From Charter Flights to Exotic Escapes: A Deep Dive into Vacation Planning with Soalcris Bolton of Vacation Express

Today we're joined by travel industry expert Soalcris Bolton, VP of Sales at Vacation Express, to explore the world of vacation planning, exotic destinations, and how to get the best value for your trips. We dive into Soalcris's personal travel experiences, explore the perks of charter flights, and uncover the latest trends in resorts, focusing on wellness. We also tap into some exciting travel offers with our deals guru, Jessica, from Delta Vacations to American Queen Voyages. Finally, we delve into hot topics like the rise in upscale RV parks and the alarming increase in disruptive behavior on airplanes. Join us as we journey through diverse travel opportunities and uncover ways to make your next trip truly unforgettable!

Welcome to No Tourists Allowed

Narrator: Welcome to No Tourists Allowed, a podcast where two recognized travel industry executives with a combined 71 years on the inside of travel and technology give up their secrets to the thing everyone wants to do. Travel better, pay less, and see more of the world. Here are your hosts, Mike Putman and James Ferrara.

Mike Putman: Hello everyone, I'm Mike Putman.

James Ferrara: And I am James Ferrara. Welcome to No Tourists Allowed. Glad you could join us for another installment of season two. We've got a very special guest with us this week who knows a lot about travel, the subject we're talking about. I've known Soalcris Bolton for a couple of years and we have built a huge business together, frankly, in InteleTravel and Soalcris's company, which is called Vacation Express. She is a Vice President of Sales and Groups and Customer Satisfaction. Vacation Express may not be a household name to you, and we're going to give Soalcris a moment to help you understand why. Then we're going to ask her to apply her incredible expertise. Of course, she's a super frequent traveler in addition to being a travel industry professional. We're going to ask her to share some insights and tips with us and really get into it. So first and foremost, we want to welcome Soalcris. Welcome to No Tourists Allowed.

Introducing Vacation Express

Soalcris Bolton: Thank you. Thank you, James. Thank you, Mike. It’s an honor to be here with you guys and hear about your podcast. It's very popular. Thank you very much for considering me as a subject matter expert in travel, which I have been for over two decades now. I'm very happy to be here with you guys today. If you want me to share a little bit about Vacation Express, the company I am with, I am more than happy to do that. Vacation Express is one of the leaders in the tour operator market in the US. With more than three decades of existence, Vacation Express has over four hundred hotels to offer in more than thirty or forty destinations. I started in this industry when I was really young. I'm born and raised in the Dominican Republic. I had an opportunity in my late twenties to join a company in the US to which I immediately said, "When do I leave?" I saw that as great growth for me in my career after I finished college in the Dominican Republic. I moved to Miami and worked with this company for five years. Then I decided to stay home with my son and dedicated one full year to him. He is eleven years old today, which is unbelievable. Then I decided to look for other opportunities here in the states in the travel industry as well. Vacation Express welcomed me and has been having me since. I'm very happy to be here.

James Ferrara: Well, that's a wonderful story. You were anxious to get to the United States and we're all anxious to get to the Dominican Republic. What can be wrong? I love the Dominican Republic. You have contracts with resorts, with ground transportation operators, with airlines, and with activities and entertainment. Your company is really a vacation company. You package all of those things together. Because you have these big contracts, those packages wind up saving people quite a bit of money. I know this from thirty years' experience. As opposed to a traveler going out and booking everything a la carte—booking the hotel by themselves plus the airline, plus this and that—you're offering great value in these packages. You also have incredible knowledge of which resorts are which, and what are the best ones for the best types of travelers. You focus primarily on the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, yes?

Soalcris Bolton: We do. We are a one-stop shop. The traveler can have the opportunity to book everything with me, from the air to the transportation to the excursions. Excursions are a huge part of a vacation because no one wants to go to a hotel, stay there for five or six days, and not be able to see the surroundings and what that island or country has to offer. We offer everything to the traveler. We have great relationships with the destination tourism boards. That makes us different because we also educate and have a lot of information about the destination the traveler chooses for vacation. All that information can be received from Vacation Express.

James Ferrara: But here's the twist. The twist is that it's their travel advisor who is going to Vacation Express, getting the package, and turning around and marketing it to the customer. Really, you're a B2B operation selling through travel advisors. We love you for that, number one. But secondly, that explains to people why they might not be aware of your company name, and yet this is one of the largest organizations in the world that does this sort of thing. Let's turn to get to know you a better. Mike's really the expert on this. He has his system of rapid-fire questions.

Getting to Know the Expert: Rapid-Fire Questions

Mike Putman: Expert, oh boy. Never allow someone to call you an expert because they're setting you up. Soalcris, we have several questions we like to ask our guests just to get to know them better regarding their personal travel habits and things they like. If you can just give us a quick answer to these to the best of your ability, because I know you haven't been prepped with these questions. How many countries have you visited?

Soalcris Bolton: Oh my goodness. Over fifteen.

Mike Putman: Over fifteen. Great. And when you travel, are you an aisle or window person?

Soalcris Bolton: When I was younger, a window person. With the years, an aisle person. It makes it easier for me to work when I'm in the aisle.

Mike Putman: Yeah, it gives you some extra space, that's for sure. What is your favorite destination?

Soalcris Bolton: Oh my goodness, that's a tough question. Coming from the Dominican Republic, I can tell you right off the bat: the Dominican Republic.

Mike Putman: We should have said you can't say the Dominican Republic because you're from there.

Soalcris Bolton: The truth is we have it all. You have the beautiful turquoise beaches, but you also have the mountains and the green that you don't typically get from the islands in the Caribbean. Besides that, the Dominican people are super cool and always welcome tourists to the island. And the food is amazing.

James Ferrara: And the food is really good.

Recommended Stays in the Caribbean

Soalcris Bolton: Needless to say, thank you, James. I do have a couple of destinations that I also have to mention here that I have fallen for as we travel. For example, we have Grenada in the Caribbean. Grenada is a destination that you don't hear everybody talking about, but once you know about it, you will keep it on your list of places to visit multiple times. We have been there three times now. The beauty of Grenada is that it's not only a beautiful island; it's the people of Grenada and the product you get. They have a really upscale and high-end hotel called Silversands Grenada, to which I took my husband this year for his birthday. It's just amazing. It's a boutique hotel. I love boutique hotels. As long as I have a small hotel with a great gym and great spa, I'm in heaven. That's what I look for when I travel, and Silversands Grenada has everything we need.

Mike Putman: Fair enough. Let's go back to the DR. What is your favorite hotel in the Dominican Republic?

Soalcris Bolton: It depends on what kind of travel it is. Is it a family travel? Is it a couple's getaway? For family, definitely the Royalton and the Palladium hotels have a lot to offer. When it comes to adults-only, I would say the Royalton CHIC Punta Cana in Uvero Alto. It's part of the Blue Diamond Royalton family. It's a great option because it is for a mature audience and the hotel has a lot of fun activities that really make the moment even better.

Trending Destinations and Emerging Markets

James Ferrara: Well, those are good tips. What are the hot destinations right now? You have a great ear for what people are booking at high volume. We know people talk about Cancun as one of the tops, but there's a lot more to Cancun than just the hotel wall. Tell us a little bit about where the action is. Are the hot destinations going to be more exotic and exclusive ones?

Soalcris Bolton: Things that people were not booking for many, many years. I think Instagram has been playing a huge role in all this because you can see influencers saying, "I was here this weekend," and typically these are places people don't travel to very often. From our standpoint and the destinations we sell, we are seeing more St. Martin, Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, and even Aruba. Versus other years where we see more volume to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic, we are now seeing more in the smaller Caribbean islands. Another one that is growing very fast—it's been there forever, but people are more and more interested—is Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a lot to go for because you have the Pacific side and you have the Caribbean side. When people travel to Costa Rica and they get to experience the Pacific side, it's just amazing to see a different rainforest and monkeys. It's amazing. The fauna and all the animals you are able to see in a country that is not that far from us. Costa Rica is one of the hot spots for sure.

Charter Flights and Vertical Integration

Mike Putman: Soalcris, let's talk a little bit about airlift and how Vacation Express serves the market. What markets do you serve from the US, and which destinations? Just to give our listeners a broad expanse of who's eligible to take advantage of a Vacation Express package.

Soalcris Bolton: Travel advisors can book anything from Vacation Express when it comes to airlines. Of course, we have our charters which are seasonal, mostly during winter and summer. We have charter flights departing from eleven or thirty cities in 2023. I think we're going to stay with the same for 2024. Oftentimes, this can make your vacation package more attractive because we are able to accommodate better prices for the airfare. However, with the low-cost carriers like Frontier, Spirit, and Southwest, it's hard to compete. We offer those as well. If the traveler decides to go with one of those local carriers throughout the year, they can book a very great package with Vacation Express. Of course, we have Delta, American, and United. We have them all.

Mike Putman: Some of the advantages of going on a charter flight from Vacation Express are that you guys control the experience. You've got a set day that you depart from a set city at a set time. You can control the experience all the way through the trip. In the industry, we call that vertically integrated. You've got the same people taking care of your flight, your transfers, and your hotel accommodations. That can make a big difference, especially in the wintertime when mainline carriers like American or Delta are working on revenue-managed prices. That means the greater the demand, the higher the price tends to be. There are real advantages for our travelers who take those charter flights.

Soalcris Bolton: Absolutely. And we will always be more competitive, for sure. That will make the vacation package more attractive.

Finding Value and Bundling Vacations

James Ferrara: That leads into a question I have, Mike. People are talking about high airfares and the high cost of hotels at the moment. Are there some tips or secrets we can give our audience about how to find the best value for their vacation?

Soalcris Bolton: That's a good question. Before COVID, hotels were more defined in the sense that they would maintain competitive rates throughout the year. Sometimes hotels might decide to come out with an early bird promotion, which means if you book during fall and travel in summer, I guarantee you the best price. That practice is no longer existent after COVID because there is revenge travel and everyone says, "I can't take it anymore." After those two years that I couldn't travel, I'm going for it now because life is too short. I see that hotels somehow are taking advantage of the demand. I no longer see as many promotions and low prices. I think one of the best practices for a traveler is to try to bundle everything up. A tour operator will probably be able to guarantee a better price. It is very hard nowadays to guarantee the lowest price with hotels because they know the demand is there right now. I'm curious to know what's going to happen in 2024 when hoteliers understand that cruises are back. They will need to convince the clientele that all-inclusive is still here, but they now have competition from the cruise lines again.

James Ferrara: What is the best way to shop for that?

Soalcris Bolton: Nowadays we make it easier for the traveler or the advisor because they can filter. They can filter by star rating or filter by family travel. It's the norm nowadays when searching for a destination to easily identify if you want to focus on upscale brands or if you want a couple's getaway. That makes it easier for them to find what they're looking for.

The Advantage of Using Travel Advisors

James Ferrara: And of course, having a professional travel advisor with you helps. They've either been to the destination, been trained on it, or they have access to the employees at Vacation Express who are experts. I'll speak to you as a travel agent: that's our secret weapon. We have a partner like Vacation Express where the folks in your facility really know these products, these resorts, and these destinations inside and out. We pick up the phone and talk to them and say, "We have a couple in their fifties who want this and that, and we're not sure if this is the best island. What do you think?" And we get expert advice. I don't think travelers and many of our listeners understand this whole life that goes on after you make the request. I think they think travel agents just go away and pick something out of a book or type in the computer. But there's actually a whole community. It takes a village.

Soalcris Bolton: A hundred percent. It's too convoluted and there is too much information. You need someone to put you in the right direction. We're here for that.

Evolving Resort Experiences and Wellness

James Ferrara: These resorts have become amazing. It's kind of like cruise ships too, right? Where they just keep adding new things. Now the cruise ships have roller coasters and gas-powered race cars. I think the resorts do too. It was swim-up bars, and then it was trapeze circus schools. It’s like an arms race or a space race. Who's going to have the new experience or the next big thing? What are you seeing out there?

Soalcris Bolton: Something that I'm seeing in the all-inclusive field more and more is wellness. Hotels are preparing their infrastructure to be more aligned with the wellness and fitness life that a lot of people want to follow. You can see they have better gym equipment and more classes throughout the agenda. I can tell you even excursions are now more oriented to that field because that's what people are looking for. Of course, with that, they are making changes to their food and beverage. That is a big thing happening right now in all the all-inclusives. When it comes to creativity and being different, the sky is the limit.

Travel Hacks and Personal Tips

James Ferrara: We've gotten some personal recommendations out of you. One question we like to ask our guests, because you travel so much, is to share some tips or hacks to help people travel more smoothly through the airport or when you arrive at the hotel. Is there a Soalcris tip we can share?

Soalcris Bolton: Absolutely. Don't bring things you are not going to use. Sometimes we get too consumed thinking it's going to be five nights, so I need five different outfits and five different shoes. No. You are there to enjoy. As long as you bring enough clothes to fulfill the days, you're going to be okay. As silly as it might sound, when you pack light and travel with exactly what you need, you are going to have a better experience. Sometimes we get too involved with packing and you forget about the excitement you're going to get when you get to this place. So packing light is one. Number two: always bring your exercise shoes. You can walk around the beach, walk around the property, or go to the gym. Exercising is very important and is going to enhance the travel experience. When I travel with my family, including my son, I always pack a book for him. Although he says, "Mom, I don't have to read, I'm on vacation." Yes, you have to.

James Ferrara: Wonderful tip and one we haven't heard before, Mike. I like that—maintaining the habits you have at home when you're traveling.

Mike Putman: Yeah. You guys can't see Soalcris, but James and I have had the opportunity to meet her in person. She's a beautiful woman, very well-dressed, and if she can say pack light, then I think any woman in the world should be able to follow suit with that. Thank you so much for spending the time with us today. We really do appreciate it. You've been a great guest and we would love to have you back very soon.

Soalcris Bolton: Lovely. Thank you guys. I appreciate you.

Special Travel Deals and Offers

James Ferrara: That was great information from Soalcris. A lot of tips and good information. But Jessica has joined us again, our Deals guru, and she's going to be bringing us some exciting news and offers that are available in the travel domain now. Welcome, Jessica.

Jessica: Thank you guys. It's good to be here again.

Mike Putman: What kind of specials do you have for us this week?

Jessica: I have a short list of three offers, but all very good. First up, we have Delta Vacations. Everybody knows Delta Air Lines, but this is Delta Vacations and right now they have a special offer. When you book by September and travel through December, you'll save. Basically, book your fall and winter travel now and you'll save up to $250 per booking if you're a SkyMiles member. It's super easy if you're not a SkyMiles member. You can call your InteleTravel advisor to become one. It's a good idea to do so even if you haven't booked yet because a lot of times the Delta Vacations special offers are specifically for SkyMiles members. Next up, I have Club Med. Club Med has a Sunshine Bliss sale running now through the end of August for travel through February of 2024. It’s their end-of-summer sale, with up to 40% off. Plus, kids under six stay free and there's never any single supplements with Club Med, which is great. You'll also get an instant credit up to $150 per week. Their locations are in the Caribbean, Mexico, Bahamas, and they actually have a location in Canada as well. It's all-inclusive with sixty activities, all-day gourmet dining, and childcare.

Mike Putman: I was unaware that Club Med didn't have a single supplement. That's awesome. James, didn't you stay at the Canada Club Med?

James Ferrara: Yeah, in Quebec. It was absolutely beautiful. It was perfect for skiing, but even in the summertime, that part of Canada is very beautiful. It’s right on the Saint-Maurice River with majestic views, huge trees, moose, and all kinds of stuff. The thing about Club Med—and everyone knows them as the grandfather of all-inclusive resorts—is that the food is really good. Sometimes you go to these all-inclusive resorts and it’s convenient, but the food can be a little drab if you’re not in a high-end resort. Club Med is a French company, and the French are very good at food. There's wine at all the meals also. Jessica, how many deals do you think come across your desk in a typical week?

Jessica: Oh, countless. I couldn't even put a number on it. It's probably thousands.

James Ferrara: We really do appreciate you going through all that and curating these really good offers. Tell us about the third one.

Jessica: Last but not least, we have American Queen Voyages. They have their American sale, which is another end-of-summer sale. If you book now, you'll get a free category upgrade or a suite upgrade, depending on your stateroom. You're already getting up to $4,000 in savings, plus there's a $200 "your choice" credit to use however you'd like on board. It is all-inclusive with impeccable service and a unique experience in destinations throughout the US and Canada. These sailings take you through the rich heritage of each location and include guided tours. You'll have interesting lectures, regional delights, locally sourced food, unlimited beverages, and Wi-Fi. It's a great deal, bookable through the end of this month, but you do need a promo code to book this offer, so you should definitely give your travel advisor a call.

Domestic River Cruising in North America

James Ferrara: American Queen and a couple of other companies sail the rivers of the United States and Canada. They do the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, the Mississippi River over to Cincinnati and into America's heartland, and sometimes the St. Lawrence up in Canada. We tend to think of river cruising as exotic and far away, like Europe or Egypt, but it's right here in the United States. I put my parents on one of these Mississippi River cruises from New Orleans. They stopped at Natchez and all of these Antebellum South ports with tons of history and antique shopping. You just walk off the ship into the middle of these towns that were all built around the river. It’s a lovely travel idea that isn't always top of mind for people.

Jessica: Absolutely. There are domestic river cruise lines that do the Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee, Columbia, and Snake Rivers. There are even a few brands that do Florida and the Keys. Wherever you want to go, there's probably a cruise there.

Investments in Luxury RV Parks

Mike Putman: Thank you so much, Jessica, for bringing those insights and special offers. Hopefully, we'll be able to put some of those to work. There's always something going on in the travel space. James, I noticed this week there was a pretty large deal announced regarding RV parks. Did you get a chance to read that article?

James Ferrara: I did. It reminds me of a style of travel that's very popular in the UK called holiday parks. It’s an old-fashioned idea where you take a caravan to these parks that are set up almost like amusement parks with pools and activities. This new investment in RV parks is something more upscale, isn't it?

Mike Putman: Yeah, it is. A very large investment company has acquired RV parks primarily in the southern U.S. They also announced a second round of acquisitions for another $550 million. This will be two-thirds of a billion dollars in acquisitions once completed. Their idea is ambitious. They plan on creating a new type of park that's really upscale with a lot more amenities. Imagine you pull up your Winnebago and there is a huge pool complex with a swim-up bar, a fancy gym, and a spa. It's interesting. It's not something that we have now.

James Ferrara: These guys are serious players. They are developing these Jimmy Buffett-inspired Margaritaville communities in Galveston, Texas, and Myrtle Beach. These are themed retirement communities that they're going to model these RV parks after, not necessarily with the retirement concept, but I'm sure a lot of this will appeal to older travelers. Those Margaritaville branded communities are the most successful and largest retirement communities in the world already. If they're taking that same know-how and applying it to this, I would say this has a very good chance of doing well. I like the idea. I think it's something really new to the marketplace. In retirement, people love the RV culture, but even the van culture appeals to younger people too. We all have a bit of wanderlust. We want to get out on the open road and be mobile. This makes the whole experience more upscale.

Mike Putman: One thing they may have been triggering on is that the median age for a first-time RV buyer last year went down to thirty-two years. The average first-time buyer of an RV is down to thirty-two. That was down from an average of forty-one during COVID. There's clearly a movement for this nomad-type lifestyle, and an upscale RV park fits well into that.

Handling Disruptive Passengers and Airline Etiquette

James Ferrara: The other thing that's been in the news, Mike, is a little less happy. I’ve seen a lot of people misbehaving on planes and in airports again lately. We had a rise in this behavior during the pandemic.

Mike Putman: Especially with the masks. But it came down precipitously. The statistics said that last year it tumbled eighty percent in terms of the number of incidents. But it's back in the news again. There were recently several different people removed from planes for being intoxicated and acting poorly. There have also been some that have clearly been mental health issues. It's hard to distinguish between the two.

James Ferrara: I'm no mental health expert, but I think there are others where people are just being jerks. They're not getting what they want and they think they can become a victim and try to potentially extort some money out of the airlines. It's a sad thing. It's not like the old days where we used to get dressed up in a suit and check our luggage. Things have slipped with the advent of low-cost carriers and deregulation, which is fine because there's a place in the sky for everyone. But these people trying to create a scene in hopes of extorting money from the airlines—I just don't have any patience for.

Mike Putman: If that's their plan, their chances of winning are very slim. What happens to most of these people is they get taken off the planes in handcuffs. Some of the airlines, especially American, have come out publicly and said specific people are now banned from ever flying American Airlines again. You get banned, you lose all your frequent flyer points. This is not really an etiquette issue like putting your bare foot on an armrest; this is quite a bit more.

James Ferrara: There was a woman in the last couple of weeks whose incident went viral. Poor thing, it's probably made her life very difficult too. People are attacking her online because she got up and started yelling that a man in the back of the plane was not real. She was having some kind of episode. Let's give a little bit of advice here. These situations escalate as more people get involved. It's hard sometimes, but even if you want to call out someone being a jerk or abusing the crew, the best thing to do is probably not to say anything. Don't get involved. Let the crew, who has been professionally trained, handle it. Unfortunately, they may turn the plane around or go back to the gate. In recent instances, they had to land the plane where it wasn't intended to land and take the person off. The more people get involved and yell, the worse it gets.

Mike Putman: The only thing I would differ with is that instead of doing nothing, notify the flight attendant if they're not aware. Sometimes you're in the back and they're busy up front. They need to be made aware because some situations endanger other passengers or make them uncomfortable. There was a groping incident in the last couple of weeks. Obviously, there's a part of us that wants to get up and beat up that person, but it doesn't actually make the situation better. I've seen in some videos people ringing their attendant call button to let the crew know. That's a really good move. They'll take care of it and the police will be waiting when they land. Travel involves the general public, and the general public is this great rainbow and spectrum. When you're traveling, allow a little bit of extra time to get to the airport and your destination. Be patient. Things typically work themselves out. If your bag's not there or the plane's late, just try to take some deep breaths.

Announcing the Vacation Giveaway

James Ferrara: Great advice. Mike, before we wrap up, I do want to say that next episode we'll be bringing a free vacation giveaway for our listeners. We're going to ask them to go to our website, NoTouristsAllowed.com. There will be a place there for them to register and we're going to pick from our listeners.

Mike Putman: That is awesome. Make sure you listen in next week. Make sure you tell your friends to subscribe. We look forward to speaking with you again next week on No Tourists Allowed.

James Ferrara: Bye-bye. Thank you, everyone.

Narrator: Thank you for listening to another episode of No Tourists Allowed. We'll see you next week. No Tourists Allowed is produced by Podcast Studio X.