- Hi, I'm Erik The Travel Guy.

Today is May 6th, 2021.

And you and I both know, the travel business has changed forever, but what can you expect on your next vacation?

We'll take a deep dive next on Beyond Your Backyard.

- [Announcer] Beyond Your backyard is being brought to you in part by the following: (dramatic music) (festive music) The Perillo Tours Foundation, for 73 years, we've been bringing travelers to Italy.

It's where our heart is.

Escorted tours and custom vacations.

Italy, the dream destination.

- My name is Erik Hastings.

Yeah, that's me.

And for as long as I can remember, I've always loved to travel, and I still do today, but you know what I've learned?

There's so much more that brings us together than divides us, which is why I've made it my mission to do the very same things you can do, but to take you beyond the experiences, to uncover the soul of every place we visit.

Let me introduce you to the people, the places, and the secrets that remind us how exciting it is to share with one another, to understand one another, and to realize just how connected we really are.

I am Erik The Travel Guy, and this is Beyond Your Backyard.

(mellow guitar music) Welcome back, and thank you for watching this very special edition of Beyond Your Backyard.

Today, we are exploring a few of those 99 miles of coastline here in the great state of Georgia.

More specifically, we're at the King and Prince Resort on St. Simons Island.

And it got me thinking, you know, as a species, we are natural-born explorers.

Since the dawn of time, we've always been asking, "What's on the other side of the horizon?"

And you know what?

We eventually just go.

Not only are we inquisitive and imaginative, we're also action-takers.

After wondering what's over there, we eventually just go there and find out.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped us in our tracks, and well, you and I both know what happened after that, but for most of us, our desire to travel and connect with friends and family, hasn't dissipated.

In my opinion, due to the lockdowns and norm disruptors, I think our desire to vacation has grown.

In fact, it's probably the largest pent-up demand for travel we've ever experienced.

That being said, let's get started.

As you probably already know, the crew and I travel to make every episode of Beyond Your Backyard.

Therefore, it's only fitting that we step out and show you what it's like out there, and help you make the best informed vacation decisions when you're ready.

On today's episode, the cast and crew and I have all been fully vaccinated, and are following all recommended CDC protocols, as well as being tested before filming the interviews.

With these safety measures in place, we'll meet an experienced travel advisor, who's going to walk us through, step-by-step, the process of planning and booking a vacation in our new normal.

And we'll head to Orlando, to Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek, to learn how the lodging industry has emerged stronger than ever.

So, where do you want to go?

Here's a little inspiration.

When was the last time you took a little time away from it all?

You'll really think about it.

You stepped out of the everyday, and stepped into immersive totality; a vacation you planned to feel something, or feel nothing at all.

You set out to explore, to learn, to eat, to laugh, or to love.

It was fantastic, wasn't it?

So when are you going back?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

We've all been through the wringer, but as they say, it's always the darkest before the sunrise.

And as cliche as that is, let me remind you, those sunny days are already here, and getting brighter with each and every passing moment.

So, where do you want to go next?

The beach?

The desert?

The forest?

Big city or small-town charm?

How about a few great lakes, some rushing falls, or a monument or two?

You want it hot, cold, just right?

And who's coming with you, the family, friends, your Amazon delivery driver?

The truth is, it doesn't really matter.

When it comes to travel, it's all up to you.

The world is your oyster.

The planes are already flying.

More hotels are reopening, and the business of vacation is slowly coming back to full strength.

Sure, you might have to do things a little different for a while, but the angle is the same.

Remember, if we want a different tomorrow, then it's up to us to make adjustments today.

Your next unforgettable vacation awaits you in far-off places, or closer to home.

Oh, by the way, this message is being brought to you by someone who has no plans to go quietly into the night.

The crew and I are making television episodes to remind you just how exciting this world truly is.

We're getting back out on the road, and I hope to meet you there.

We'll raise a glass together, socially distanced, of course, to taking one giant leap forward into the future.

It's called a vacation, and I'll just bet you could use one right about, well, now.

So when you're ready, pack a bag, step out of your house, and into your next great adventure.

Yes, I agree, pretty spectacular.

As a matter of fact, more information on every location in that piece can be found on our website.

All right, now we need to talk timing for just a few minutes here because, let's face it, the lockdowns, the restrictions, and the guidance, all of that is changing based on real-time data.

So, my piece of advice for you is to get educated, especially about the places you're thinking about visiting.

My second piece of advice, consult a trusted travel advisor.

As a matter of fact, my good friend, Sara, is an expert when it comes to the moving target of planning a vacation.

Right, Sara, you gotta help me out here.

I think travel has changed quite a bit.

How has travel changed?

- So obviously, life has changed and travel has changed along with it.

And so, everybody kind of has their new normal of what their travel comfort level looks like.

Some people are kind of gearing more towards the isolated vacations, or some people are still exploring, but keeping in mind whatever rules and regulations are going on in the city that they're visiting, or the town that they're visiting.

So, you know, you're still seeing the sanitizer, the mask, the COVID test.

All of these things that you would see in your everyday life are just duplicating themselves in the travel sphere now.

- Do people, do they plan more, do they plan longer?

How does that relate to planning here?

- So, one of the big things is, now, we're really seeing reservations, whether that's a reservation for dinner, or that's a reservation for the tourist attraction in this town or the, you know, cathedral or the museum, or what not.

Places that you might've just been able to show up, you now have to plan ahead.

- You were always helpful, to begin with, but now more than ever, advisors really can help navigate those waters, right?

- Yeah, so we're kind of like before your trip, a personal assistant, a secretary, and then during your trip, that little guardian angel, because before your trip, we're going to help, you know, like if you stay here, here's what you need to do before you get there.

Here's what it looks like on the ground there.

Here's what might come up and we're watching and we know somebody might be traveling to this destination in the Caribbean, and before they do, we're checking, like, what do they need to have before they go?

What do they need to have before they come home?

And so, while they're there, we've seen things change in the middle of trips, and that can be really scary.

That can be really frustrating.

And that can be really like mentally exhausting.

And so, our job is to make sure that you still have your vacation, still have your trip without having to worry too much about what you need to be doing besides just having fun and enjoying yourself.

- You have more experience in, "Oh, you're going to leave on a Tuesday as opposed to a Thursday, because that airline doesn't fly there on a Thursday".

That's not the planning we're talking.

We're talking about, where do you want to go?

What do you want to do?

What do you want to feel, right?

- Yep, people, they've had to put off these dream trips now, a couple of years in a row.

And so, some people pivoted and did a little staycation, and maybe, you know, these small trips, weren't something we were to have helped them with before, but now, they're like, "Where can I go, and what can I do without having to get on a plane necessarily, or without having to be around too many people," if that's not what they want to do.

And so, you know, we've been able to really help people and still get them out of the house and still get them away from their desk, and get to use those vacation days that all of a sudden are piling up now more than ever.

- I think people realized, "Oh my gosh, this country alone is a lot more diverse," than they thought it was.

- For sure, and you know, we have people who really love to do European river cruises, and they want to go see new countries and new cities.

But now they're like, "Well, I can river cruise now in the United States," and, "I've never been to Memphis," or, "I've never been to Columbia and the Snake Rivers," and they can do those.

And they never would have believed and thought about that before, because they wanted this big bucket list trip.

And these are still bucket list trips.

They're just a little closer to home.

- You and I both agree that, you know, cruising is an excellent way to get people out and about, to learn about new culture, and expose them to different places, but I never thought about the notion of the day-to-day life that we're experiencing now is preparing them for less of a culture shock on board, which that's what we're talking about, the onboard experience, right?

- And you know, the cruise lines are doing everything they can to keep up with the protocols and keep ahead of the protocols, and keep doing what they need to do so that they can sail.

It's, you know, the things that you're doing now are just going to be slightly replicated on board with a whole another level of screening and sanitation, and all of this on top of that, to make sure it's extra safe.

- Well, that's the prognosticating here.

We don't know which one of these protocols is going to be with us and for how long.

We don't know, that part, nobody knows.

As much as we'd like to say that we do, nobody does.

- But you know, when the time comes, we can give them that information and we can help them.

And we've helped a lot of people change and rebook and be flexible and, you know, adjust their plans, and the cruise lines and the tour companies and the resorts, they're all working with people now with more flexible cancellations, more flexible deposits, you know, push back final payments, all of these things that are letting travelers still plan ahead for their trips, whether they're the big trips or the small trips, or the trips with all your whole family, or just, you know, your spouse.

And you're still getting to be able to plan for all these things, but be covered in the event that you need to make a few adjustments.

- Do you pay an advisor in advance?

How does that work?

- There are different structures, but personally, we do not get paid by the traveler.

We get paid by the travel company.

It is no additional cost to use our services as we are now that liaison, as opposed to you going direct with the cruise line or the resort or what not.

And so then, we kind of are able to help you also get a little bit of a bonus, but it's that added value, that person that's in your court, that extra room upgrade, you know, all these little things along the way.

And especially now, all of our knowledge of what's happening in the world in each location, and what you need to know ahead of time before you go.

- And in some cases, they buy a lot of that product in advance, right?

- You know, it's power in numbers and- - Agree, thank you for this.

I appreciate it, Sara.

- Of course.

- I enjoyed my discussion with Sara very much, and I think it's worth noting again.

I want you to travel as soon as it's comfortable for you and your traveling party.

Vacationing within your own bubble, which minimizes your contact with others, is getting easier to accomplish with every day that passes.

But again, take that vacation whenever the time is right for you.

You may opt a vacation which features more wide open spaces, where people could be spread out a little more than normal.

Over the course of making this series, and in my own personal travels, we often visit national parks.

As of today, there are 63 national parks in the United States.

The most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains.

They're managed by the National Park Service.

And if you haven't been to one lately, well, take a look.

(mellow music) After spending a little time at one of those gorgeous national parks, or perhaps at the beach, or anywhere else, for that matter, if you're staying longer than a day, then chances are, you're going to need a place to stay.

And if you're wondering how the lodging industry is adapting to this new normal, well, so was I.

That's why I headed down to Orlando to spend a little time at Club Wyndham's Bonnet Creek.

Mel, for somebody who hasn't taken a vacation yet in our new normal, that includes a hotel stay.

That includes Wyndham Vacations.

What's it going to be like for them?

- It's going to be a new experience, but it's going to be an enhanced experience.

- What do you mean by that?

- So here's the thing, we want travelers to know that their well-being is our top priority.

So they're going to see things like hand sanitizing stations.

They're going to see signs about social distancing, but here's the thing, Erik, they're still going to have an awesome time with us.

- [Erik] I think what's interesting here is that Wyndham Vacations and other brands, they were already good at cleanliness and safety.

Now, they've just improved it, but now we know about it.

Isn't that about right?

- [Melody] That's about right, yes.

Our staff, our team, we've always been prioritizing our cleaning standards in our common spaces, in the rooms, but yes, we feel like this is top of mind for owners and for guests, so we want to show them the process.

We want to show them what we're doing, because again, we want to ease their concerns.

We want to ease their worries, because that's the last thing you need to be thinking about when you're on vacation, right?

- And it's almost as if this pandemic has allowed for even more transparency that we want, we want to know.

- [Melody] Absolutely, and I think, from a company, we're like, "Oh, they don't need those details," but they want to know it, because again, to your point, we've already been doing it, but now, times have changed and they want to know that they're safe.

They want to know that their vacation is clean, that their accommodations are clean, that even common spaces, there's social distancing, when they're with other families and other guests.

- [Erik] For someone planning a vacation now, what advice would you give them as it relates to the overnight accommodation?

- Do the research.

See what the check-in process is like.

See what cleaning enhancements have been made, because for us, we're vacation-ready.

We want our travelers to feel safe, secure when they education with us.

- [Erik] Because the bottom line, too, is that if that property or if that brand isn't publishing that information, the bottom line is don't stay there.

- [Melody] Absolutely.

If they're not willing to share it with you, they're likely not doing it.

- You are an expert when it comes to vacation ownership, timeshare, we don't know what that means.

What does it mean?

Is it the same thing?

- Yes, it is absolutely timeshare.

You use the terms interchangeably, but we've remixed it, okay?

(Erik laughs) Yeah, I had to tell you, we've remixed it.

So, you know, previously, timeshare was known as you go to the same destination, you go the same week, and nine times out of 10, you stay in the same suite.

We've changed it, so now, what we offer is a points currency, right?

It's like your travel dollars.

- Got it.

- So, if you want to stay here in Orlando, if you want to go to Vegas, if you want to go to Colorado, it's to your discretion how you use those points.

Or, if you want to go to the same destination year after year, you can absolutely do that.

- But it's a very personal experience, isn't it?

- Absolutely, it's personalized.

It's however you want to travel.

- But Mel, do I have to go to one of those pushy sales meetings from 1985?

I mean, honestly, they really did get a bad rep.

I mean, I suppose there's still some of that going on.

- So we're doing that, but we've changed the model as well.

We still want you to understand the product because we feel like education is key to understanding timeshare.

And we are the experts on that.

So when you take a tour, yes, we're telling you what's at your disposal from a vacation perspective, but then it's your choice, at the end of the day, how you want to do that.

- And that remains true even if you decide at some point, maybe you don't want to have this timeshare anymore.

You can get rid of it, right?

Absolutely, we have a ton of options for owners because we say we want to be there for them at the beginning and the end of their journey.

And we encourage those who don't want to do that anymore to come to us, and we have options for you to get out of your timeshare, or maybe there's a different perk.

Maybe you're not using it as often, and you can actually gift it to family members who are eager to travel with us.

We have programs like that as well.

So for those who don't currently own, they can try us out through programs like extra holidays.

So you can rent with us, give it a sneak peek, see if this flavor vibes with you, and, you know, it's at your disposal.

And so, yes, while we do have older owners, we also have millennials and Gen X-ers who make up 40% of our new ownership.

- And they're not 21 anymore, right?

- That's absolutely right.

Millennials have aged, they're in their 30s.

They have children, they have extended families.

They have careers, and they want a vacation.

- See, I knew you would live up to your reputation.

You are an expert.

Thank you for this.

- Oh, of course, I'm glad.

Listen, I wanted to make sure I lived up to your expectations there, okay?

- You did just fine.

After our informational stroll around the property, I wanted to take a look inside.

Plus, I was parched.

Good thing Mel had it all under control.

Timeshares and mimosas make sense to me.

Talk about a remix.

This is a massively large kitchen.

- It is.

- When people think about, is this a quote, unquote hotel room?

Well, it's kind of a hotel room, but it's like on steroids.

It's like- - It's a suite.

They call it a suite.

- Right, but I mean, if you were going to design a space to vacation in, this would be it, right?

Big refrigerator, full oven, so that you can do these types of things and not cost you, you know, $750 a day.

- Breakfast is a meal they make most in the kitchen.

So, why not strawberry orange minosa, right.

We're going to fill that void.

- [Erik] Okay.

(upbeat music) (blender whirring) (bottle cap pops) - Whoa!

- Hello.

- Hello.

- That sounds like vacation.

(upbeat music) Look at that.

- Look at that.

- It's perfect- - Strawberry Orange Mimosa.

(glasses clink) Cheers.

Tell me what you think.

- All right, I will, you and me, (indistinct).

- Right, for your breakfast or brunch?

- Oh, my word.

- One more time for sure.

- Yeah, just a little bit.

Yeah, because we'll probably have to do that again.

(Melody laughs) Hello, how are you doing?

And did I get this right?

When did destinations have more than like 240 properties worldwide?

- Yes.

- Is that right?

- Yes, that is absolutely right.

More than 900,000 owners, plus, an additional million something guests that visit us every single year.

So yeah, we're the real deal.

- I think if Mel and I live closer together, we'd be dangerous.

I love her and I love the way she sees the world.

But I can't stress enough, take a break and explore, take a moment to breathe, but most important, take all the time you need.

And when you're ready, take a big old bite of this great big world about.

I'm Erik The Travel Guy.

Thank you for exploring Beyond Your Backyard.

- Do it.

Don't just talk about it, be about it.

(Erik laughs) - Don't just (laughs).

Not too much!

Take it easy, (laughs) don't dilute.

And for me, that taste is going to stay with me all day, right there in the mustache, that's nice.

- One more time for sure.

- Just a little bit, yeah, because we'll probably have to do that again.

(Melody laughs) This is now one of the pickups.

Hello, how you doing?

So, talking about lunch, I'm like, lunch?

Hi, lunch, I'm good, thank you very much.

- Right, we're are the real deal (laughs).

- Easy for you to say, huh?

(Melody laughs) Right, here we go.

For more information on this episode, visit ErikTheTravelGuy.com.

and while you're there, you'll discover other fascinating destinations just Beyond Your Backyard, and links to follow me on social media.

That's ErikTheTravelGuy.com.

(dramatic music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] The Perillo Tours Foundation.

For 73 years, we've been bringing travelers to Italy.

It's where our heart is.

Escorted tours and custom vacations, Italy, the dream destination.

- Hi, I'm Erik The Travel Guy.

You know, I've been exploring the world professionally for more than a decade, and you know what I've learned is that fantastic experiences await you in every corner of the globe, but you don't always have to travel that far to uncover them.

So join me each week as we go on and off the beaten path, learn something new, and sample delicious culinary.

We're exploring Beyond Your Backyard.

(upbeat music)