MOTO-CHARLIE.COM

<body><h2>MOTO-CHARLIE.COM</h2> <P>This section shows what the estimated cost of a trip should be on one of my tours. Obviously, if you like to have a $90 bottle of wine with every dinner, expensive spa treatments at the end of the riding day, and be in constant telephone communication with the home office, then you should adjust these numbers upwards accordingly. <ul><li><i><b>Just a few quick comments before we get to the costs below. When we are in the Alps we pay for our travel in Euros and Swiss Francs. The exchange rate to the U.S. dollar fluctuates constantly. The effect of these changes can increase, or decrease, the total trip cost sometimes by as much as 5% calculated from one week to the next. Every major tour company has a cost adjustment provision in their terms section that allows them to adjust the cost of the tour if the exchange rates change significantly (by more than 5 – 10%). I work extra hard to offset the exchange rate impact by constantly finding great alpine style hotels that offer superior value for the money. I mix and match a selection of high quality hotels on a rotating basis, depending on the route, to try and keep the cost down and relatively even from tour to tour. I am constantly reviewing the costs I post to this website. If they change significantly I’ll update the website. Otherwise please figure that the actual cost of the trip as outlined below may vary by plus or minus $200 depending on the tour route and exchange rates in effect at the time of the tour.</b></i></ul> <a><b> <font color=red>HOW MUCH WILL THE TOUR COST?</font></b></a> <b>The amounts below should cover the entire direct tour cost. For example, the “single rider” cost below is the total motorcycle, hotel, meal and incidental cost that I personally pay on each tour.</b> The estimate below assumes a rented motorcycle similar to a BMW R1150R or Honda VFR 800, both great alpine bikes and both available with hard luggage. The exchange rate to the dollar has increased by approx. 8% since last year, which is why the tour cost is up a little for 2005. I have not increased my Moto-Charlie fee. <b><u>SINGLE RIDER IN A SINGLE ROOM - $3,370</b></u> <ul><li> Motorcycle - $1,100 <li> Hotels (Includes Dinner and Breakfast) - $1,120 <li> Incidentals (Lunch and Gas at $45 per day) - $450 <li> Moto-Charlie Fee - $700</ul> <b><u>SINGLE RIDER SHARING A DOUBLE ROOM - $3,290</b></u> <ul><li> Total Hotel portion of the cost is approx. $80 less than for a single room – everything else would be the same as for a single rider above <li> Motorcycle - $1,100 <li> Hotels (Includes Dinner and Breakfast) - $1,040 <li> Incidentals (Lunch and Gas at $45 per day) - $450 <li> Moto-Charlie Fee - $700</ul> <b><u>PASSENGER SHARING A DOUBLE ROOM - $1,790</b></u> <ul><li> Motorcycle - $0 <li> Hotels (Includes Dinner and Breakfast) - $1,040 <li> Incidentals (Lunch - No Gas) - $250 <li> Moto-Charlie Fee - $500</ul> <b><u>COUPLE RIDING TOGETHER SHARING A DOUBLE ROOM - $5,080</b></u> <ul><li> Single rider sharing a double room - $3,370 <li> Passenger sharing a double room - $1,790</ul> <a> <b> <font color=red> THE TOUR COST DETAILS</b> <a> <a> <font color=black> Costing out a trip is pretty simple. There are four components: <ul><li>(1) <b> AIRFARE </b>- No major tour company includes airfare. There are just too many alternatives via frequent flyer miles, charter fares, discount broker agents, etc. <li>(2) <b>MOTORCYCLE RENTAL </b>- The motorcycle rental cost is determined by you, based on which model you choose and how long you keep it (see the discussion about “Motorcycles” in the “Touring Info.” section or click <a href=http://moto-charlie.com/WSFF/Applications/FAQ/subLayout01.asp?vCompID=9183&vFAQid=806><font color=blue>here</font></a> for the specific models and rates). I have used a BMW R1150R, at $1,100, in my cost examples above. A BMW F650 GS would cost $680 or a Honda ST1300 would be $1,250. The total tour cost would change accordingly. It’s your choice. Many rental companies charge less per day the longer you keep the motorcycle, especially for rentals 14 days or more. That might be something to consider if you want to come earlier or stay longer. Our 10-day rentals include a multi-day discount. <li>(3)<b> THE DAILY COST OF TRAVEL </b> - The daily cost of travel is comprised of hotel, meal, gas, and incidental costs. The daily cost for either the Swiss flavored or Italian flavored trip should average a little less than $160 dollars per day. That is based on costing out specific hotels (with breakfast and dinner) at current exchange rates and adding $45 per day for lunch, gas, and snacks. <li>(4)<b> THE MOTO-CHARLIE FEE</b> - This fee is clearly stated so you know how much I am making as part of your overall trip cost. My goal is to keep your cost down while providing a high quality experience for those things that count, namely new motorcycles, great hotels, and unbeatable roads. As you can see from the section below on “How To Compare Prices” the <b>total</b> tour cost with some other companies can be up to $1,500 per tour more than my cost <b>after</b> including my fee. In the case of the “single rider” comparison above that means their fee is as much as $2,200 or more, given that the big tour groups usually get volume discounts on the room and motorcycles. Some of that additional money goes to pay for the luggage van and driver but the rest is profit similar to my $700 single and $500 passenger fee, just much more. They have more employees, spend a lot more for advertising and marketing, and are profit oriented. I don’t have that extra overhead and my profit requirements are minimal. For additional information about my fee please click <a href=http://www.wsff.com/WSFF/Applications/FAQ/subLayout01.asp?vCompID=9183&vFAQid=812 ><font color=blue>here</font></a></b>.</ul> <a><b> <font color=red>HOW TO COMPARE PRICES</b></a></font> It can be difficult to compare tour costs from company to company. The number of days is usually different, the motorcycles can be different, there are single room supplements, low season pricing, etc. <b>One way to help you understand the cost difference is to figure the cost per day.</b> Take<b> my single rider cost of $3,370</b> where you have a single room to yourself. The motorcycle is available to you for the entire 10 days. The $3,370 covers all expenses for the motorcycle, hotels, meals, gas and my fee. Divide $3,370 by 10 days and the <b>cost to tour per day is $337</b>. There are several big tour companies that offer the R1150R for a 12-day tour (days 1 and 12 at each end are for air travel) and 10 days of touring. The average price for these tours is approx. $4,000 (some companies charge more, some less) for a single rider willing to share a room. There are usually three to four days when the cost of dinner is not included. Incidental costs are also not included. So, to get a complete tour cost you start with the basic tour price of ($4,000) then add: <ul><li> the cost to have a single room to yourself ($400) <li>the 4 dinners that you pay for at ($140) <li>the incidental cost of gas and lunch for 10 days ($450)</ul> <b>That comes out to a total 10 day single rider cost from a big tour company of $4,990 or a cost to tour per day is $499</b>. Now you have some basis for comparison. <b>The difference in cost per day is $162 or 48% more </b>with some of the other companies. That means that on a 10-day tour like mine it would cost over $1,500 more to go with a big tour company. <b>The total cost can be up to $3,000 more expensive when you travel as a couple.</b> <b>The key points to remember when comparing prices are:</b> <ul> <li> Be sure to pinpoint how many riding days there are. Some major tours advertise 12 or 14 day vacations but the days at each end really include air travel time. <li> My cost comparison above assumes a single traveler. Most tour groups charge a single room add-on of $200-$400 over the cost of sharing a room with another tour participant. <li> Most tours have free days where you are in the same town for more than one night. Frequently dinner is not included in the tour price for those nights in case you want to eat somewhere different than the prior night. I use an average of $35 per dinner (it costs a little more in Switzerland and a bit less in Austria, France and Italy). <li> Remember to add $40-$45 per day to the tour price from other tour companies for incidental expenses to cover lunch, gas, etc. (the $45/day is included in my cost numbers above) <li> Some tours provide a 650cc or similar displacement motorcycle as standard and they charge extra for larger displacement bikes.</ul> <b><i>Obviously you should not pick a tour company based on price alone. Key factors to consider include the reputation and experience of the tour operator, the quality and attractiveness of the hotels you stay at and the variety and reliability of the motorcycles available to you. On a Moto-Charlie tour you get more than 20 years of personalized Alpine experience, clean, friendly Alpine style hotels in great locations, and a wide choice of brand new reliable motorcycles all intended to give you the most bang for your dollar, or Euro, or Swiss Franc.</i></b> If you think that your trip will be longer, or shorter, than my tour schedule or if you have some significant cost issue that is not part of the regular tour activity and you would like some assistance in calculating your cost, please let me know.     <script language="javascript" src="http://www.addfreestats.com/cgi-bin/easycode.cgi?usr=00036016P005"> </script>  </P></BODY></HTML> <P><A href="Links.htm">Links</a></BODY></HTML>