Last week, I shared some thoughts about why you shouldn’t book a trip yourself.
I shared that most people are motivated by the fact that they want to have the trip they truly want. They tend to focus on all the details of decisions – the time and effort to decide how to travel, when to travel, where to stay, and want activities. They don’t tend to focus on the decision-making process. That’s where I come in.
I know all the pieces – and can help you plan the whole experience of it. I can anticipate what might be going on. I can think of possibilities, and identify options for you. And I can help you decide between the options in an informed way. And once the decisions are made, I monitor how each decision impact later decisions, and how effective they will be and how well that is working for you.
Most people agree that it is easer to BORROW EXPERTISE than to BUILD IT YOURSELF.
So, the solution to you having the trip you truly want is to partner with an expert in the decision-making process of travel.
I have the connections and expertise that you do not, and cannot easily build. I can deliver not only the desired trip you wish, but add some wonderful extras like new experiences, and help you make your decision-making easier.
An example someone asked me this week is why they wouldn’t just book a Rocky Mountaineer trip directly with Rocky Mountaineer.
Of course, you could. Rocky Mountaineer is a great Virtuoso travel partner of mine – as are all the other cruise lines like Oceania, Regent, Tauck, Uniworld., etc. They take excellent care of you in selling you their product.
But that’s what they do.
I represent you. And I work with the various partners to provide additional insight, customization, and value to you.
So, if Rocky Mountaineer is the trip of a lifetime that you’re choosing to take, I can still provide excellent value as your advisor in ensuring the trip is the perfect trip for you.
For example, I work with you before you decide which route on the Rocky Mountaineer is right for you – did you know you can travel through the Spiral Tunnels on only one route? And then we step through whether the Silver Leaf or the Gold Leaf is right for you. I work with you as my client to help you step through all the decisions, and the ramifications of one decision on another piece of the trip.
And then it’s all the other various bits and pieces that we can arrange. Flights, transfers, and insurance are a couple of examples that things most people don’t book through Rocky Mountaineer. I can help with the flights (or you can book your own on points, etc). I provide additional value, like a Virtuoso perk of a complimentary luxury sedan transfer from the Vancouver airport. And ensure you are considering train departure times when you arrive in Vancouver (or Calgary) to start your iconic experience. (Flight schedules and times are still constantly changing in this CoVid world.)
The train trip itself is often only 2 days (unless we help you decide you’d like to do a circle route, or another longer option) – for example, you might want to travel from Vancouver to Banff on the train, with an overnight in Kamloops. But it’s all the other bits and pieces that can be added and customized, whether through Rocky Mountaineer or through one of my other travel partners, that the fun really starts – whether it’s a weekend excursion in Vancouver before the train trip, a Columbia icefields trip or a Banff gondola ride in the middle, some Jasper hiking after the train, or an Alaska cruise before or after the train, I work with you to make all the decisions and help you pick the right travel partner for you.
And I can work with you to book the hotels that are right for you – either inside the Rocky Mountaineer inventory as part of one of their packages (using hotelier partners that they’ve negotiated inventory with), or by booking the train pieces with Rocky, and booking the hotel experience separately with my preferred hotelier partners like the Fairmonts Waterfront, Pan Pacific, Banff Springs, Jasper Park Lodge; as well as a host of Virtuoso hotelier partners in Vancouver.
I can negotiate special perks and VIP you with direct hotel bookings, and even if we book a hotel with Rocky Mountaineer as part of one of their packages, I can still reach out to my hotelier partners to leverage the relationships I have with them to give some little extra love, care, and attention.
I do charge professional fees for the services and advice I provide clients, but the fees are based on the scope of the work and the man hours involved.
Let me know if you’d like to discuss.
And here’s an older video I did on a prior trip.
