Travel planner is a job tailor-made for someone who is capable of focusing on the hundreds of little details involved in a trip. You must also be comfortable using Internet search engines and travel portals. You’ll also need to spend the time to get to know your clients well. Find out their interests and experience in travel. Determine if they require five-star hotels or would be perfectly happy with clean, safe, inexpensive bed-and-breakfasts. Find out your client’s budget for the trip. As a travel planner, you have no incentive to boost the cost of the trip to increase your commission; however, you might want to present your client with several alternatives at different price points.
It certainly helps if you are an experienced traveler yourself. You’ll need to keep current by reading travel guidebooks and magazines and searching Internet web sites regularly. Learn how to use travel portals like Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, and Priceline.com. You can conduct research without actually booking tickets on any of these sites. You should also keep current on terrorism and health warnings posted for certain parts of the world. The principal expenses are for advertising and promotion, plus setting up a computer with access to the Internet. You should also purchase a library of guidebooks and maps. Investigate purchasing computer software that allows you to print out detailed driving instructions and maps for day-to-day itineraries.
Charge by the hour, and add in the documented cost of related phone calls and guidebooks or maps. Planning a trip may require 6 to 10 hours and include a visit to your client’s home for an initial session plus a final visit to present the options.