deals on travel that a regular consumer just can't find on their own. These savings can offset the cost of hiring the agent.

Hiring a travel agent will also ensure that you get the best bang for your buck.

"When you book a cruise, for instance," said Barbara, "the cruise line is not going to look over the deck plan to make sure that you get a room that best serves your personal needs. You may end up with a room right over top of the disco, even though you are the type of person who likes to turn in early - or you might end up right under the jogging track even though you like to sleep in late. These are the types of things that a travel agent looks at for their clients."

In addition to individual and family vacations, a travel agent like Barbara can help companies to boost their employee morale by booking training sessions and company meetings "at sea."

"Any event that can be held at a land based conference facility, can be accomplished as an Event at Sea," said Barbara. "Typically all seminars and training events are scheduled during 'Sea Days.' We recommend the use of this schedule so every family has time to explore together, while in each port of call."

In addition, Barbara or one of her staff members will accompany your group to help make sure that everything goes off without a hitch. "We take care of everything so that you don't have to waste your valuable time tracking down AV equipment or coordinating catering people," said
Barbara. "Instead, you can relax and enjoy the best company event ever."

For more information about how Barbara Sodano or her team at Utopia Travel can help plan your next trip or event, call her at 215-750-6926, email info@utopiatravelonline.com or visit her website at www.UtopiaTravelOnline.com.

GREAT BLOG....Janine

Moving forward...

It is no secret that this is the age of the Internet. In the business world today, if you don't have a website, you simply don't exist.

Consumers look to the World Wide Web for almost all of their needs. There is virtually nothing that isn't available over the Internet.

The real question is, how do you compete? How do you get noticed among the sea of information available to any web-surfing potential customer?

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to these questions. What works for one, may not work for another. But one thing is for sure, no one is going to guess your website address. You must put your company out there, taking up as much cyberspace as you can.

An easy and very inexpensive way to spread your cyber wings is via cross linking. Cross linking is when you place a link on your website, and in return that website places a link to you. It works as a sort of "pay it forward" form of advertising.

Another way to drive potential customers to your site is via online informational articles. By offering a little bit of free advice, and being quoted in an article, you help to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

This holds several benefits:

1. Many more people are Googling "taxes" than "Cahan & Company, Certified Public Accountants" right now - a business network's article about how to prepare for tax season is more likely to be clicked on than a company website
2. When a potential customer reads an article that you are quoted in, the article serves as a first introduction - the potential client already knows your name, and has a small sense of how you do business before they make their first call to you
3. If a potential customer - one who you have already met in person - searches the Internet for your name, they will find the article, which will lend additional credibility to you and your company

Hello everyone!
We are on our way and just wanted you all to know that Analytics has been added to our site which will allow us to track how often the site is viewed.