What I Actually Do For My Clients (It’s A Lot More Than Sending Links)

If you scroll online for long enough, you can find a flight, a hotel and a price. So it is a fair question: why use me at all?  A lot of people assume my job as a Travel Counsellor is just to email over a few options they could easily book themselves. If that was all I did, I would not still be doing this. Yes, I put holidays together but what I really do best is look after my clients from the moment they book, while they are away, and when they come home. Think of it as a personal travel concierge that comes with you, whether you are popping to a European city for the weekend or heading off on a three week adventure through Vietnam and Cambodia with 27 moving parts

Adding Experience, Not Just Options ~ Anyone can find a hotel. My job is to work out whether it is the right hotel, in the right area, on the right dates, for you. When I put a trip together, I am not just price comparing. I am using years of experience to make sure what we plan will actually work smoothly in real life:

• Are the flight times sensible, especially with children or after a long work week?
• Do the transfers and internal connections line up without ridiculous waits or stressful dashes?
• Is that “great deal” hotel actually in the right location for what you want to do?
• Does this itinerary give you enough time to enjoy each place, rather than just tick it off?

This could be as simple as a weekend city break where we choose a well located hotel so you can walk everywhere, or as complex as a three week trip in and around Vietnam and Cambodia where every internal flight, transfer, hotel and tour has to connect neatly. You are not just getting a list of options. You are getting a trip that has been thought through.

Before You Go: Sorting The Details So You Do Not Have To ~ Once you decide to go ahead, I do not disappear. This is often where my clients feel the biggest difference compared to booking online.

Behind the scenes, I am there to:

• Double check the details and make sure everything matches up
• Help with seat requests, room requests and special occasions
• Arrange transfers, excursions and “nice to have” extras
• Remind you about passports, visas and entry requirements
• Answer the “silly” questions that you might not want to ask a call centre

Instead of you juggling ten tabs and wondering if you have missed something, you have one point of contact: me. If something needs changing, you come to me and I deal with the supplier, not you.

Clients message me for all sorts of reasons, for example:

• “Our flight time has changed, what does that mean for our transfer?”
• “The room is not quite what we expected, can you help?”
• “It is raining today, any ideas for something to do nearby?”
• “We would like somewhere special for dinner tonight, any recommendations?”

Whether it is a quick two night city break or a big, multi stop itinerary in Asia, I am there in the background, stepping in where I can to smooth things out. It is not a call centre script, it is a real person who already knows your trip and your preferences. It is the closest thing to having your own concierge with you, without the price tag.

When You Get Home: Learning From Every Trip ~ My job does not end when you land back at home.

I always want to hear how it went:

• What you loved
• What you would tweak next time
• The moments that really made the holiday for you

I quietly store all that away. So when we plan your next break, I already know, for example, that you like a quieter room, that your children loved the kids’ club but you prefer to be walking distance from restaurants, or that you would rather have one or two really special experiences than lots of little ones.

Over time, this makes each trip easier to plan and more tailored to your style.