The post European train travel on the right track. appeared first on 1 Call Holiday Arrangements.

The hotel chain Marriott International disclosed a massive data breach affecting 500 million consumers who made reservations at Starwood hotels.

Compromised data includes name, address, phone, email, passport number, and date of birth. For some victims, the stolen information also includes credit card numbers and expiration dates.

If you’ve stayed at any of the following Starwood properties, you’ve been affected:

Westin

Sheraton

The Luxury Collection

Four Points by Sheraton

W Hotels

St. Regis

Le Méridien

Aloft

Element

Tribute Portfolio

Design Hotels

What should you do?

Keep a watchful eye on your inbox. Opportunistic scammers know about the data breach and will send out phishing emails designed to look like official correspondence from Marriott/Starwood, law enforcement, financial institutions, or any organization related to the data breach. Be super suspicious of anything related to this topic, particularly with any download links.

The post Cyber safety concerns for travellers appeared first on 1 Call Holiday Arrangements.

And it is vital to ensure younger family members get the email prohibiting such online disclosures, unless you would enjoy hosting, in your absence, an open invitation party in your lounge room or around your pool. No BYO – everything provided, including post-party accommodation.

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Increasingly the cause of home security issues is in the hands of the travellers themselves.

This topic has been aired many times, but a recent problem for one of our Clients prompted the need to issue this warning again.

While it is tempting to post all your holiday snaps to your Social Media while you are enjoying your extended holiday, and posting about what’s next on your itinerary, please consider that you are not only providing this information about your unattended home to all your friends and family, but also to all their friends and then to friends of friends.

Before you, or any family member with you, hits the Post button, stop and think about the home security implications.

It can’t be a surprise if eventually the fact your home is currently empty, and will be for another two weeks, falls into the hands of someone who takes advantage of that opportunity. The result may be as minor as a few uninvited guests enjoying your pool on a balmy night, but we have been involved in detecting problems for some of our Clients which had far more serious consequences.

Also, don’t forget to raise this topic, and establish very firm rules, with any Social Media savvy young people travelling with you.

If you see the stupidity with erecting a neon sign in your front garden telling passers-by your home is currently empty and will be for a while longer, surely the far wider distribution of this fact via Social Media gives even greater cause for concern, and is a far more serious threat to the security of your home.

The solution.  Save your holiday snaps and post them when you return home!

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An even more worrying problem exists if you are unaware the power supply is restored after the food in your freezer thaws, and then refreezes.

In an effort to provide increased peace of mind for my Clients, most of whom are regular travellers, I committed to find a solution to their worries about electricity blackouts while they are away. Even if I were checking my Client’s home every day, I hoped there was low-cost technology available that provided 24hr/365 day monitoring of their power supply.

The great news is I have found the solution – and it was very close to home!

NoPowerTXT is an affordable remote power monitoring system developed by Ian Sargent, a successful Adelaide entrepreneur I’ve known for many years.

Have a look at the NoPowerTXT website for more details. I’ve tested this system at home for months (and a couple of blackouts) and recommend it highly – for both your principal home, and for those with a holiday home or a boat in a marina ( Ian’s original motivation to create the system).

To ensure full disclosure, I am so convinced of the value of NoPowerTXT that I am assisting Ian with its marketing, and would be very happy to demonstrate my system in your home at any time convenient to you.

As added value, if you invest in your peace of mind via NoPowerTXT, I’m happy to receive any text notifications of power outages that occur when you are away, and I’ve negotiated an exclusive pricing arrangement for 1- Call Clients.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Cheers.   Graeme.

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Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less than those who do not. In a study of 100 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners had 21% fewer physician contacts than non-dog owners. (Siegel, 1990)

Here are some interesting statistical facts from the Animal Welfare League Australia:

• Seniors who own pets coped better with stress life events without entering the healthcare system. (Raina, 1998)

• Pet owners have lower blood pressure. (Friedman, 1983, Anderson 1992)

• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than non-owners. (Anderson, 1992)

• Pet owners feel less afraid of being a victim of crime when walking with a dog or sharing a residence with a dog. (Serpel, 1990)

• Pet owners have fewer minor health problems. (Friedmann, 1990, Serpel, 1990)

• Pet owners have better psychological well-being. (Serpel, 1990)

• Medication costs dropped from an average of $3.80 per patient per day to just $1.18 per patient per day in new nursing home facilities in New York, Missouri and Texas having animals and plants as an integral part of the environment. (Montague, 1995)

• Pet owners have higher one-year survival rates following coronary heart disease. (Friedman, 1980, 1995)

• Pets in nursing homes increase social and verbal interactions. (Fick, 1992)

• Pet owners have better physical health due to exercise with their pets. (Serpel, 1990)

• Dogs are preventative and therapeutic measures against everyday stress. (Allen, 1991, 1996)

• Pets decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation. (Kidd, 1994)

• The activities of daily living (ADL) level of seniors who did not currently own pets deteriorated more on average than that of respondents who currently owned pets. (Raina, 1999)

The post Healthy reasons to have a Pet appeared first on 1 Call Holiday Arrangements.

For this reason the following item from the Seniors Card digital magazine on the benefits of pet ownership for the “not so young” caught our eye:-

Whatever the reason, it’s a fact that people with pets benefit health-wise and happiness-wise. Pets tick all the boxes and instinctively we know it. Why else would 83 per cent of Australia’s population have lived with a pet at some stage and half of those who haven’t ever had a pet wish they did. Pets add something positive to our lives, no matter what our lives look like. Young, old, rich, poor, good job, unemployed, alone or surrounded by others – all sorts of people enjoy living with pets and are healthier and happier for it. Imagine the personal pain and anguish of having to leave your pet behind if /or when you decide to more into a retirement village, or later down the track aged care accommodation.

The Animal Welfare League of Australia is in the process of investigating a series of pet friendly successful models adopted in retirement villages and nursing homes across the country as a part of their new Positive Ageing with Animals Project. The project will call on all retirement villages and aged care accommodation providers to take part in a national survey to share data, perceptions about pets in their facility and information on existing pet policies. Once completed, this new initiative will drive policy changes that aim to better preserve the bond between humans and animals in gated communities and nursing homes across Australia.

“Making provision for pets in these environments and communities makes sense as pets help establish a community feeling and can encourage friendships between residents and neighbours” says Anne Boxhall, Executive Officer, Animal Welfare League Australia (AWLA).

It appears that retirement villages are leading this trend with approximately half of the providers in South Australia allowing some type of provision for pet. Successful models are already in practice which ensures the welfare of the pet (by providing open and communal spaces for the animal to explore) the owner and other residents living in the complex.

In many aged care facilities, having a pet live permanently on site may lead to higher occupational health and safety risks for residents and staff members, especially if the animals are integrated into a clinical environment. Although, the Positive Ageing with Animals Project has uncovered a variety of options for residents of aged care facilities to still gain the health and social benefits from maintaining regular contact with pets. These can include one on one or group visits with therapy animals, small companion animals living on site and in some cases, scheduled visits with cherished pets, i.e. doggie day care.

With findings of the project set to be released in middle of 2014, the days of residents being forced to give up their pets when moving into a retirement village, nursing home or hostel could soon become a thing of the past.

If you or someone you may know live in a retirement village or aged care accommodation, the AWLA encourages you to talk to your provider about taking part in the national survey.

The post Pet Owners live longer: It must be all the extra love appeared first on 1 Call Holiday Arrangements.

Here’s a few to hopefully make you smile:-

Collie + Lhasa Apso
Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport

Spitz + Chow Chow
Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up a lot

Pointer + Setter
Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet

Great Pyrenees + Dachshund
Pyradachs, a puzzling breed

Pekingnese + Lhasa Apso
Peekasso, an abstract dog

Irish Water Spaniel + English Springer Spaniel
Irish Springer, a dog fresh and clean as a whistle

Labrador Retriever + Curly Coated Retriever
Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists

Newfoundland + Basset Hound
Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisors

Terrier + Bulldog
Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes

Bloodhound + Labrador
Blabador, a dog that barks incessantly

Malamute + Pointer
Moot Point, …oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway

Collie + Malamute
Commute, a dog that travels to work

Deerhound + Terrier
Derriere, a dog that’s true to the end

Bull Terrier + Shitzu
Oh, never mind…

I’d love to receive your suggestions on any other cross breeds that have a humourous future.

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The post Be More Dog appeared first on 1 Call Holiday Arrangements.

Deciding to put our money where our mouth is, Lesley and I recently took a mini-break and headed off to the Yorke Peninsula.  Specifically, we chose a two night deal at the Wallaroo Marina Apartments, and as will come as no surprise to those who know us, a game of golf at the nearby Greg Norman designed course at Port Hughes.

The most obvious benefits of this decision are the savings in time and travel costs relative to any holiday destination outside of SA.  An easy and inexpensive two-hour drive meant I could finish an assignment the morning we left. Once we hit Port Wakefield Road, 15 minutes after we left home, we felt like we were on holidays.  No long airport queues and security checks, no transit delays and connecting flight issues, no language or currency exchange hassles.

The Wallaroo Marina Apartments were a pleasant surprise – very spacious, comfortable, and a small percentage of the cost of any similarly situated waterfront accommodation on the eastern seaboard.  An added attraction was the Coopers Alehouse which is part of the same development, and was our choice for dinner on the first night, and we went back night two.  Nothing beats locking the vehicle at the end of the day and taking a 15 meter walk to dinner.

Enjoying very pleasant pre-dinner drinks and a great value meal, watching the sun set over the sea, while dolphins frolic just 30 or 40 meters away, was worth travelling to the other side of the country, or the world, but that proved to be totally unnecessary.

The motivation for writing this was the consistent assumption by the locals of the Yorke Peninsula that we were tourists from further afield than Adelaide.  The same thing happened on Kangaroo Island, and up in the Flinders, when you answer the inevitable question “Where are you folks from?” by declaring we’re from Adelaide.  The reaction is one of surprise, as if that is an unusual occurrence – and unfortunately it is.

During 2012, 1Call Holiday Arrangements have been entrusted with more than 100 assignments while our Clients have enjoyed their time away from home. Of those 100+ assignments, in only 3 or 4 cases have our Clients holidayed within SA.

Perhaps part of the problem is our travel industry makes its money sending their clients around the world, or cruising out of Australian waters. No SA resident needs a travel agent to organise their holiday within SA.  The problem isn’t the attraction of our holiday destinations – tourists travel from the other side of the world to see them!

Surely the marketing people at Tourism SA understand their primary target market to sell the benefits of holidaying in SA are the residents of SA.  Unfortunately the allocation of  personnel and their marketing spend to SA based media clearly indicate otherwise.

All readers’ thoughts on how SA residents can be convinced to holiday locally will be welcome, and will form part of the submission I intend to put to SA’s tourism authorities.

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