7
Oct

What Geiger & Associates Taught Us About How NOT To Run a Public Relations Firm

Posted on October 7th, 2011 :: Posted in news, USA

There are articles all over the web offering advice about how to do, well, almost anything. A recent series of encounters with Geiger & Associates, a public relations firm based in Tallahassee Florida which specializes in media marketing for travel destinations in the US, and its owner Debbie Geiger has inspired this “how NOT to” piece.

What is public relations?

Merriam-Websters defines public relations as “the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution.” In other words, public relations firms are hired to help people, businesses, destinations, products, services, etc. promote themselves by gaining publicity often through media coverage of the client. In the tourism industry one major way PR agencies drum up coverage of their clients is by inviting journalists on press trips.

We get invited on press trips all the time. Usually we are not interested because the destination or attraction being featured is not the sort of thing we cover for the magazines and newspapers we freelance for or for the posts we do on our own blog.

The invitation

In July the Geiger & Associates public relations firm invited us on a press trip to the Fredericskburg region of Texas. This trip was of interest to us, but because we are in the midst of a road trip through The Americas (we were in Honduras when we got the invite) and we no longer reside in the US (or anywhere else for that matter) press trip travel arrangements are sometimes a bit complicated for us since it’s normally assumed that participating journalists are based in the US. In order for us to take part in most press trips we have to return to the US on our own.

We hadn’t planned on returning to the US when we got the press trip invitation. However, this press trip would allow us to expand our knowledge of a region of Texas that’s new to us. Additionally, one of the major publications Karen writes for recently mentioned they were looking for Tex-Mex stories so the itinerary had potential. The timing and location of the trip also opened up the possibility of visiting family and catching a friend’s wedding in the US and this trifecta of family, press trip and wedding suddenly made the purchase of our own return tickets from Honduras to the US for the press trip then back to Honduras after the press trip look worthwhile.

The acceptance

The day after we received the invite we replied to Geiger & Associates stating that we were very interested in this trip, but in order to attend we would have to be flown from California (where we’d be visiting family) to Texas for the press trip then on to New Orleans after the trip where our friends were getting married. We would then return to Honduras from New Orleans on our own dime.

This was all cool with Geiger & Associates who assured us that “you and Eric definitely have spots on the Fredericksburg trip and we’re looking forward to having you.” Based on this commitment we purchased two tickets from Honduras to California, returning to Honduras from New Orleans with the Texas trip in between. These international tickets cost more than $1,800 but being able to accomplish a family visit, take part in a potentially fruitful press trip and attend our friends’ wedding justified the expense.

The switcheroo

Three weeks after inviting us Geiger & Associates abruptly “dis-invited” us with only a vague explanation. We spent the following eight days sending emails and leaving phone messages with the public relations firm, anxious to discuss why journalists were required to incur a penalty if they backed out on their commitment to attend the trip but Geiger & Associates felt it was fine for them to back out and leave us out of pocket for the expense we’d incurred to return to the US from Honduras AND the additional expense of traveling from California to New Orleans on our own instead of via Texas as part of the press trip.

The runaround

All of our messages went unanswered and it was clear that we were being willfully ignored. In not one but two emails we let Ms. Geiger, the owner of Geiger & Associates, know that if we did not get some response from her by the end of the day on the following Monday we would have no choice but to contact the client involved in this press trip. Monday came and went with no repsonse from anyone at Geiger & Associates so we contacted Fredericskburg, Texas officials who assured us that we would receive a reply that day.

The resolution?

We did, indeed, get a reply from Geiger & Associates that same day agreeing to purchase flights for us from California to New Orleans. Dispute resolved, right? Not quite.

The absolutely shocking conclusion

Debbie immediately went on a campaign to ruin Karen’s name in the publishing industry by sending a very misleading email to many of Karen’s editors (and, in most cases, their bosses too) in which she misstated certain details and omitted most of the salient facts.

The intent was clear: employ classic “push poll” tactics to give editors the impression (unfounded and untrue) that Karen has somehow misrepresented or abused her professional relationship with their title. We are happy to say that all but one of the people contacted by Ms. Geiger saw through her attempts to manipulate them and have remained on excellent working terms with us.

We’ve been in the publishing industry for more than 20 years and we’ve worked with hundreds of public relations agencies around the world. We can honestly say that we have never seen (or even heard of) behavior this unprofessional, petty, disgraceful and vindictive from a public relations agency. And we hope we never do again.

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3
Oct

The Mega Mundo Maya Manual (with a little help from us)

Posted on October 3rd, 2011 :: Posted in 2012 calendar, Archaeology Site, Belize, Events, Guatemala, Honduras, Mayan, Mexico, news, News, Ruins

Earlier this year travel writer and guide book author Joshua Berman asked us for input for his new book, a mega Mundo Maya manual called Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. It was a perfect fit.

During our Trans-Americas Journey we’ve spent well over a year in the Mundo Maya visiting more than 50 Mayan sites in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. In addition, Josh (who also writes the Moon Handbook travel guides to Nicaragua, Belize and the Living Abroad in Nicaragua guide) is committed to conveying a true sense of place based on actual first-hand experiences just like we are.

We did some digging around and provided Josh with information about the best guides, events, tours and hotels to help readers plan the most powerful and revealing trips through the Mundo Maya in 2012.

The end of the world (as we know it)

Why 2012? Well, the Mayans were meticulous record keepers, astronomers and day counters. The carved-stone calendars they left behind are stunning in their accuracy and artistry and have been the focus of intense research for decades.

Mayan calendars end on December 21, 2012, however, for reasons we may never know. Theories range from hysterical (and often ignorant) cries of “It’s the end of the world!” to the more moderate view held by many actual Mayans that the end of the Mayan calendar is merely a kind of re-set button for humanity–difficult and painful, but nothing to get apocalyptic about.

Whatever theory you subscribe to, 2012 is a year full of unique celebrations of Mayan culture throughout Belize, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. If you’ve ever been curious about these countries and/or the Mayans, 2012 is the time to visit.

Moon Maya 2012: A Guide to Celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras (Moon Handbooks, $7.95 for the book/$2.99 for the Kindle edition), is available NOW so if you want the inside scoop about the most unique and authentic on-and-off-the-beaten-path celebrations, pick up a copy and start planning smart.

We do not get a percentage of book sales. We just hate to see people waste their vacations (and their money) on mediocre experiences, especially with regard to a once-in-a-lifetime event like the end of the epic Mayan calendar.

Use the link at the end of this post to buy a copy of Maya 2012: A guide to celebrations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Honduras (or snag a FREE Kindle version). But first, here’s a sneak peek look at the interview with us that ran in the book.

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5
Oct

What’s in Your (Travel) Wallet?

Posted on October 5th, 2010 :: Posted in Money & Finance, news, Tips

It’s true. Credit cards and ATM cards have made travel finances easier. No more carrying wads of cash around to exchange at questionable rates from even more questionable persons. No more travelers checks with their associated fees.

Nope. Now, throughout the world, we can pay for purchases and get local currency from ATM machines with the swipe of a card. Not only is this easier and safer, the exchange rates are generally better than we used to get on the local gray market or in foreign banks where we used to exchange dollars for drachmas back in the bad old days of travel banking.

But there are still some pitfalls–many of them hidden–that can slowly suck your travel budget dry.

Attention travelers from the United States: If you want to keep your hard earned travel dollars in your wallet where they belong while you’re overseas then you should be carrying credit cards and ATM cards that do NOT charge a foreign transaction fee. Sadly, avoiding those fees is a big challenge and it’s getting harder every day.

You may not even be aware of it but virtually all banks and credit card companies charges a 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee on every single credit card purchase you make abroad.

Not only that, but when you take out cash from a foreign ATM you are almost always paying the local bank’s ATM fee AND the 1% to 3% foreign transaction fee that your home bank is charging you to access local currency. A number of banks even charge you an extra flat fee of up to $5 per ATM withdrawal.

(There’s a scary list of current foreign transaction fees charged by major US banks at the end of this post.)

Let’s say you are a Chase customer and you want to withdraw the equivalent of US$300 in Euros while you’re in Italy. If you visit an out-of-network ATM (note the scary health insurance-like language)you will pay about US$10.50 in foreign transaction fees PLUS any Italian bank fees on the transaction. That means that it’s not that hard to hand over up to 5% of your total ATM transaction to the banks before it ever sees the inside of your pockets.

This is because the international credit card networks (Visa and Mastercard) charge a 1% fee to the issuing bank that you hold your account with. A few of these banks merely pass on this 1% fee to you. Many take the opportunity to tack on their own fee, increasing the percentage that you pay to 2% or even 3%. A very, very few banks not only don’t charge their own foreign transaction fee but agree to eat the credit card companies’ 1% fee as well so their customers can enjoy fee-free ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases overseas.

That’s why we opened an E*Trade Financial checking account and that’s why we carry Capital One credit cards. Capital One is the only major credit card provider that we know of that does not charge a foreign transaction fee for all customers (and we’ve done exhaustive research).

However, we just learned (the hard way) that all E*Trade ATM and debit cards now incur a 1% foreign transaction fee on purchases and ATM withdrawals outside the US because the bank has decided to stop eating the 1% fee they’re charged and pass it on to customers instead.

We just contacted Capital One, where we already have credit cards that are blissfully free of foreign transaction fees, and the company confirmed that their banking accounts are ALSO free of foreign transaction fees.

We, like you, work hard to save money for travel and we’re also careful to conserve our money once we’re on the road. That’s how we’ve kept our Trans-Americas Journey going for almost four years now. We estimate that we’ve saved nearly US$1,000 a year by religiously avoiding ATM and credit card foreign transaction fees during our Trans-Americas Journey.

We are now in the process of closing our E*Trade checking account and opening a Capital One checking account and we suggest that other travelers from the U.S. do the same.

Another thing to look for when you’re choosing a bank account that’s most suitable for overseas travel is a policy of refunding a certain amount of the ATM fees you incur from domestic or foreign banks each month. For example, Capital One will credit your account up to US$10 per month in ATM fees charged by other banks as long as the foreign bank codes the fee correctly, which most major international banks do.

Share what you know and help travelers beat the banks! The information in this post pertains to travelers with US-based banks and credit cards. Submit a comment and tell us what you know about foreign transaction fees charged to travelers from Europe or Asia or anywhere else in the world. Knowledge is power (and money) people.

Check out FlyerGuide.com’s comprehensive list of ATM and credit card bank fees.

Credit card foreign transaction fee (updated 2/26/2010)
Issuer	Issuer fee	MasterCard/Visa fee	Total fee
American Express	2.7%	n/a	2.7%
Bank of America	2%	1%	3%
Barclaycard/Juniper	2%	1%	3%
Capital One	none	none	0%
Chase	2%	1%	3%
Citi	2%	1%	3%
Discover	2%	n/a	2%
HSBC	2%	1%	3%
US Bancorp	2%	1%	3%
USAA (available only to members of the military and their immediate families)	none	1%	1%
Wells Fargo	2%	1%	3%

Foreign ATM transaction fees
Issuer	Foreign ATM cost
Bank of America	1 percent currency conversion fee at Global ATM Alliance ATMs/$5 plus 1 percent currency conversion fee at Non-Global ATM Alliance ATMs
Capital One	No additional fees: $0 plus a 0% currency conversion fee. Refund of up to $10 per statement on ATM usage fees charged by other banks.
Chase	$3 plus 3 percent currency conversion fee; for premium accounts, $0 plus 3 percent currency conversion fee
Citi	Citibank ATMs: $0 plus a 3 percent currency conversion fee/nonCitibank ATMs: $1.50 plus a 3 percent currency conversion fee
HSBC	$1.50 for each ATM withdrawal; no fee for Premier Debit MasterCard
USAA	$0 plus 1 percent currency conversion fee
Wells Fargo	$5 withdrawal fee

Source: CreditCards.com

(Visa and Mastercard) charge a 1% fee to the issuing bank that you hold your account with. A few of these banks merely pass on this 1% fee to you. Many take the opportunity to tack on their own fee, increasing the percentage that you pay to 2% or even 3%. A very, very few banks not only don’t charge their own foreign transaction fee but agree to eat the credit card companies’ 1% fee as well so their customers can enjoy fee-free ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases overseas.

That’s why we opened an E*Trade Financial checking account and that’s why we carry Capital One credit cards. Capital One is the only major credit card provider without a minimum balance requirement that we know of that does not charge a foreign transaction fee (and we’ve done exhaustive research).

However, we just learned (the hard way) that all E*Trade Financial ATM and debit cards now incur a 1% foreign transaction fee on purchases and ATM withdrawals outside the US because the bank has decided to stop eating the 1% fee they’re charged and pass it on to customers (us) instead.

We just contacted Capital One, where we already have credit cards that are blissfully free of international transaction fees, and the company confirmed that their banking accounts are ALSO free of international transaction fees. We, like you, work hard to save money for travel and we’re also careful to conserve our money once we’re on the road. That’s how we’ve kept our Trans-Americas Journey going for almost four years now. We estimate that we’ve saved nearly US$1,000 a year by religiously avoiding ATM and credit card foreign transaction fees during our Trans-Americas Journey.

That’s why we are now in the process of closing our E*Trade checking account and opening a Capital One checking account and we would suggest that other travelers from the U.S. do the same.

Another thing to look for when you’re choosing a bank and credit card that’s most suitable for overseas travel is a policy of refunding a certain amount of the ATM fees you incur from domestic or foreign banks each month. For example, Capital One will credit your account up to US$10 per month in ATM fees charged by other banks—as long as the foreign bank codes the fee correctly which most major international banks do.