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What Is A Honeymoon Registry?
Honeymoon registries are, effectively, agencies specializing in offering honeymoons to newlywed couples. Some of them are mere tour operators that can book whatever trip is required, charging a middleman’s fee for the privilege. Others can provide a far broader service incorporating beach dinners, hot air balloon flights, first-class flights, restaurant gift certificates, over water bungalows, champagne, cab fares, and so on. A honeymoon registry such as Aruba Tourism can even organize jeep safaris.
Where Are They Online?
Honeymoon registries are becoming increasingly popular, as people wish to try out more diverse and exciting experiences. The Internet is filled with various kinds of companies either affiliated to well-known hotels and tour operators, or smaller, more independent businesses promising to manage as many aspects of your honeymoon as you want them to. Here are some of the very best in the market as it stands now:
The Big Day - www.thebigday.com
HoneyLuna - www.honeyluna.com
Distinctive Honeymoons - www.distinctivehoneymoons.com
Traveler’s Joy - www.travelersjoy.com
Sandals - www.sandals.com
Marriott - www.marriott.co.uk
Starwood - www.starwoodhotels.com
What Are The Differences Between Them?
There are many differences between the plethora of honeymoon registries currently operating out there. Certain honeymoon registries are essentially travel agents that divide airfare and lodging in suggested gift amounts ($100, say), or at nightly rates in the manner that other couples list place settings. A honeymoon registry might provide unspecified and vague items and services such as "happy-hour dollars" and "shopping." If couples opt for lodging-chain registries, they are restricted to only meals, accommodations, and tours organized by the company and their affiliates. They cannot take an “a la carte” approach to their honeymoon. However, on the plus side, gifts for these registries are normally expressed as flexible credits. For example, if there are torrential rains on the day the couple is supposed to go on a snorkeling trip, that dollar price for this can be traded in for (on-property) cocktails, spa treatments, or room service.
Who Should Use Them?
Those couples who are more choosy and discerning about their honeymoons should opt for registries. Those who wish to be organized about their honeymoon will also be drawn into these arrangements. Airfare and certain tours are reserved and paid for long before wedding presents are given. Couples pay out for most of the cost of their honeymoon in advance, hoping guests will chip in with gifts later on.
How Can They Be Used?
It’s customary for friends and family to pick up the tab for various activities and pleasures on a registry-organized honeymoon. A couple can wait to see if someone pays their bill, knowing that if this doesn’t happen, the newlyweds won’t get into trouble for items or services they can't afford. The way that the system works is that guests examine the registry online and pay them via credit card. The honeymoon registry informs the couple engaged to be married each time a guest purchases a gift. The company Distinctive Honeymoons, for example, sends out an e-card featuring a personalized message from the giver. All the websites keep a record of who has given what to assist couples in organizing their thank you notes. Ordinarily, the honeymoon registry sends the couple a check for the full balance of the account shortly before the wedding takes place. A second and third check may be also be necessary to account for late gifts. Registries such as Starwood, Marriott, and Sandals ensure that the couple receives a company credit or gift card.
Things To Watch Out For
Not all couples keep an eye out on the small print when dealing with honeymoon registries. It always pays to do your research, even if this might seem a bit unromantic when related to the biggest day of your life. You don’t want to pay the financial or emotional penalty for a silly oversight that could have been avoided with a little preparation and sharp thinking. Be aware of such issues as Starwood’s registry gifts, called Honey Money, that actually expire two years from the purchase date, which seems a little bit tight fisted. Marriott credits, on the other hand, never expire. The Honeymoon adds an 8.85 percent service fee to all its prices, which has the consequence of a wedding guest ending up paying a bit extra to a third party. Of course, all the honeymoon registries add on fees of various types. The Big Day charges 9 percent, a fee that decreases depending on how much the couple books through the agency. Distinctive Honeymoons charges couples a flat rate to set up a registry, but doesn’t rake a percentage off the monies paid for gifts. However, using one of its agents to "customize and build your registry so you don't need to do the work," as its website suggests, will cost more on top. "Each itinerary will be evaluated as to the fee charged" on top of the original flat amount. Sandals registries utilize American Express gift cards, which come with a handling fee of 10 percent. There are no extra fees for the registries of Marriott and Starwood.
There can be no guarantee that prices for lodging, airfare, and tours booked via any registry are the best you can possibly find on the market. In fact, you may discover that rates are surprisingly inflated. For example, one option you can take at Aruba Tourism involves a barhopping excursion called the Kukoo Kunuku which costs the couple via the registry program double what it would cost them if they’d booked it online directly with the company. It really pays to keep your wits about you and think hard about the kind of honeymoon that you want. Consider whether it will take care of all your needs and what sort of financial value it represents before you go on the Internet or into the outdoor world and track down a honeymoon registry that will be the very best option for you.
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