Prior to becoming a travel consultant, I was a project manager by trade so I view every vacation as a project, applying those same skills to our clients’ vacations.
If you’ve never worked with an agent before, you may be asking yourself why start now? Rest assured, we’re not just ticketing agents doing what you can just as easily do online. Rather, we are your personal travel concierge, here to provide you with our industry knowledge so that you can take the guesswork out of travel. We keep track of travel trends, promotions and reviews so that you don’t. We work for you, not our suppliers, so we will match you with the supplier that’s right for you and never push into one that’s not just to bolster numbers.
- Design Phase:
- Scope of Project – Discuss what is needed.
- Research best options for your needs.
- Proposal Phase:
- Suggest top 3-4 options that meet criteria.
- If acceptable, authorize approved options/work.
- If not, we will revise proposal until it is.
- Cover payment terms for various options (deposits, installment payments, pay in full at booking, pay upon arrival, etc.).
- Suggest top 3-4 options that meet criteria.
- Implementation Phase:
- Collect any missing personal details and preferences.
- Book vacation components.
- Discuss add-on services like insurance, transfers and tours/excursions.
- Invoice for services and collect payment details.
- Prepare final report (vacation itinerary) for delivery.
- Monitoring Phase:
- If making payments, ensure payments are processed at desired interval and for specified amount.
- If booking with a deposit, notify client by email a week before final payment in due.
- Remind clients of important deadlines such as online check ins and registrations.
- Advise clients when travel documents are ready (typically electronic but if paper documents are needed, please notify us with sufficient time to mail them).
- Notify clients of any developments (weather, politics, health & safety, rules & regulations, etc.) affecting travel plans.
- Implement any requested changes, returning to previous phase as needed.
- Predeparture check in to see if anything needed or any questions/concerns.
- Review Phase:
- Post-travel debrief with clients.
So how much does this all cost?
We make it simple…
| Activity | Our Fee |
| Cruises | $0 |
| Resorts | $0 |
| Hotels | $0 |
| Tours | $0 |
| Rental Cars | $0 |
| Theme Parks | $0 (if booked with hotel) |
| Air Only | 10% of Ticket Fare |
| Corporate Groups | $50/guest |
| Planning Services (if you intend to book on your own, not with us) | $50/hour |
Cancellations & Rescheduling: We work hard to provide you a stress-free vacation planning experience. Unfortunately, life happens and sometimes you may need reschedule or change your vacation. We understand this and will work on your behalf to seek the best possible resolution with our suppliers. In return, we ask that you understand that our suppliers do not compensate us for cancelled travel. In order to remain a viable business, able to continue providing you travel advisor services well into the future, we must charge a $50 per passenger cancellation fee on all cancelled bookings. However, if you reschedule your booking within five business days we will waive our cancellation fee.
DISCLAIMERS
Because we are compensated by our supplier(s) after you travel, we kindly ask that you refrain from asking us to research your travel needs unless you intend to book through us. While we understand that sometimes plans fall through and you may not ultimately book the vacation, asking us to perform work only to book on your own or through another agent is asking us to provide work for free. Unfortunately, many people have stolen our services over the years, some repeatedly. As a small, family-owned agency we cannot absorb these costs.
In order to deter the theft of services, any persons retaining our services who book on their own or with another agent will be assessed a research fee for services rendered, equal to $25 per passenger, that must be paid before we will research a future vacation for you. In addition, as a show of good faith, we will ask that you pay a nonrefundable, upfront retainer fee of $50 to initiate any future travel research on your behalf. The retainer will be applied to your booking if you do ultimately book with us. It will not be returned if you do not. We apologize for the inconvenience. However, this is the only fare way to remain a no-fee agency for our loyal clientele. We do highly recommend that you interview prospective agents before deciding to retain their services to ensure the one you retain is the best match for your travel needs and avoid unnecessary expense. We hope you understand.
We kindly ask that you remember we are service providers and not product vendors. We are not responsible for the quality of the products or the service received by our suppliers though we will act as your advocate in resolving any issues that may arise with them. We are also not responsible for their pricing and any pricing changes. Per contract, suppliers set the price for their products and services, rebating or discounting by us is forbidden. Please bear this in mind when reviewing proposals as well as in cases where pricing changes in the time between proposal and booking.
Due to the inconsistent quality of accommodations and lack of proper customer service channels, we will not place guests in Airbnb, VRBO or similar properties. To do so would put us in jeopardy with our insurance carrier, harm our reputation, and – most importantly – create the potential for un-enjoyable vacation experience for our clients.
For our complete Terms & Conditions, please click here.
