Sunday, September 14, 2014

Taking the Show on The Road: Travel Teaching!

One of my goals for this year is to take my Zumba career to the next level. I want to step out of my comfort zone, promote my style, and have a lot of fun. I'm SO excited to share that I've signed up for a teaching vacation! Here's the scoop.
 
There are only 2 or 3 companies that facilitate teaching vacations (and have a good reputation), and I chose to work with the biggest one - Fit Pro Travel.  It's run by a woman named Suzelle, who was an aerobics instructor in the 80s and 90s and started helping hotel staff while on vacation by offering fitness classes.  Fast forward, she's personally been to dozens of resorts and helps other instructors travel and teach.
 
There are over 60 resorts connected to Fit Pro Travel, and signing up is super easy - you create an account and describe your experience (mine says "dance teacher for 5 years, licensed Zumba instructor for 1 year") and that's it.  You can then search the site by location (e.g., Mexico, Jamaica, etc.), by specialty (e.g., Zumba, yoga), or by weeks available.  The resort pages have tons of information about what to expect as well as up-to-date reviews from instructors who were recently there.  Resorts ask instructors to teach 1-3 classes per day, usually with three free days (your two days of travel plus one bonus day).  You can also bring a guest with you.
 
You pick your resort and your date - and that's it! You get a confirmation and you're ready to go. You must be thinking, what's the catch?
 
Well, the program isn't free.  Costs include a fee to Fit Pro Travel (about $350-$500 per trip), $67 to set up your account to book the trip, and usually a $150 "gift fund" which goes to the resort.
 
HOWEVER... You and your guest  get to stay at the hotel, complete with accommodations, all-inclusive meals, drinks (!), and activities FOR FREE.  When you're not teaching, you're hanging at the pool, sippin' daiquiris, playing volleyball - whatever floats your boat!
 
Quick comparison: a week-long vacation for two (not including travel) with Fit Pro Travel costs about $600, and a week-long vacation at a comparable all-inclusive resort costs $4,550.  So if you're planning a vacation anyway, you can't go wrong.
 
I've already packed way too much into this post, so I'll write again about where I'm heading and how I'm preparing.  You can find your travel teaching opportunity here.  Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions!
 
Opinions are honest and my own. If you choose to book a trip after reading this post (by using this link), I will get a small commission from Fit Pro Travel.  Thanks for supporting The Z Beat!

1 comment:

  1. I have wanted to do something like this for years!! Sounds so fun. Thanks for sharing!

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