Can Academic Travel Services arrange motorcoach and/or airline transportation for our group?

Yes! Academic Travel Services will be glad to arrange transportation for your group via motorcoach or air.

Does Academic Travel Services offer trip insurance?

Yes! Academic Travel Services offers two types of travel insurance that are specially tailored to and priced for the student market.

1. Comprehensive Trip Cancellation Insurance includes benefits for trip cancellation,      trip interruption, baggage, travel delay, baggage delay, accident medical, and
     24-hour travel assistance service. (cost determined by the total cost of your trip)

2. Post Departure Travel Insurance includes all the Comprehensive benefits except      Trip Cancellation. It is ideal for groups looking to maximize their coverage once      the trip begins. (cost determined by the total number of days of your trip).

Are my group's deposits protected?

Academic Travel Services is in good standing with SYTA, the premier association of prestigious student tour operators. ATS offers a great Professional liability                                 insurance policy as well as a Professional Errors and Omissions insurance policy                                 as further protection.

Can payments be made with credit card?

YES! Academic Travel Services will provide the necessary forms for individual trip participants to pay deposit payments by credit card. However, there is an additional                                 service charge if the whole trip is paid for by credit card.

What is the minimum number of people required to be considered a group?

In order to provide the best price and service for your group we suggest a minimum of 20 paying participants per group for all destinations.

Does Academic Travel Services offer adjudication Festivals?

Although Academic Travel Services is not a festival company, we routinely add a quality adjudicated, competitive festival performance opportunity for our groups with                                 such distinguished festival companies as: Music In the Parks, American Classic                                 Festivals, Festivals of Music, Festival Disney, All-Star Music Festivals, MusicFest                                 Orlando, Music America, Dixie Classics, North American Music Festivals,                                 FiestaVal, Music Showcase, Music Festivals, Heritage Music Festivals, Performing                                 Arts Consultants, Smokey Mountain Music Festivals and many others for an                                 additional cost per person.

Why use Academic Travel Services to coordinate our festival trip?

We include most of your meals in the package; We include attraction admission costs in your package; A local tour guide/escort is assigned solely to your group for                                 the entire trip; We help you arrange your touring so that you maximize your time and                                 money; Since we work with several different festival companies, you have a choice                                 of festival company on a given weekend.

When comparison shopping, what should I look for?

Always determine what is included in the trip price! Many times prices differ because not all the attractions, meals, and inclusions are the same. Pay close                                 attention to the type of meals, hotels, complimentary packages and attractions that                                 are included. Academic Travel Services always lists the trip inclusion clearly on the                                 trip proposal. If you are not completely sure of the inclusions please call your trip                                 planners to discuss any aspect of your groups proposal.

What is a Number Variation Fee (empty seat charge)?

The Number Variation Fee is the attrition fee for the persons who dropped out of the trip from the contracted number used to determine the motor coach cost and the tour                                 director cost per person.

For example: If the contract stated 40 paying persons and the final number of paying travelers is 36 persons with a motor coach cost of $75.00pp and a tour director cost of $25.00pp, the Number Variation Fee is $100.00 x 4 seats = $400.00 charged to the total trip cost.

What are Room Supplement Fees?

Academic Travel Services uses the 4 persons per room formula to determine the hotel cost per person in the individual trip price. It is impossible to know how a                                 rooming list is going to develop, so the room supplement fee is employed to make                                 up the difference for any missing persons. For example: If the room charge per                                 person on a two night trip is $50.00 (4 per room) the triple room supplement
                                (3 persons in the room / 1 missing person) is $50.00. If you have only 2 paying                                 persons in the room (double room), the supplement is $100.00. If there is only one                                 paying person in a room (single room), the supplement is $150.00.