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Project Gating for Success and Project Reviews:

 

As stated in the previous section, the implementation of POME methodology requires active management-level involvement and oversight. To further address this requirement Project Gating and Project Reviews are required as part of the methodology.

Regular reviews should be scheduled by management to insure proper performance and management in the areas identified in the implementation phase of the methodology. Large complex projects require more in depth reviews vs. small non-complex projects which may only require basic performance indicator reviews.

For projects that are small in size and not complex, reviews may be conducted by the Program or Regional Project Leader directly with the Project Manager in one on one session or as part of staff/group review sessions. In either of these cases formal meeting agendas/minutes may not be required, or summary review notations and actions may be used to record the review activities. Summary notations may include project performance indicators, progress indicators, and financial indicators, a brief summary paragraph of the project scope, a summary of the current issues and projected completion schedule. Actions will be recorded and tracked as part of the specific project records.

For projects that are large by dollar volume and/or technically complex or high risk in nature more formal reviews shall be conducted. These reviews will at minimum be conducted by management periodically during the project life cycle, and may include more extensive gating reviews and/or executive management reviews as described below. These reviews or gating sessions will be documented using the standard gating or review tools or regional review documentation, rather than standard meeting agendas/minutes. Actions will be recorded and tracked as part of the specific project records.

Project reviews will be conducted, attended, and acknowledged/signed off per the following matrix:

Acknowledgement of the project reviews may be accomplished by distribution of the review notations via e-mail.. Acknowledgement of the review notations is complete with the distribution of the review notations unless corrections or objections are raised.

Executive Project Reviews:

An Executive Review is a review where members of Project Operations and Regional management teams scrutinize business and Projects risks associated with a selected project. Business risks for example can come from financial issues, deviation from our prescribed methodologies, the type of contract (T&M, target price, fixed fee), resource constraints, leadership issues, quality/client satisfaction issues or safety issues. The goal is to sample a minimum of 25% of the backlog contract value as reflected by current PoC Revenue. Executive reviews may be conducted in place of quarterly reviews

The criteria for selecting a project or program that will be placed on the list for Executive Review during a fiscal quarter is described below. The following selection criteria are in order of precedent for selection of projects to be reviewed.

1. Projects that have any Cost, Schedule or Technically not possible setup, in the Project Balanced Score Card (PBS).
2. Projects that have greater order values.
3. Projects that were reviewed in the previous quarter with follow up actions assigned.
4. Projects that have had an PoC adjustment in the last two quarters.
5. Projects that in the view of management have inherent risk issues.
6. Minimum of one project from each business area or program
7. Project being managed by a project manager who has not been involved in an Executive Review in the prior 2 quarters.

Attendees shall include:

PMC Director – Mandatory
PCO Regional Manager (if applicable) – Mandatory
Program or Regional PMC Manager – Mandatory
Regional Finance Manager – Mandatory
Local Finance Manager – Mandatory
Project Manager – Mandatory
Project PCO Lead (if applicable) – Mandatory
Global Finance Manager – Optional
Regional Representative – Optional
GPO V.P. – Optional
Regional Contract Manager – Optional

In addition, the following Statements of Representation should be acknowledged (signed off) by the Functional Groups as follows:

Project Management

Concurrence with the project Revenue, Margin and Percentage of Complete (PoC) confidence of +/- X% and that the business strategy and project management methodology being employed on the project ensure effective project management.

Project Controls

Concurrence with the project POC confidence of +/- X% and that the project control processes and tools being employed on the project effectively track project performance, facilitate project control and accurately forecast the project estimate to complete.

Finance

Concurrence with the project Revenue, Margin and PoC confidence of +/- X% and that the financial processes and tools being employed by the business effectively track project financial performance, facilitate project financial control and accurately forecast the project revenue and gross margin.

Manage Project Variance:

Managing the costs, schedule, and resources is one of the most important functions that the project manager performs. These three key performance measurements are critical elements in keeping the project under control. The key facets of performance measurement are the requirements to integrate the management of cost, schedule, and resource use, with the technical aspects of a project and to provide information relating these data in a coherent, systematic fashion, using a recognized management approach.

Using PMIS information and applying the “earned value” concept, the project manager is able to determine cost and schedule variances and take corrective action to ensure that the project stays on track. The “earned value” concept, which is based on the central theory of performance measurement, embodies the principle that obtaining an accurate measure of how a project is progressing requires an objective assessment of work performed. When compared with project expenditures, this assessment of work performed provides a true variance against cost and replaces the more traditional technique that compares expenditures with spend plans. In essence, it recognizes the basic premise that funds can be spent and hours of work can be logged that is disproportionate to the work being done.

Resource use is also a key indicator of project performance. The project manager must periodically evaluate resource use and determine where and when to apply corrective actions such as resource reallocation.

This process is carried out primarily during the Implementation Phase but also in the project Closeout Phase.

Project Status Reporting and Project Review:

A key component of effective project control is the review of project status and the timely communication of such to the project team, management, and the customer. At the start of the project, the project manager establishes the frequency and content of status reports, as well as the project review process, which is meant not only to track project progress, but also to solicit management and customer support in resolving problems. These processes must be well defined in the communication and documentation plans. A tool must be provided to assist the project manager with his or her reporting duties to management in conjunction with effective tracking and control of projects in PMIS..

The project manager must also establish a routine for collecting project report information, which is necessary for tracking, controlling, and managing project performance. Such recurring events may take place weekly or monthly and are as defined in the communication plan.

Measuring Work Effort:
The project work effort is the expenditure of human resources’ time on project tasks. The level of effort refers to how many people are working on the project (also referred to as project head count). Because some resources may be working on more than one project at a time, it is necessary to track their individual effort as it relates to the project at hand. The process of measuring project work effort includes the following activities:

 Project resources report actual hours worked on a specific work package. This information is reported weekly on the time sheet and entered into the labor system by the project administrator or the individual contributor. It is recommended that project administration staff (project manager, project administrator, and others working on the project but not on specific work packages) also submit weekly time sheets charging their time to project administration, so that all costs associated with the project are captured.

 The project manager receives a weekly labor tracking report containing numerous data fields. This report provides the information necessary to evaluate, at the work package level, the hours expended to date, PoC, efficiency factor, and other important elements that will help the project manager to assess work progress on the project.

 Contracted professionals or vendors performing specific time-constrained project work also provide accurate reporting of hours worked so that their time can be included in the calculation.

Earned Value Analysis Method:
Earned value analysis was introduced by the Department of Defense in 1960 as a methodology for project managers to evaluate project progress. It is now used in some form by every agency as a performance measurement tool. Simply stated earned value is defined as the amount of planned work that has been accomplished to date or the value that has been earned by the project so far.

The key aspect of performance measurement is to integrate the management of cost, schedule, and technical performance of a project and to provide information relating these data in a coherent and systematic fashion, using a management-recognized base. It assumes that early warning is the key to averting disastrous consequences.

The theory behind performance measurement is that to obtain an accurate measure of how a project is progressing, an objective assessment of work performed must be developed. When compared with project expenditures, this assessment of work performed provides a true variance against cost and replaces the more traditional technique that compares expenditures with spend plans.

The key elements of earned value analysis are the BCWP, BCWS, and ACWP. These terms are described in the following table:

Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)

BCWP is the term used for work accomplished. It is a numerical representation of the value, in dollars, of the work completed. BCWP is also known as earned value because the value associated with a particular work package is earned when the task is completed. It is important that the BCWP be an accurate and timely measure of the completion status of a particular effort. If a work package is 50 percent completed, then the BCWP should be 50 percent of the total budget for that work package.

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)

BCWS is a numerical representation of scheduled work. Although similar to a time-phased budget or spend plan, BCWS has two significant differences: it is directly related to a period of time when a specific segment of work is scheduled, rather than when expenditures are booked, and it always relates to the overall planned budget for a given scope of work, as opposed to functional or corporate budgets. Because BCWS should be based on the schedule for when the work is to be performed, it is not only time phased but also work phased.

Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP)

ACWP represents the actual costs incurred (direct and indirect) related to a specific work package or the sum of all of the work packages performed during a specific period (usually from project start to date). These costs should reconcile with the supplier’s incurred cost ledgers, which are regularly audited by the customer in the case of cost-plus contracts.

The most important variances that can occur on a project are schedule and cost variances. The following table describes these variances and the process for calculating them using the earned value analysis method:

Schedule Variance (SV)

SV is calculated by subtracting the budgeted cost of work scheduled from the budgeted cost of work performed:

SV = BCWP – BCWS

SV provides an indication of whether work is being accomplished on schedule. Although an excellent indicator of the status of work in progress, SV is not a time measurement tool. It provides a measurement of the degree of variance from the original plan, in terms of monetary units. It is the difference between the value of the work actually performed and the value of the work scheduled to be performed.

Cost Variance (CV)

CV is calculated by subtracting the actual cost of work performed from the budgeted cost of work performed:

CV = BCWP – ACWP

CV represents the difference between what was expected to be spent for the work that was performed (cost estimate) and what was actually spent. It is a clear indication of past cost performance. CV is not based on a spending plan, thus avoiding the common problem of assuming that the project is on target simply because the resources consumed during a given time period match the resources planned for that period. Because it is not tied directly to schedule performance, it does not suffer the same shortcomings as cumulative cost curves. Those curves do not reflect the value of the work being accomplished.

The project manager can use earned value analysis data to determine the level of effort and cost needed to restore any project variances. Earned value analysis provides several additional mathematical formulas that the project manager can use to track and control project schedule and budget. This information is presented in the following table:

Budget at Completion (BAC)

BAC is the estimated total cost of the project, or a work package, when completed. When combined with project contingency or management reserve funds, BAC equals the total project budget.

Estimate to Complete (ETC)

ETC is an estimate of how much more money this project will require.

Estimate at Completion (EAC); Latest Revised Estimate (LRE)

EAC or LRE, consists of the current measured cost plus the estimated remaining cost. EAC should be calculated consistently from period to period with consideration given to factors such as performance to date, anticipated risks, and work volume. Because of the importance of this estimate, it is recommended that it be calculated and reported monthly. The formulas for EAC are as follows:

EAC = ACWP + ETC

or

EAC = BAC/CPI

Cost Performance Index (CPI)

The cost performance index is a numeric representation of how effective the project has been to date in terms of cost. CPI is calculated as follows:

CPI = BCWP/ACWP

The cost performance index is often used to predict the magnitude of possible cost overrun using the following formula:

Original Cost Estimate/CPI = Projected Cost at Completion

Schedule Performance Index (SPI)

SPI has the same functionality as CPI, except that SPI measures schedule instead of cost. SPI provides information on schedule performance at any given point during the project. SPI is calculated as follows:

SPI = BCWP/BCWS

Percent Complete

Percent complete is an estimate, expressed as a percent, of the amount of work that has been completed on an activity, a group of activities, or on the project as a whole, regardless of the amount expended to achieve that much work. It can be calculated as follows:

Percent Complete = BCWP/BAC

Percent Spent

Percent spent is an important tool to the project manager seeking information on the percent of budget expended to date or on the difference between percent complete and percent spent. If the project is running on time and within budget, percent spent and percent complete should be identical. If percent spent is significantly more than the percent complete, the project manager will need to identify the cause and take corrective action, if necessary, to prevent a project overrun on cost. Percent spent is calculated as follows:

Percent Spent = ACWP/BAC

Variance at Completion (VAC)

VAC is the difference between BAC and EAC. VAC is an early flag indicating how far off the project will be. It represents the predicted cost position (over or under budget) when all work is completed. Comparing VAC to CV is an easy way to determine whether things are expected to get better or worse. VAC is calculated as follows:

VAC = BAC – EAC

Earned value analysis provides a valuable tool for the project manager to use in evaluating project performance. Awareness of the earned value, SV, and CV is important throughout the project life cycle. CPI, SPI, and VAC are more accurate and, thus, useful in the later stages of the project. EAC or LRE should be calculated and reported monthly, although they too become more meaningful as the project matures. Percent complete and percent spent information is valid and useful throughout the project.

Taking Cost Control Actions:
Earned value analysis of cost variances can be performed by the project manager concurrently with the weekly project review. This review will enable the project manager to identify variances from the initial estimates; classify them as routine, minor, or major (according to the established threshold); and take necessary corrective action. The following table describes possible corrective actions for cost variances:

Labor Cost Higher Than Planned

 Look for incorrect reporting on time sheets or incorrect charges through PMIS. Make corrections, if necessary.

 Look at resource use. Are resources being fully used? Are all of the resources needed? Make adjustments in use of resources, if appropriate.

 Look at the scope of work. Has the scope of work changed? If so, was the cost baseline updated? Was the estimate a poor one? Make appropriate adjustments, re-estimate, and submit information to management for review and possible resolution.

Material Cost Higher Than Planned

 Is more material being used than initially estimated? If so, did this situation occur as a result of approved changes? If so, was the baseline updated? Update the baseline, if appropriate.

 Is the cost/unit higher than planned? If so, why? Can another source or supplier be used? Get Procurement involved.

 Look at the material consumption versus the schedule. Is it possible that the material requirements are as planned but are being consumed ahead of schedule? Re-estimate total material requirements.

Subcontractor/ Vendor Cost to Date Higher Than Planned

 Review contractor’s invoices and compare to milestones and invoice schedule. Is the subcontractor ahead of schedule? Are there incorrect invoices? If so, correct them.

 Has the subcontractor/vendor scope of work changed? If so, was the cost baseline updated? Update the baseline, if appropriate.

Miscellaneous Cost Higher Than Planned

 Pre approve travel; review and approve all travel expenses.

 Review and approve invoices.

 Review and approve supplier requisitions.

Expected Overall Project Cost Overrun, with Inability to Correct

 Is the overrun a result of poor estimates? Or is it a result of uncontrollable events? Can cost overrun be passed to the customer? Escalate the issue to senior management.

 Make necessary adjustments to the baseline, if required, as approved by management.

Project review meetings are necessary to show that progress is being made on a project. There are three types of review meetings:

Project team review meetings
Executive management review meetings
Customer project review meetings

Most projects have weekly, bimonthly, or monthly meetings in order to keep the project manager and his team informed about the project’s status. These meetings are flexible and should be called only if they will benefit the team.

Executive management has the right to require monthly status review meetings. However, if the project manager believes that other meeting dates are better (because they occur at a point where progress can be identified), then he should request them.

Customer review meetings are often the most critical and most inflexibly scheduled. Project managers must allow time to prepare handouts and literature well in advance of the meeting.

 

POME Prescribe:

About Communication:

ü  Clear, open communication is a prerequisite for a healthy, result-oriented work environment.

ü  Keep them posted: A lack of information is a fertile ground for rumor, gossip and insecurity. Keep the team in the loop about information concerning and affecting them.

ü  When in doubt, ask: Don’t refrain from asking “stupid” questions – they may save miscommunication and misunderstandings, resulting in saved time and money!

ü  It is bad policy to wait till your team members find out important information concerning them from other sources. That information should come from you.

ü  Ask questions and listen to suggestions.

ü  Feedback: Provide it often and ask for it. Keep an open mind. (Tip: Don’t expect all feedback to be pleasant and positive.)

ü  Listen: It’s always important to listen, but even more so in tough times. Listen for undertones.

ü  Be Open: While you should not be a dumping ground for grievances, you SHOULD be accessible enough for team members to openly discuss concerns or delays. (Tip: If you are not open, you’ll find out about the concern or delay later in the game when there is less time to fix it.)

ü  Touch Base: One-on-one and in meetings, meet up with your team members (or family members). (Sitting in front of the television with the family does not count as touching base!)

 Gautam Koppala,

POME Author

Not so long ago, travel deals were only available through select agents and companies who promised to offer the lowest prices. However, individuals can now often obtain the same rates themselves as if they were to use a travel agent. Not only that, but consumers have the convenience of handling all of their own arrangements while still enjoying the benefits of the best travel deals anywhere.

Regardless of whether you are planning a business trip or a much anticipated family vacation, the cost of travel can be significant. From the transportation to the accommodations, traveling is not cheap. If you learn how to find the best travel deals, then you can put some extra bucks back into your wallet where they belong.

When it comes to travel deals, most shoppers turn to the internet for the best prices on their hotel and transportation. The reason is because online discount travel shoppers are often tempted with special internet-only rates, discounts for early reservation and the ability to receive and print and instant confirmation.

There are no huge secrets to finding travel deals, but rather some facts that will help you to find the best deal possible. One such recommendation is that, if feasible, you should plan to travel on a weekday. In general, rates for both transportation and hotels are more expensive on the weekend simply because that is when most people travel. If arrangements are made on a weekday, the costs can be significantly less. The same is true of holidays, which is when a large number of people travel in order to spend time with their family. The costs during this time can add up quickly, so traveling a little earlier or later than everyone else could save you a bundle on discount travel.

Consumers should always make their hotel and transportation reservations as early as possible. This includes airfare, train tickets or even car rentals. The earlier the reservation is made, the better selection the consumer will have. The same is true of hotels and accommodations, which often book up early if they feature additional amenities, including a kitchenette, view, suite, etc.

Travelers who opt for making their travel deals online are in for a treat. Finding themselves with an array of choices, photos and detailed information are just a few of the benefits linked to snagging online travel deals. One of the most important things to remember when it comes to discount travel is that special rates are often non-refundable. For this reason, it’s recommended that travelers review the company’s cancellation policy and understand how any special pricing may relate to that policy.

The Information Age dawned with the internet, the reason the sun is still shinning on this age is the inception of Search Engines. We are now, all of us in their debt or held hostage for our access to information.  

Looking for information in years past meant a trip to the library, looking in card catalogues, periodical indexes, etc. The information was arranged alphabetically, giving no more or less importance to minor or major works or sources. Today, the search engines have the difficult task of trying to organize and prioritize a much larger pool of pertinent information to help the researcher. In order to do this they have had to adopt certain criteria for choosing which material or web sites to present first for a given search query. The systems and criteria are having profoundly negative impacts on small businesses. The travel industry is a good case in point as even in the remotest “inbound” locations (travel destinations) throughout the world the internet and ability to create a web site are available. The same can be said for the other side of the coin. “Outbound” services (travel agencies) with the help of the internet allow an agency for example in Japan to be able to send American tourists to Europe. There in lies the problem.

In order to be “found” easily on the internet, a company or web site must come up on the first one or two pages of search engine results for a search query. People generally don’t have the time or willingness to search much further. The search engine companies necessarily need to choose criteria for their “ranking” of results in order to be of the most service to their clients. They must also battle companies who try to manipulate the criteria in order to raise the ranking of a web site undeserving of a higher ranking. There is an entire industry devoted to doing just that. It is called “Search Engine Optimization” or SEO. There job, often costing tens of thousands of dollars is to manipulate the search engines rankings. There is a war going on between people who want to buy their way into preferred rankings and the search engines who are trying their best to deliver fair and accurate search results. The criteria and tactics of search engines have been evolving, but four basic criteria seem to be surviving.

Compelling content, traffic, links from legitimate related websites and dynamics and age of a web site.

Large international travel agencies and dot com travel sites appear at the top of search result rankings because they receive a large quantity of traffic and their large marketing budgets allow them to use “pay per click” advertisements which appear at the sides of search results to enhance the traffic still further. These companies sell travel to every corner of the globe and receive traffic for people looking to go to every corner of the globe, unlike a locally owned web site which would receive traffic only for people interested in their one particular location.

The net effect of search engines criteria for ranking websites on local travel companies, the inhabitants of travel destinations throughout the world is to bury their company’s web sites near the bottom of search results, making them basically un-findable. Not being able to draw customers directly to their business they are often forced to work for the large international agencies whose web site is available on the first couple of pages of a search result or pay dot com travel sites for the ability to be seen. If the inhabitants of a destination are working for an international travel agency they are providing their services for a huge discount to their actual world value. If they are paying a Dot Com travel site their net earnings are also discounted.

Every day another international travel agency announces “their” new tour of some precious travel destination. These agencies make money marketing destinations throughout the world, but share none of the responsibility for the impact their clients will have or for the care of the immediate environment, nor do they pay taxes on the profits they make to the government which has the responsibility for the care of that destination. It would be as if someone offered tours of your neighborhood, promoted it on the web, made money from these tours, but had no responsibility for the maintenance of your streets, nor care about the impact tour buses would have on the general quality of life in your neighborhood.

There was a time before the existence and world wide use of the internet when these travel agencies provided a valuable service to their clients. They were accountable for their client’s experience and could offer the same level of service and accountability to destinations throughout the world. This provided a sense of security for the traveler. Now, the value of that “homogenized” service is debatable. With the rise of many popular travel review websites, anyone anywhere in the world can know before they go into whose hands they are intrusting their vacation (www.cometogalapagos.com) 

Dot com travel sites are essentially new age telemarketers and present an opportunity to large international travel agencies where they can pay for a preferred location within those sites. Small local companies can not afford the fees for preferred placements within dot com travel sites which occupy many of the first results for a search engine query regarding travel and again, just as international travel agencies make money marketing destinations throughout the world, they share none of the responsibility for the impact their clients will have or for the care of the immediate environment, nor do they pay taxes on the revenues they earn marketing a specific destination to the government of that destination.

Part 2- A Case Study of San Cristobal, Galapagos

 

Part 3- Solutions for both travelers and local governments

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

I had some serious doubts about whether my first trip to Mexico would be a success. Now I can report that my first trip to Mexico was fantastic because I found a slice of heaven at Vida del Mar in Manzanillo (Mon-zah-knee-oh).

There are apparently some very famous places to vacation in Mexico, not the least of which are Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Acapulco and Cancun. Most of these destinations, to my knowledge, are resort areas with high traffic. Vida del Mar in Manzanillo is not.

Manzanillo, like Puerto Vallarta, is on the Pacific Coast, perhaps 150 miles south of Puerto Vallarta as the crow flies.

My first impression on landing at Manzanillo’s airport was that it was the smallest airport I have ever been in and also the cleanest. Vida del Mar is not a huge tourist area crawling with young adults looking for drinking holes and social action, but a perfect place for senior citizens to enjoy the beauty of the area in a quiet setting.

Vida del Mar is a gated, guarded, closed community of condo owners whose residences sit halfway up a mountainside looking onto a gorgeous bay. There is exactly one road in with a guard on duty 24/7. I felt safer there than in any major metro area in the United States.

We were staying with my son’s family in a condo owned by a couple whose children go to the same private Catholic school as my grandson does in Lacey, Washington. Their unit was on the corner of the second floor in 1 of the 13 condo buildings with 3 swimming pools in the development. The units faced south in the middle of well-manicured lawns and lush tropical gardens.

I thought sleeping at night might be a problem as the clear, sunny days were hot and there was no air conditioning. Imagine my surprise when night arrived, and we felt the cool breezes off of the Pacific Ocean by leaving our screened in patio doors open.

The coastline in Manzanillo lies more east to west than north to south, you can even get sea breezes during the day. Because the condos face south, the air rises up into the neighboring Sierra Madre Mountains, cools off at 14,000 feet, and at night comes gently floating back down to the sea, producing excellent sleeping conditions as the condos are above sea level.

Apparently condos at sea level in that area get what most resorts get, very little breeze at night and insects. Sitting high up the mountain is a distinct advantage to the condo owners.

Only a few minutes away from Vida del Mar is Club Santiago with the “Beach Club” that most condo owners join. Club Santiago is the most exclusive housing area in Manzanillo, with homes starting at $12 million pesos ($1 million in United States dollars). The beach at Club Santiago reminded me of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

The architecture in Mexico is excellent. There are no wood-frame homes, everything is built in cement, even the cushions for the furniture in the condo had a cement base. The doors have archways that are far superior to our rectangular American construction. The floors are all in tile, again, far superior to our American rugs and laminate wood floors.

The Hispanic architectural influence is also efficient, effective and downright utilitarian. Condos are space sensitive and creative use of the space available is a premium. I saw a washer and dryer in a single unit that fit to the inch in the space available within the designated laundry area. It was impressive use of space to say the least.

In the United States, everything that is bigger is supposed to be better. Careless and useless wasted space is not nearly as neat and tidy, not to mention just plain more ostentatious. The judicious use of built-ins for storage areas was also efficient, effective and helpful.

Vida del Mar also has one of the most romantic restaurants, La Recief, which is located on a cliff high above the Pacific Coast. Looking out to the Pacific Ocean, a halogen light at night beams light out to the waves as they come cascading into the shoreline below. The food is top notch and the servers are performance servers, preparing dishes at your table.

Given the choice of any romantic setting at a restaurant that I could find to impress my date, I would take her to La Recief.

Outside of the Vida del Mar complex, the local Manzanillo citizens are rarely bilingual, except for some restaurant owners downtown and a few of their servers.

On the second floor balcony of the unit, looking out to the surrounding bay, I thought that this is EXACTLY the sort of place that Ernest Hemingway would have retreated to when writing his next novellow key, secluded, quiet and beautiful.

I almost selfishly thought about not writing about my trip to Manzanillo and Vida del Mar as word may get around and then everything that makes it a little slice of heaven might be less so in the coming years. Because Vida del Mar is what it is, I could not restrain myself.

Every traveler want to spend their weekend at an exciting place with memorable moments and that happens only if they get what they want, like finding a good hotel to stay within their budget with a memorable hospitality and their weekend experience will go great.

When you are planning for a trip, obviously you will be wondering where to stay and which hotel is good to stay as per the planned budget making the trip more memorable. It’s my privilege to introduce one of my friend to you who helps you in choosing the best of the class hotel. Thinking who he might be, he is not a person but a friendly and popular website www.allhoteldeals.net is one of the best and popular know portal site dealing with all hotels in worldwide with secure online hotel reservations. It provides all type of hotel accommodations like economy, discount, and budget with price comparison facilities.

When you are traveling, definitely your expectations are to make the trip more memorable and obviously you will choose an exciting place as per your life style and taste. First thing comes in your mind when you go to any new place is where to stay, how to make this trip hassle free in terms of accommodation and hospitality and how much of my budget I need spend for staying and Enjoy the trip. It’s really tough job for every traveler to choose a good hotel for an unforgettable, pleasant experience in an unknown place.

Ramsgate is a pleasant town to visit and one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. The main attraction in ramsgate is its coastline and its main industries are tourism and fishing. Is your destination for beautiful and memorable holiday or business trip is Ramsgate? Are your restricted make your trip more memorable as per the pre planned budget? You don’t want compromise on the facilities and hospitality for the amount you spent? If your answer for any of the above is yes, the best hotel I can suggest you in ramsgate is Comfort Inn rated with 3 stars and it provide personalized services with a wide range of modern and advanced facilities and offers a warm welcome for its guests combining the traditional Greek hospitality, the family environment and the friendly relaxing atmosphere with all comforts of a modern hotel. Rooms and amenities in Comfort Inn are very comfortable and make you to feel the luxury.

Comfort Inn has its own Package on special offers for every occasion like Autumn, Bank Holiday, Christmas Offer, Easter, Midweek Offers, New Years Eve offers, Summer Offer, Valentines Day offers, Festive Deals and here for upcoming Christmas and New Year. It’s offering 3 Day Package for Christmas and New Year Break – 2Days, if you want to know more information about this packages u can go through www.allhoteldeals.net

It is important to choose the right Nikon D5000 Battery Grip for your travel,Because the digital SLR cameras are getting smaller, offers the addition of a battery grip a little more space for a better camera handling. This helps stabilize the camera properly, and should help to control camera shake, especially when you zoom in on a regular basis or more tele -Lens.

A battery grip is an accessory for an SLR/DSLR (and occasionally other cameras), which allows the camera to hold multiple batteries to extend the battery life of the camera, and adds a vertical grip with an extra shutter release (and other controls), facilitating the shooting of portrait photography.

It usually attaches to the camera body through the cameras own battery compartment and provides a cassette to hold additional batteries to increase the battery life for the camera. Most battery grips also come with a second cassette allowing the photographer to shoot using multiple AA batteries.

The installation of D5000 battery grip for the camera is very simple. In the case of my Canon D5000, it took less than 5 minutes from start to finish and involved, you simply remove the battery cover and attaching the battery grip with a large knurled wheel.

In summary, a Battery Grip will add a little extra weight and size to your camera, but the benefits are so much more than just an extra battery is installed. In fact, once a battery grip on your SLR camera, I doubt that you will not always, installed to remove it!

Business Overview Worldventures Travel is a well established network marketing company that is currently experiencing exceptional growth. The 150 million dollar travel company was established in 2005 and is based out of Plano, Texas but has members in all 50 US States. With the goal and mission of becoming the larges and most respected travel company in the world worldventures is certainly a company of integrity and credibility. Industry The travel industry is by far the largest industry in the world. This trillion dollar industry is expected to double in the next 4- 6 years with baby boomers retiring at a rate of 1 every 8 seconds. Store front travel agencies are taking a back seat to the massive grwoing popularity of online shopping. WIth 82% of US travelers online the travel industry is among the largest industries for e-commerce accounting for 43% of all online spending. We will get to how you can massively profit from this trend whether you are already involved with Worldventures or not. Products Worldventures dreamtrips is their signature product. Dreamtrips offers a one time membership cost and a small monthly fee. This travel package offers exceptional vacations and an incredible value. Worldventures travel also offers what they call the LTC package where members can refer others in their network and collect a commission. The LTC package also comes with other professional services like 24 hour roadside assistance and 24-7 concierge service. There is no doubt that the worldventrue travel packages offer a substantial ammount of value at a great price. Training Like most network marketing companies worldventures offers extensive training for your offline market. They teach you to complie a “warm list” of your family and friends who are in a position to buy travel packages or are interested in starting a business. Many people who do business this way often get the question, “is this one of those pyramid thingies”? As these people are unfamiliar with the network marketing industry and how it works. As a whole the network marketing industry offers little to no 21st century marketing training. Although as previously discussed more and more travelers are booking online worldventures offers little to solutions to reach this growing market. So how do worldventures reps tap into the search engine and social media traffic looking for the best travel deals? Its easy.. They seek training from outside the worldventures company. Your success in worldventures will not come primarily from the FACT that you have great products and a great company. It will come from your ability to find quality prospects who will build that residual income for you.. Worldventures is a worldclass travel company with exceptional products. But without the proper marketing training you will be dead in the water.. Unable to compete in this incredibly competetive industry.

Can a newbie or seasoned network marketer make real residual income with the worldventures travel biz? One of my good friends and mentors in the network marketing industry just joined and so I’ve been taking a serious look at it. This article is a unique unbias review of the worldventures biz as I am a network marketer and company outsider. It will describe the MLM travel industry, the world ventures packages and how to build a successful network marketing organization.

Plano Texas is where Worldventures was born in 2005. This seems to be a business of great integrity that is well on its way to becoming the worlds larges discount travel company. Did you know the travel industry makes up just under half of the money that is currently being spent on the internet? It’s crazy!!

The signature product of WorldVentures is their Dream Trips package.A one time start up fee allows you access to worldventures and your first dream trip.

The travel industry accounts for forty three percent of the money changing hands online. The travel industry is by far the largest industry in the world. The trillion dollar industry is projected to double over the next 5 years. Combined with the network marketing industry that is currently experiencing record growth this could be the perfect storm if Worldventures can pull it off.

With millions of people looking for a plan b in the face of economic crisis the home biz industry is experiencing a massive flood of new prospects.The majority of network marketing companies offer very little real marketing training and it is no different with worldventures. New members are taught to build a “warm list” of family, friends and other unqualified prospects.

To find success in worldventures or any other MLM opportunity you must have a constant stream of new leads and prospects. A warm market will always eventually dry up and you will need a new system for getting qualified prospects to join you. Notice I said “quality” prospects. You don’t want just anyone joining your business. If your in network marketing for long term passive income (and you should be), you need to be finding serious business builders instead of “get rich quick” losers. This means you need to be marketing to existing network marketers. The highest quality prospect for a home based business is an existing home based business owner. This audience will only join you if you are an authority and a leader. You demonstrate this by promoting yourself first and your company second. This is the secret to attracting hungry entrepreneurs to your World Ventures organization

Combining the trillion dollar travel industry and the exploding network marketing arena is certainly a recipe for success. But without real world marketing training you will be another casualty of these two unforgiving industries.

The YTB Travel in the United States, being regarded as one of the highest rating travel producers is continuously making the largest gathering of travel professionals in the country. The travel training programs of YTB Travel are at the utmost degree, with its new learning modules continuing to develop and grow. YTB Travel is really popular when it comes to making travel-business online. What it does is not only about the things in making journeys but also, it gives a promising business path for marketers out there. Now, because of the climate that it created, many people now have their own YTB Travel Biz and become one of the YTB Travel business partners. By the fact that what individuals from everywhere desires to do is to have a journey to different places, it become very popular in the travel business through variety of ways. The best place to set up everything when people need to travel is through the internet. Consequently, if you have your own YTB Travel business, those people who want to travel will find out that visiting to your YTB Travel Biz site to set up their travel accommodations would be the best thing to do. A definite plus in your income is offered by YTB Travel Biz because of the fact that making YTB Biz exposes you to the vast majority of travelers who used to book their reservations through internet. All you need is a stable foundation and firm marketing strategies to make your own YTB Biz a income generating online business. But how can you make a successful business YTB Travel? One of the things you have to do is to learn how to market. This could be done in many ways. One of which is by having yourself be educated about the YTB Travel Business market plans and MLM strategies. Having a systematic organization of people and effective marketing strategy will lead you to success. The key above all is by making yourself attractive to the people, which includes mainly the customers and other marketers, by attaining the perceptions of becoming a leader. Then, your YTB Travel Biz will be flooded with potential prospects who desires to do business with you. Thus, making your YTB Biz become your money-making system which will lead your way to your goals. As a conclusion, the YTB Travel opportunity can be regarded a very open and beneficially remarkable business opportunity especially made for marketers who desires to enjoy a successful business career. However, if you do not have the strategic plans and you do not educate yourself, you will not attain what you desire for a short time only.