Why use an advisor
Why use a travel advisor — and when not to
Booking a trip has never been easier. Getting a trip that is right for you, and having somebody answer when it goes sideways, is the part that has never been easy at all.
The four things people say first
Every client has said one of these to me
None of them is silly. All four are worth an honest answer before you decide whether to spend money or time on an advisor.
“I like planning my own trips.”
Good — keep it. Some of my clients research every property themselves and use me to check their thinking, catch the expensive mistake and handle the bookings. Others hand over a paragraph and a budget. The amount you do is yours to decide, and it can change from trip to trip.
“I can find all of this online.”
You can find the options. What you can’t find online is which one suits a four-year-old who needs a nap, which beach is calm in February, which restaurant is worth the taxi, and which room category is a bad deal at that property. That part comes from having been there, or from knowing who has.
“An advisor adds to the cost.”
Hotel, resort and cruise pricing is largely set for advisors as well, so in most cases you are not paying a markup on top of a cheaper public rate. Preferred-partner rates, upgrades and amenities can come back to you rather than being kept. Where a planning fee does apply, you will be told before any work starts.
“I don’t actually know what an advisor does.”
Fair. In one trip it can be several hours of comparing room categories nobody photographs, reading cancellation terms, matching flights to transfer times, chasing a deposit deadline, collecting the documents in one place — and then being reachable in the middle of the trip when something needs handling.
Where the money goes
How advisors get paid, plainly
It is a fair question, and the answer is unglamorous: for most resort, cruise and package bookings, the supplier pays the advisor a commission out of the price you were already going to pay. That is why the price is the same whether you book it yourself or through me. Some trips — air-only, complex custom itineraries, hour-heavy planning — carry a separate planning fee, because there is no commission to fund the work.
For Kimberly to confirm before this goes live: whether she charges a planning fee, and if so, how it is described. The wording above is the industry norm, not a claim about her business.
Who I’m a good fit for
- You have a trip that matters — a honeymoon, an anniversary, a milestone birthday, a wedding, a family gathering
- You want a short list of options with the differences explained, not fifty browser tabs
- You would like one person who knows the plan while you are travelling
- You care more about getting it right than about shaving the last few dollars off it
Who I’m probably not right for
- You want the single cheapest fare on a given date, and nothing else — a fare search will beat me at that, and it should
- You are booking a simple one-night hotel stay near home
- You need a corporate travel programme or group business travel
- You want a full itinerary researched and priced free, with no intention of booking it — I would rather be honest than take the work and resent it