GAYLE GILLIES TRAVEL OFFERS PAYMENT PLAN
TO HELP CLIENTS TAKE A VACATION
-- Agency initiates “Lay Away” program in time for the holidays --
SANTA ANA, CA December 9, 2008 – Ricci Zukerman,
Founder & President of Worldview Travel and Gayle Gillies asked her staff to
put their heads together to find ways to help their clients during this time of
financial uncertainty. Although most of their clients are moderately affected by
the recently announced recession, they find the lack of consumer confidence has
many of their regular traveler’s frozen in their tracks. They needed to come up
with an innovative way to stimulate and inspire consumers to travel by making their
financial commitment easier. Not an easy problem to solve.
Worldview and Gayle Gillies' management team decided to initiate a payment program,
similar to Lay Away known in retail circles for decades. It is hoped this program
will help their clients on several levels. First, with the credit crunch being what
it is right now, it would alleviate the problem of those who may not have the option
of using their credit cards or lines of credit previously available to them. Second,
it allows monthly payments to be made without the added cost of interest. And third,
it allows the client flexibility to establish a monthly payment plan to best fit
into their budget and lifestyle. From there, a Vacation Payment Plan was created.
“We have clients who we have known for many of our 34 years in business and are
almost a part of our family. We see them struggling and we wanted to do something,”
says Zukerman. “We hope by extending this optional payment program, a vacation made
in bite-sized payments will fit more easily into their monthly budget.”
Although it is much harder to compete for consumer dollars at this time of the year,
Gayle Gillies felt it was important to initiate the program immediately. “Giving
someone the gift of travel during the holidays is one of best presents you can give
to a loved one, commented Ricci Zukerman. It’s a gift of time, of leisure and of
memories and you can pay for it in installments. You can’t go wrong with giving
someone a vacation as no one ever wants a refund or exchange!”
The travel business in general has been impacted significantly by the downturn in
the economy. Even for those individuals not directly affected, there is a level
of uncertainty not seen across the nation since the dark days following 9-11. Some
claim the expansion of widespread gloom into the global community has arguably made
the effects of this recession even worse than the impact of that time. Such perceived
pessimism in the marketplace prompted Worldview Travel to find a way to inject some
good news to consumers with this program. Another positive response to the economy
has been the unprecedented travel offers announced in the last several months. Land
packages and cruises are being offered at rates not seen in years, as well as newly
relaxed terms and conditions by these companies. “The sheer number of discounts,
specials and sales across all types of travel products today is a shoppers’ paradise
so we encourage our clients to travel now as we don’t know how long these rates
will last,” commented Zukerman.
The travel business in general has been impacted significantly by the downturn in
the economy. Even for those individuals not directly affected, there is a level
of uncertainty not seen across the nation since the dark days following 9-11. Some
claim the expansion of widespread gloom into the global community has arguably made
the effects of this recession even worse than the impact of that time. Such perceived
pessimism in the marketplace prompted Worldview Travel to find a way to inject some
good news to consumers with this program. Another positive response to the economy
has been the unprecedented travel offers announced in the last several months. Land
packages and cruises are being offered at rates not seen in years, as well as newly
relaxed terms and conditions by these companies. “The sheer number of discounts,
specials and sales across all types of travel products today is a shoppers’ paradise
so we encourage our clients to travel now as we don’t know how long these rates
will last,” commented Zukerman.
The full-service travel agency suggests contacting one of their Vacation Specialists
to first determine the vacation best suited to the traveler. After paying the initial
deposit, clients can apply for Worldview’s Lay Away program and choose an interest-free
payment plan that works best for them. Payments may be charged by credit card or
automatically deducted from their checking account. A set-up fee of $25 applies.
About Worldview Travel
Worldview has grown to be nationally recognized as a leader in the travel industry
through innovative programs providing travel benefits and value to our clients by
award-winning travel professionals offering unparallel expertise and service. Worldview
is comprised of more than 200 agents with offices in California, Florida and New
York City, in addition to expert home-based Agents in several different states.
Our Travel Counselors are from many different countries and combined speak more
than a dozen languages. Specializing in particular destinations, activities or types
of travel, we offer our clients first-hand knowledge of any type of travel request.
But the common thread of our international team is service.
Worldview Travel is up to the challenge of catering to the most discerning, experienced
travelers and is a member of the invitation-only Virtuoso network. Worldview Travel
is supported by Headquarters' staff in the Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting
and IT departments. It is a dynamic workplace filled with people that are passionate
about travel who can't imagine doing anything else. Expertise, value and integrity.
It is more than just an advertising slogan for Worldview. It is who we are. For
more information, please visit www.worldviewtravel.com.
For further press information, please contact:
Judy Parker
Worldview Travel – VP, Sales & Marketing
Ph: 714 540-7400 or c: 714 319-0572
Email: Judy@worldviewtravel.com
