Melanie Whyte - Travel Manager

27/08/2026

Good afternoon from the sunshine!

As promised, I have some more exciting news for you this time..

Qantas have launched their most recent double points or double status credits promo. You need to register through your app and choose whether you want the points or credits, and then book by 2 September. The flights must be on Qantas aircraft, and have completed travel by 14 August, 2027. With the deactivation of Points Club by the end of this year, this will be very useful in maintaining status.

A bit closer to home, I am VERY happy to let you know that we can now accept PayID payments AND you can pay us with Amex points as well. This makes paying from debit accounts almost instant which is awesome news given how quickly prices are changing!

That’s it for now, but there are more travel inspiration ideas coming up over the next few weeks ✈️ ☀️

26/08/2026

Good morning all,
I’m afraid this post is a little boring, but it is super important.

I’m sure you’ve seen in the press everything about the RBA’s decision on us not being able to charge merchant fees on credit cards after 1 October. It doesn’t affect the bank’s ability to charge them to us, it’s just that we can’t on charge them anymore.

This is just a case of having to grin and bear it from a business perspective for me BUT for those of you that use credit cards after insurance, that is all changing too.

I certainly can’t comment on what is changing on each account, because I simply don’t have all of that information, but from reading my own information with ANZ, some account types are having the coverage drastically reduced and some are having it removed completely.

Please check this with your bank and ask them for a PDS so you can check the coverage yourself. Travel insurance is always recommended and I’d hate to see you assume that you have the coverage and find out the hard way that you don’t.

I promise what is coming next from these posts will be more exciting and will make you much happier than this news…. ✈️

17/08/2026

Good morning from a sunny but chilly Hobart!

I’ve flown back to the motherland for our annual TravelManagers conference so responses will be a little slow for this week.

I don’t have a locum for emergencies because she’s here too! I can absolutely pop out for anything urgent so text me if you need me, I won’t be far away.

I’ll be back on deck next week refreshed, inspired and ready to show you all the world 🌎 ✈️

Have the best week all ❤️

01/08/2026

Good evening all, I hope you’re having a great weekend.

I’d like to introduce you to the Jewel in Singapore. I’m sure many of you have heard of it, and probably seen it. The majesty of the internal waterfall and the sheer volume of what’s on offer in terms of food and shopping.

BUT the best part is a sneaky little counter that is to the left and down one floor from the main entrance, and that is the pre check in for heaps of airlines!

Most airlines don’t open their check in counters until 3 hours prior to travel, but you can actually check in at the Jewel up to 8 hours prior; leaving you time to shop or just wander around the Jewel and the airport without having to lug your suitcases with you.

Pics of the airlines that participate in this scheme are below. There is no cost and you will walk away with boarding passes as well, meaning you can leave the Jewel and go straight to immigration and customs. Winning! ✈️

18/07/2026

Good evening, I hope you’re all having a great weekend.

I’ve stolen a quiet moment to contemplate all of the changes going on right now in my world. We were devastated to have to say goodbye to my beautiful chocolate Labrador, Peppa, this week.

She finished off her retirement with my Dad in Tassie and the vets estimate that she would have been 85 when she passed away.

They might be only one chapter of our lives, but for Peppa, we were her whole story and I feel blessed to have had her love for so long.

In amongst the changes though; some consistency remains. Yesterday I celebrated 26 years as a travel agent. If you’re doing the maths, I did indeed start the job when I was 6… 🤣🤣

I’ve seen some amazing developments in that time, and also some horrific world events, as well as pandemics and epidemics, financial crises, airlines and suppliers come and go, new technology (not all of it awesome) but the lynch pin through all of it is that my love for the job and the industry has never changed (may have slightly wavered in 2020 though!). Being an architect of someone’s dreams is a pretty special position to have and I’m grateful for the scholarship I received in 1999 that opened the door for me. If that hadn’t have happened, my Uni degree would have seen me writing press releases for politicians!

I’m so very grateful for all of you allowing me to play a small part of making your dream trips come alive and I can’t see myself doing anything else for a job.

I shall sign off for now with my musings, but I’ll be back next week with the first tidbit of everything I learned in Singapore. Stay tuned, I have some absolute crackers coming! Have a great weekend all, and let’s get you on a holiday soon xx

10/07/2026

Good evening to you all, it has been a minute or three since I’ve posted so I thought I’d check in with a few tidbits of information.

The first, and probably most exciting for me is that I have moved to the Sunshine Coast! It’s been on the cards for a while and I was finally able to make it happen in April, thanks largely to you all and your support of my little business.

The last few months have been a blur of moving, unpacking, renovating the bathroom and laundry and getting my daughter settled into a new school.

I’ve also recently come back from ILTM Singapore, where I found out some of the most amazing things! I love that after 26 years in this industry, I am still learning new ways to do things, new developments and some sneaky hidden surprises that aren’t even on google. I’ll be sharing those with you over the coming weeks.

If I share too much now, this will become an essay so I shall sign off for now but keep your eyes peeled for these amazing little finds - from Arab horse studs owned by the King of Spain that we can arrange private trips to, food tours in the north of Italy and a secret ryokan in Tokyo which is inside a massive hotel but makes you feel like you’re inside botanic gardens.

I’m still working with my Tasmanian favourites, and I so appreciate your patience over the last few months as well. Moving across the country is scary, and big, but so far it has been absolutely worth it for my health, happiness and all the good stuff.

My new favourite saying has become “comfort is the enemy of progress” and usually if something is a bit scary and daunting, the results are usually pretty amazing.

Have a great weekend all! Watch out for the good stuff in the coming weeks ✈️ ❤️

17/04/2026

Good evening all and happy weekend!
There is a new entry requirement for Vietnam, implemented today and effective immediately.

Pre-Arrival Declaration at Ho Chi Minh Airport

Effective NOW! Vietnam has introduced a mandatory pre-arrival information declaration for travellers entering via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Under this new regulation, foreign nationals and overseas Vietnamese entering with a visa are required to submit personal information prior to arrival. Travellers will receive a QR code upon completion, which must be presented to immigration authorities during entry procedures.

Vietnamese passport holders and transit passengers are exempt from this requirement.

Passengers can complete the declaration in two ways:

✨Online before departure (recommended): https://prearrival.immigration.gov.vn/

✨By scanning a QR code upon arrival at the immigration area

To minimise waiting time and ensure a smoother arrival experience, travellers are strongly encouraged to complete the declaration in advance and keep the QR code readily accessible upon landing.

The introduction of this digital pre-arrival system is part of Vietnam’s broader effort to enhance immigration control efficiency and streamline passenger processing, particularly at one of the country’s busiest international gateways.

Pre-Arrival Information - IMMIGRATION

14/03/2026

So I have the large misfortune of (thankfully temporarily) being on crutches at the moment and I discovered this service in Melbourne airport in the last few days.

Most airlines will offer wheelchair services from their check in counters to the departure gate, but this service offers assistance with getting from your taxi/Uber to the check in counter and vice versa.

You just need to call them 15 minutes prior to your arrival to the airport. No SMS, you have to call.

This service is free regardless of which airline you’re travelling with.

They use very new electric wheelchairs and so far I’ve found them to be super friendly and eager to help.

No affiliations here, just a great service that we all may need one day! Anything that makes travelling a little easier is a win for me!

Have a great weekend all ❤️

10/03/2026

Good morning everyone!
I know it’s been a long time since you’ve seen anything from me. A stinky little hacker decided it was time I had a break from Facebook apparently 😡😡

Anyway, I apologise for not being a source of knowledge and facts with what is going on in the Middle East. There is a lot of “Covid-esque” feelings around the management of this situation from a travel perspective but the overall message is pretty clear.

If you have a holiday booked now and you’re unsure about whether to go, please don’t cancel it.

Airlines are releasing waivers of change fee policies up to 2-3 weeks in advance of travel dates but that is all. For example, if you’re booked to go in April, and you cancel now, that will be seen as a change of mind and you will be subject to standard cancellation fees.

Please also note that many insurance policies do not cover acts of war (please read your own PDS to confirm).

I know that many of you have Easter trips booked and we will deal with them as they come up but my advice is to sit tight and don’t make any decisions until we have to.

I’ll be here for any questions, and it’s lovely to be out of Facebook jail! 😊😊

18/01/2026

Good morning all, I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

There are still a lot of questions surrounding the new laws that come into effect in around 5 weeks for travel to the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise specifically on immigration matters, and I am by no means an expert on the topic, the clearest way to say it is that if you are eligible to have a British or Irish passport, regardless of whether you've had one before, you will need to get one to travel to the UK.

You can check if you're a British citizen at https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizenship?fbclid=IwY2xjawPaSfRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEegbhBEhAYQ9QGVQF-WfVpTQEHX9rljhgQ447J51pqvbj9Q1IWWUOcIvQGIyE_aem_3F6p6JDF2qzfTd528RiO4g

Please keep in mind that you don't have to have been born in the UK to be considered a citizen there. At the moment there aren't any new rules around travelling to mainland Europe under these new changes, but that doesn't mean that it won't happen, and the processing time at the moment for UK passports has blown out due to these changes.

A colleague of mine has already gone through the process and whilst the fees weren't too bad at $300, the paperwork needed was quite involved - original birth and marriage certificates need to be sent, Australian passports (or copies of every page) and if you've had a British passport in the past but it was years ago and you can't find it, you will need to report it lost.

The moral of the story here is that if there could be any chance that you could be considered UK citizens and you plan on travelling at any time, now is the time to look into this and get it sorted :)

Check if you're automatically a British citizen - it depends on where and when you were born and your parents' immigration status.