Frequently asked questions

A travel advisor (previously called a ‘travel agent’) is your go-to resource for planning and booking your next trip, whether that’s your dream vacation, family reunion, honeymoon, bucket list adventure or something else!

Trained and certified through a host agency, travel advisors are both 1) travel lovers with our own travel experience, as well as 2) plugged into a global community of advisors and partners we can draw from to create and execute your perfect trip.

We assist with everything from helping you choose a destination and finding the right accommodations to planning itineraries and managing your bookings!

When working with me, you can expect your experience to be incredibly personalized. My #1 job is to make sure your trip is perfect for YOU, whatever that may look like!

From our first consultation call to check-ins throughout your journey to a follow-up afterwards, I want you to feel supported during the entire process.

Aside from that, you can also expect:

1. to always have the inside scoop on the latest trends in travel and in your specific destination

2. to get great VIP perks and amenities through my travel partners when they’re available

3. to have a point of contact that works directly with on-the-ground partners, offering you the support you need.

Great question! It all starts with my Inquiry form. This will give me a high-level overview of your trip details and what you’re looking for.

Within 24 hours, I’ll get back to you to move to step 2: scheduling your complimentary consultation call.

On the call, I’ll ask more in-depth questions about your trip, travelers, preferences and more. We’ll discuss exactly how I can help you, and what my service fee for organizing that trip would be, if applicable.

At the end of the call, we’ll wrap up by going over next steps, including the contract, timeline for deliverables and more.

Uniglobe Travel is the host agency through which I am trained and certified to be a travel advisor.

Through Uniglobe, I have connections to travel partners all over the world, including thousands of hotels. I’m also plugged in to a community of other travel advisors sharing information about the travel industry with one another so we can all help each other’s clients have the best possible trips.

Through my global network of travel partners, I’m able to secure free VIP perks and amenities at over 4,500 hotels and cruise lines.

Some of these perks may include:

• daily complimentary breakfast

• resort / spa credit

• welcome amenity

• complimentary wifi

• room upgrade (when available)

• early check-in, late check-out (when available).

Travel partners (like my network of hotels and cruise lines) pay a commission to travel advisors who refer them business. This is all done behind the scenes, without costing you, the client, anything extra.

Expedia and other online booking sites earn the same commissions when you book through them, but when using a travel advisor instead, you get real support from a person and small business who both cares about your trip and has the connections to make sure it all goes smoothly.

Possibly! Some hotel partners allow me to update your booking to include my name as the “agent of record”. This is known as a “takeover booking”, and it’s in this case that I can then “VIP” your reservation and secure you those perks! Please reach out to discuss more, and as always, I’ll see what I can do for you.

Through my network of travel partners, I have access to home rentals and villas the world over. However, I cannot book these on your behalf through Airbnb.

Airbnb does not work directly with travel advisors, and thus I have no direct point of contact or reservations manager to work with there.

No matter if you’re simply doing an overnight in your hometown, taking a quick trip with friends over the weekend, are planning a two-week honeymoon or a month-long bucket list adventure, I can support your travels.

Nearly anywhere!

I have an extensive background of personal travel, but even if I haven’t been where you want to go, I have dozens of resources at my disposal to plan and book your dream trip, including a network of thousands of other travel advisors as well as destination experts and on-the-ground partners.

Some of the destinations in which I specialize, though, include:

• Hawaii

• Argentina

• Mexico

• London, England

• Bali

Absolutely!

Whether you’re planning to create a bespoke itinerary full of many moving pieces that all need to work together or want to join in a pre-planned group adventure or excursion, I can help you find the right company / provider that offers exactly what you’re looking for.

No; I am as happy to work with clients who want to book just a one-night trip as I am those looking for a longer journey.

However, please note my focus is providing an elevated experience to all clients through their trip, and my recommendations and partners cater to that level of quality.

Ideally, as soon as you start thinking about your trip; seriously!

The more time I have to work with you on your trip, the better it will be.

For example, even if you don’t know what dates you want to travel but you have a destination in mind, I can recommend a week when a special event is taking place you might not have known about.

More time allows for:

• more destination research

• greater availability of accommodations

• greater chance tickets for events and tours are available

• and more!

Absolutely! You can be as involved in the planning process as you wish.

Honestly, I love it when my clients want to be involved because the more information I have from you on your needs, desires, preferences and interests, the better trip I can help you plan!

Possibly. I love to work with each one of my clients to create an arrangement that works for them, and I know how important managing bookings can be to some people.

However, please note that packages which don’t include an accommodation booking (a.k.a you book your own hotel) will incur an additional fee.

Also, it may not be possible for you to book all “extras” (e.g. tours, events, exclusive experiences) as I may have to go through my travel partners to do so.

We can discuss an arrangement that works for you on our consultation call.

Yes and no!

Accommodation reservations must be secured with a credit card in order for me to secure your VIP perks with our travel partners.

I highly recommend you use your rewards miles / points to pay for your flights directly with your airline instead.

While I can book your flights for an additional small fee, I highly recommend my clients book their own flights directly with the airlines themselves.

Not only will this allow you to use any reward miles / points you’d like to apply, but it will also better prepare you to work directly with the airlines in the event of flight changes, which are far more frequent and immediate than changes to other bookings (e.g. accommodations) where I can assist you.

That depends on when and what you’d like to change.

Itinerary packages include a certain number of revisions, after which you’ll be asked to confirm your itinerary before bookings begin.

After confirmation, additional changes to the itinerary may incur additional fees.

Changes to bookings which have already been made depends upon the policy of the travel provider (e.g. tour operator). Travel insurance is highly recommended for all trips in the event changes need to be made, which is something we can discuss on our consultation call.

If you are booking a simple hotel only stay (e.g. hotel / villa) or cruise you’d like to take, you can get in touch to allow me to book it on your behalf at no cost if it’s one of my travel partners. By doing so, you can get free perks when I “VIP” your reservation!

For the “curated” and “custom” itinerary planning packages I offer, I do charge a non-refundable service fee to cover time spent crafting your itinerary.

Each client’s total service fee is dependent on the number of days of their trip, number of travelers, level of service needed, whether accommodation bookings will be included and other factors.

Service fees are non-refundable and must be paid in full prior to the final delivery of your itinerary.

In the event cancellations of accommodations, tours, etc are needed, the cancellation policy of the company / provider through which the service was booked will be followed.

Travel insurance is highly recommended for all trips in the event changes or cancellations of bookings need to be made, which is something we can discuss on our consultation call.