From Dream to Destination: A Simple Guide to Working with a Travel Agent

Planning a trip should be just as joyful as taking one. But honestly, it rarely is. The information overload is real, and the fear of making the wrong choice can be paralyzing. Which neighborhood is best? Is that hotel really as good as the pictures? How do you get from the airport to your remote hideaway? Before you get lost in a sea of browser tabs, we want to let you in on an industry secret: you don't have to do it alone!

A travel agency is more than just a booking service; we're your personal advocate, your insider guide, and your logistical expert. As your dedicated travel agents, our job is to understand your vision and craft a journey that's ideally suited to you. But how does it all work? What's the secret sauce? Stick with us as we walk you through the process, from our first conversation to the moment you return home with a lifetime of memories. Let's get planning!

First, Let's Dive Into Three Common Questions:

How much do your services cost? We’re compensated by hotels and airlines to offer our travel planning services at no cost to you. All providers in the travel industry offer travel agents a set commission for booking their rooms, tours, or flights for you (our clients). There are no hidden fees and no surprises for you—just professional travel planning tailored to your vacation dreams.

How can a travel agent help when I could do it myself? While there are more tools than ever before to DIY your travel plans, we offer global expertise, insider industry knowledge, and professional relationships with the biggest brands in travel, in addition to our own personal travel experiences around the world. We have the resources to plan your vacation from start to finish, with contacts globally who work with us to curate your unique vacation with insider insights, pricing, and deals that you simply can't find on any online travel site.

How do travel agency discounts and deals work? Chickadee Travel partners with Travel Leaders Network, a global network of independent agencies like ours that together have an annual sales volume of $17 billion in the travel industry. We leverage this high volume of sales to offer exclusive discounts with hotel, tour, and cruise operators worldwide, providing you with lower prices, room upgrades, and bonus perks at no additional cost! When working with us, you'll never pay more than you would have if you booked your vacation directly, and we usually secure steep hotel discounts, upgrades, onboard credit, and more.

With these questions answered, let's go over the process of working with Chickadee Travel from first contact with you to your return flights!

Step 1: The Initial Chat - It All Starts With Your Dream

Whether you contact us via our website, social media, phone, email, or text, the process always begins with us learning more about you and your unique vacation vision. We use this initial chat to hone in on your wants, travel style, budget, and "must-haves." We focus on listening to your unique vacation dreams and not copy-pasting previous trips we've planned.

For us, this initial chat isn't about selling a package; it's about understanding your unique vision. Once we've come to understand your vacation desires, we can work to enhance your vision with our expertise in the next step.

Step 2: The Fun Part (for us) - We Craft Your Custom Itinerary

Now that we have the info from our initial chat, we take what we've learned about you and your travel ideas, combine it with our own experience in your chosen destination, and create a fully custom itinerary tailored to your vacation plans. This itinerary serves as a blueprint to help you (and us) understand what options are available for your vacation without you lifting a finger or getting lost in an endless web of browser tabs!

Depending on your destination and the type of vacation, we'll include hotel options (good, better, best), flight options, available activities, a destination guide, and a packing list in our initial draft to get your wheels turning and help narrow down exactly what you're interested in without you needing to organize or research all on your own. We then send this draft itinerary to you for your feedback!

Within this itinerary, you can provide us with your preferences and eventually select which options you'd like us to book on your behalf from the comfort of your couch. You can also use this digital itinerary to request changes, new options, and keep track of your vacation budget.

At its heart, this part of the process is about us doing the heavy lifting and research so you don't have to!

Step 3: The Final Polish - We Refine It Together

Once you've reviewed the draft itinerary, we set up a call with you to discuss your thoughts. We'll take all your feedback and update the itinerary for you as necessary, refining each element until it aligns with your vision.

We emphasize that the critical part of this step is a collaborative effort to tweak the plan until it's perfect for you. You are in complete control without the hassle, and we, as your travel agents, work diligently to research and plan every detail until it is just right.

Once we have the itinerary ready to go and you've submitted your preferences for hotels, flights, etc., you can securely submit a "Payment Authorization" through our system. This authorizes us to use the provided card details to book each element on your behalf through our exclusive booking tools, saving you both money and time!

Step 4: Don't Sweat the Details - You Relax, We Book

Now that you love the plan and have authorized payment, you get to sit back and watch the bookings flow into your itinerary! All tickets, confirmation documents/numbers, and reservations will be attached to each item in your itinerary, allowing you to easily reference them before, during, and after your vacation.

One of the biggest highlights of working with a travel agent is the peace of mind that comes from knowing all the details are confirmed and managed by professionals in the industry. This is a key area where the stress of managing your plans yourself completely disappears!

Step 5: The Best Part - Your Vacation

Once everything is booked and you're ready for your vacation, we stick around to ensure everything goes off without any "turbulence". If there are a few bumps along the way, we're there to be your first point of contact!

While you're sipping Prosecco in Rome al fresco with a view of the Colosseum, skiing the crisp slopes of northern Japan with temples gleaming in the distance, or dancing well into the night at a Peruvian nightclub lit in every color of the rainbow, we're here to help!

Delayed flights? We'll call your airline and change your connection while you enjoy a beachside cocktail. Last-minute weather changes? We'll reschedule your outdoor tour for the next day while you attend a concert indoors or go on a shopping spree. Want to change hotels last minute? We'll research the best options for you and book it in time for night-of check-in while you indulge in dinner at a local restaurant.

The point is, when you work with us, you have a stress-free and easy experience before, during, and after your trip, so you can make timeless memories and leave the details to the professionals!

Contact us today to start planning your own stress-free getaway!

Message us today to take advantage of our expert experience at no cost to you! As we said before, planning a trip should be just as joyful as taking one, and with Chickadee Travel, it truly is!