Advisors' Creative Solutions for Getting their Clients Tested Before Travel

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"COVID-19 testing" has become one more point that travel advisors need to add to their pre-departure checklists for clients. It is one of many.  Avril Winkle, owner of Destinations Travel Services in Sterling, IL., was asked, how much more work does a single booking takes now, as opposed to pre-pandemic. She said, "Oh, my gosh, lots of extra hours of work."

 

COVID-19 testing has added another complicated layer to trip planning in 2022, especially with test shortages and difficult-to-predict turnaround times from labs. Though many believe shortages and delays are a short-term problem, testing before travel is likely here to stay for at least some time. Here is how a smattering of advisors is handling it.

 

Winkle talks to clients about what they are willing to do to travel and are split them into two main groups. One is fully vaccinated and boosted and likes the idea of destinations that require everyone to provide proof of negative COVID-19 tests so they feel as safe as possible. The other is not vaccinated, does not want to jump through hoops, and will probably end up going somewhere without said hoops to jump through, largely Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

 

In her area, the Chicago suburbs, tests are easy to come by. For clients who live outside that area -- perhaps in more rural, small towns -- she encourages them to make an afternoon of it and travel near her to get a test and dinner. "I always find a way around it, and, at the end of the day, if somebody wants to travel, that's just what they'll have to do," Winkle said.

 

Bernice Bakley, the owner of Huntley Travel in Huntley, IL., starts the conversation about testing early and ensures clients get appointments on the books a few weeks ahead whenever possible. "It's not something that's an afterthought," she said. In fact, at Huntley Travel, it has become as important a topic as to whether the client has a valid passport that does not expire in the coming months.

 

Justin Smith, president of the Evolved Traveler in Los Angeles, is advising clients to get a test at the airport before departure. In Smith's experience, it takes from one to five hours, and most airports with international service have testing available.

 

This is perhaps the most direct solution heard from Kim Gorres, owner of a Travel Leaders Agency in New Richmond, Wis. She does testing in-house. The idea came from a client who did lab work for the judicial system and added COVID-19 testing to the mix. She asked if it was something she could do from her office, and the answer was yes. She received equipment and training for several employees and, in early 2021, opened as a testing center, offering rapid antigen and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) COVID tests and flu/antigen combined tests.

 

Today, Gorres said, testing is a full-time job for one person at her agency. About 35 tests are conducted each day, which equates to more than $5,000 a week in extra income. Moreover, it has another benefit. "Besides making a bit of money at this, we are also bringing awareness about our agency and have high hopes that we will have new clients because of this awareness and the service they are getting with the testing," said Gorres.

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Virtual Reality Tourism is Now Accessible, Inclusive and Takes the Risk Out of a COVID-disrupted Getaway

As COVID-19 continues to interrupt travel plans in Australia, some of those looking for a risk-free escape are turning to virtual reality tourism.

While it may sound like a downgrade from the real thing, tour guides and designers of these happenings say it is becoming increasingly sophisticated.

 

Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels

However, what is virtual reality tourism? Dr. Ryan Yung, a travel and tourism researcher defines it as the ability to "be physically in one location but your mind is in a different location." It can be accessed by anyone who has a PC, laptop, or mobile phone through YouTube or via virtual tours online. In addition, the experience can be enhanced by using a fold-out Google Cardboard viewer or, for those willing to spend more money, technologically advanced virtual reality headsets.

 

So is virtual tourism any substitute for the real thing? It is hard to compare the two, but virtual tourism does have some unique benefits, says Dr. Yung. "Some of the more popular attractions in virtual tourism [eventually] will be … places which would be physically impossible to visit," Dr. Yung says.

 

"If we wanted to visit Rome, for example, in the medieval times, it's possible to do so via virtual tourism."

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Some virtual experiences are also trying to integrate sensory elements, although Dr. Yung says there is still much more work to be done in this area. "With smells, they use pods, which emit synthetic smells ... similar to what you'd find in a shopping mall when you walk past a cookie stand or something with artificial smells." 

 

"With taste at the moment, there is no real substitute, but I believe some researchers in Singapore have come up with a technology where they can trick your mind through smell. "This is where you're drinking mineral water but, through the trick of color and smell, you can basically fool the mind into thinking [the person is] tasting something."

 

New Opportunities - Virtual tourism could open up destinations for those who could not access them otherwise. "A lot of the technology that's behind it [came in] years before COVID hit, and it was to overcome a lot of issues with barriers with accessibility and inclusivity," Dr. Yung says. "So people who were not mobile were able to still get some experience of the outside world."

 

It Offers Other Opportunities Too - For example, for those who are risk-averse, virtual tourism could be a way to take part in extreme sports safely, he says.

 

"[People] I've spoken to said something like … 'I would love to do something like bungee jumping but my natural fear would never let me do something like that."

 

"But [with] the comfort of VR, knowing that you physically will not be doing the bungee jump but you're able to experience something like that, that could be a substitute for the real experience.

 

"I've heard people say they want to see the Great Barrier Reef, but they are so afraid of water … so that could be [an opportunity] in the near term."

 

Virtual reality can also be used to travel freely without any risk of social or cultural stigmas, he adds. "There are certain behaviors [that] certain cultures expect of us when we travel overseas, or when we're out in public. And when we are hidden deep behind this virtual lens, then [virtual tourists] are able to explore different mannerisms or cultures that you normally wouldn't be able to," he says.

 

Therefore, for those looking to scratch their travel itch, virtual tourism is opening up the world once again, says Dr. Yung. "This is one small positive that has come up with COVID in alerting research and development [and encouraging the] acceptance of the technology by everyone else."

Little Things That Matter In A Relationship

Best-selling romance Author, Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku, shares her five tips on what matters in a relationship.

Dating Trends in 2022

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Every year new trends pop up: fashion trends, fitness trends, food trends, and of course dating trends. Whether you have had it with endless and unsuccessful dating apps or you are starting to think about dipping your foot into the dating pond after the end of a relationship, the following are six dating trends that will govern the way men and women find love in 2022.

 

1. Dry Dating - the past two years have had many people reassessing their relationship when it comes to alcohol consumption while dating. The networking app Bumble found that 34 percent of global daters are now more likely to consider going on a ‘dry date’ than they were during the pre-pandemic phase, and 29 percent of Americans surveyed believe that societal norms around drinking and dating are shifting. Now that we think of it, a nice latte date followed by a chilly stroll through the park does not sound too terrible.

 

2. Hesidating - Was first coined by the dating app Plenty of Fish in its fifth annual list of Dating Trends, and means, “Feeling indifferent about dating, unsure if you want to date seriously or casually because life, in general, is so uncertain right now. While some celebrity couples have recently hopped into new relationships quickly and with certainty, 70 percent of singles say hesidating is a very real thing,” explains the experts at POF. Single people are mirroring the uncertainty of the world in general in their dating lives, leading to reluctance to put themselves out there. After nearly two years of almost indescribable confusion, many are clinging to the things that are most secure and safe in our lives. Wading back into the dating pool would introduce a level of disquiet, which can be scary. However, here is the thing: Opening yourself up to dating again does not have to be scary. 

 

3. Dating Apps for All Ages - You are never too old to find love. Just refer to Google searches for ‘dating apps for older people,’ which have grown by a whopping 3,500 percent in the past few months. Though older singles can (and should) use sites and apps like Match, OKCupid, Bumble, or Hinge, it is also worth exploring the set of services geared specifically toward more mature folks, namely Silver Singles, OurTime, or SeniorMatch. 

 

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4. Proud Singlehood - Though quite the opposite of a dating trend, it is worth pointing out that Bumble also predicts a rise in what they are calling a conscious single. “We’ve all heard of ‘conscious uncoupling’, but 2022 is all about finding that someone, not just anyone,” the site’s experts write, pointing out that, per their data, the pandemic has made half of us (53 percent) realize that it’s OK to be alone for a while. Looking ahead, people are consciously deciding to be single, with the majority of singletons globally (54 percent) being more mindful in how, and when, to date.

 

5. Emotional Intelligence - Physical Attractiveness - According to Match.com’s annual Singles in America report, emotional maturity has never been hotter. “This year, for the first time, there was a drop in singles’ preference for physical attractiveness, while preference for partner traits like being open-minded and accepting increased,” the report reads. Eighty-three percent of singles polled are looking for emotional maturity in a partner over physical attractiveness. Looks fade, but being a compassionate, progressive human does not.

 

6. Slow Dating - This one has been trending since the beginning of the pandemic. With new variants popping up every few months (or so it seems), slow dating is sticking around. Per Bumble, slow dating is the trend of “people taking the time to get to know each other and build a connection before deciding if they want to pursue the relationship or meet in person.” The result is that fifty-five percent of people on Bumble are taking longer to move a match offline. Jemma Ahmed, head of insights at Bumble, believes this is related to having the time and circumstances—a pandemic will change your outlook—to think more critically about what they want in a relationship. “People are starting to get to know themselves a lot more,” says Ahmed. “And as a result, they’re taking the time to figure out who is and isn’t right for them.”

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Creating a Relationship Contract by Vivienne Diane Neal

Managing your personal and business affairs does not just involve finances but understanding when to implement important matters that will affect your relationship. When planning your personal or business objectives, there will come a time when a contract, whether simple or complex, may be important.

Of course, we are not just talking about married couples but people living together or as some judgmental folks would say, “Living in Sin.” However, I am not here to pass judgment on those who choose not to marry while living together but to share some on how to maintain a fantastic and long-term relationship, whether you live together or not. 

 

Author Mandy Len Catron, who penned the viral New York Times essay "To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This,” believes contracts are the key to happy and healthy relationships. Mandy says making a contract for her relationship has kept it healthy. Catron told NPR she and her partner revisit the contract every six months so they are on the same page. The contract includes a date night quota, a clause about alone time, and a mission statement. If you would like to learn more about creating a relationship contract, visit her page. 

 

A Premarital Agreement is a written contract between intended spouses, which provides for the division of property, income, and responsibilities to each other and their child or children should the marriage ends in divorce or by other means. Many couples believe you must be wealthy to have a prenup agreement but this is not true. Both spouses may come into a marriage with nothing but years later, their assets may be worth millions of dollars. In many states, those millions are marital assets even if one spouse gained the millions. Before you tie the knot, think long and hard about what will happen if one of you wins that million-dollar lottery. Seeking the advice of a lawyer is practical.

 

If you are not married and living together, setting up a joint account can be risky. Even though both signatures are required when opening a joint account, a partner can withdraw large sums of money and leave enough for his or her partner to buy a cup of coffee and a donut and then do a disappearing act. The only time both signatures are required is if both people are closing the account. Therefore, establishing a contract when it comes to the allocation of monies may be important, but setting up separate accounts is even better.

 

For one reason or another, men and women do lend money to each other, whether they are lovers, friends, acquaintances, or associates. However, what happens when a person decides to lend money to his or her lover? Too often, when an individual borrows money from a significant other, everything is hunky-dory. Love is blind, and each person is madly in love with the other. Promises are made to repay the loan. Both people are going about their daily lives, until one day the relationship has hit a sour note, and it is over. All of a sudden, the loan becomes a gift because the borrower was romantically involved with the lender during the time the debt was incurred. 

 

If you are in a romantic relationship, do not be a borrower or a lender. If you do lend money to someone, and you truly want that money back, have that person sign a promissory note as the borrower along with your signature as the lender. This is a legally binding contract. Never rely on verbal promises, because during the heat of passion, an individual will make all sorts of assurances that the money will be paid back. Once the courtship is over, there is the likelihood that you will never see your money or your partner.

 

On the other hand, don’t give money enclosed in a greeting card that reads hope you love this $500.00 gift; buy something nice for yourself, and then months later when your mate leaves you, you decide to take him or her to court and complain that the cash you gave was a loan. Remember, many people do hold on to those greeting cards!💓 

Credit: Photo by Romain Dancre on Unsplash