Loyal customers are the bread and butter of the travel industry. Airlines and hotels lean on loyal customers to return year over year and provide the core bottom line of business. They’re the most frequent and the most important part of the customer base, and therefore of special value to the travel industry.

That’s why most smart service companies create loyalty programs. It’s a good way to reward the frequent visitor for continued service, and it incentivizes them to return for further business.

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Vacations, those few days of peace that we steal every year, are the only levity that we’ve got against the nonstop madness of work, families, TV and everyday life. And with Americans taking fewer and fewer days off annually, there’s more pressure on each of us to make sure that our days on the road are perfect.

Whether this is with well-reviewed resorts, the best and cheapest tickets, or the most thoroughly researched restaurants, a well-planned journey can turn your vacation into a lifelong memory. The key, of course, is to start planning early – months ahead if you can afford the time.

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With a writer mom, my kids never had a chance: They had to love reading from the minute they were born. Luckily, they took to books like a pig takes to mud, and now a lot of our family time consists of sitting together on our family room sectional, each absorbed in our own book.

So how can you get your kids addicted to books? Travel’s a perfect vehicle (please forgive the pun) – or at least, so I’ve found with my two. Given the amount that we travel (often several weeks a year, and at least a couple of weekends a month), the reading bug has come in super-handy for my girls, both because they have a way to entertain themselves in transit and because they can learn all about the places we’re going before we ever get there. Read More >

If you’re anything like me, at the end of the summer you have a million photos of your kids in funny poses, silly faces and wildly fantastic expressions. Vacations and destinations are awesome, but preserving those memories in a way that will last (which doesn’t take much time) is a tall order when combined with back-to-school time.

Here are a few ideas that are sure to make for lasting memories without breaking the bank.

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