These are the questions that arrive most weeks in the shared inbox, answered the way I would answer them on a call. Where a number helps, there is a number, and where the answer depends on the trip, the dependency gets named rather than hidden behind a maybe. Anything not covered here goes to the contact page and comes back within two business days.
How is the planning paid for
Either a flat planning fee or a supplier commission, stated in writing before anything is booked, and never a charge added afterwards without a message first. The fee covers research, reservations, documents, reconfirmations and support while you travel. The first question you ask costs nothing, and the fee schedule arrives before any card details are requested.
How far ahead should I write
Three to six months for a trip with several moving parts, and nine for peak-season rooms that sell by category rather than by date. Shorter notice is usually possible, and it costs choice, price, or both, which is worth knowing before you compare two options.
What do you need in the first message
Four details decide whether a trip question can be answered properly the first time, and everything else can be filled in on the call. Send them as short bullets rather than a long story, because a short brief gets a useful reply faster. The four are these:
- Dates you can move, and dates that are fixed by something else.
- The airport you fly from, and how many people are travelling.
- Budget per person, or the range you are working inside.
- The one thing the trip must deliver: a birthday, a race, a week of doing nothing.
Do you book flights as well as hotels
Yes: tickets, rooms, transfers, guides and tables, taken in that order, because each booking depends on the arrival time the flight fixes. Insurance is bought within days of the first payment, since cover, weather and pre-existing conditions all start from the purchase date rather than the departure date. The cancellation wording is read while there is still time to change a plan.
What happens if the plan breaks while we travel
The desk stays reachable while you are away, and the first call is about putting the day back together rather than establishing who was at fault. Flights, hotels and guides are handled from one thread, so you are not telling the same story to four different companies in the same hour. Outside office hours the emergency number reaches whoever is on duty, which is why the itinerary stays current instead of being archived at departure.
Do you take companies and families alike
Groups run on a named list, a per-head cap in writing and one approval contact, and the sequence that holds up is set out in the group planning guide on this site. Family work starts from the room layout and the nap window, since those two decide how the week feels before any destination does. The desk covers what happens between the first call and the phone at midnight, and what stays with you is written on the about page.
If your question is not here, send it with dates, headcount and the one thing the trip must deliver, and it will get a straight answer within two business days. The same address takes corrections to anything published on this site, and those go into the queue ahead of everything else.