How this works
The one-sentence version of the money, before anything else: hotels pay me a commission when I book a room, so that part costs you nothing extra — and designing a full trip is my time, which carries a fee. Both are true. The detail is below and I'm not going to make you hunt for it.
Most of my clients are planners. They like the hunt. A lot of them are already building itineraries with ChatGPT or Claude before they ever talk to me, and I think that's incredible — I'm not going to pretend otherwise to sell you something. The tools are good. They're going to keep getting better at understanding exactly who you are and what kind of week you want.
Here is where it stops.
The kind of access that I have, the kind of people I'm talking to, the relationships that I have, are not available and would never be available through those itineraries. That's not a knock on the software. It's a fact about how this business runs — the room that isn't on the site, the table at eight on a Saturday, the early access to something that hasn't opened yet. Those come from years of actually connecting with people. Hotel GMs. Other advisors. Specialists who've done nothing but one country for fifteen years. None of that is something you can look up.
And then there's the part nobody plans for. All the research is done, the itinerary is perfect, you're on the ground — and the flight cancels, or the villa isn't what the photos said, or someone gets sick in a country where you don't speak the language. That's the moment the chatbot's answer runs out. It doesn't know the actual contacts.
Here's what I have behind me:
- Another advisor who covers my clients when I'm out
- I take time off. Your trip doesn't get uncovered when I do.
- An international air specialist
- For the rebooking that has to happen in the ninety minutes before the next seat is gone. Flights ticketed through me come with a 24/7 support line at no extra cost.
- A person on the ground — in-country, in-language
- I can't be there. But I have a person who can, and they're one number for you to call.
That bench is the product.
Full trip design
Hand it to me
$750 per week of travel
For the trip where you want to show up and have it already be handled.
Dates, a direction, who's coming, what you're comfortable spending. I come back with a proposal, we talk, I revise — three rounds included — and then I book all of it. Rounded up to the whole week: one week is $750, two is $1,500.
An expert check
The Second Opinion
$350 flat
For the person who likes planning and got to the finish line anyway.
You've got the spreadsheet, four hotels in tabs, the reviews you've read twice — and you're stuck on deciding, not on information. I'll check the rates, tell you what I'd change, and say plainly when you've already got it right.
Rooms and access
The Hotel Desk
Free the hotel pays me
For when you already know where you're going.
Send me the hotel and the dates. It costs you nothing extra, and you usually come out ahead — a better room, breakfast, a property credit, an early check-in that wasn't going to happen on your own booking.
Alden planned EVERYTHING, and it was amazing. There were a few places we didn't get to- a full walk of the park, certain restaurants, but this was mainly due to having too much fun in the other places. The way the itinerary was organized allowed us to be fluid with some of the stop-in places, which was helpful. My five-year-old did get a little tired from all the walking, but nothing was unmanageable. Reservations and bookings were all seamless. One Summit Plaza had a long wait, even with booked times. The girls got a little restless, but it was worth it once we got up to the top. I will use Alden for all trips moving forward. Planning is not my forte, so having her take the reins after knowing all our interests and must-dos was beyond helpful.
One hotel, one city, dates you already have — that's a booking, and it costs you nothing. More than one moving piece, or you don't know where you're going yet — that's design, and that's the fee.
I'm going to be really transparent about how the travel business works. Most people have no idea, and the not-knowing is the reason half the people I surveyed assumed I'd cost them more.
- Who pays me, and when
- Hotels pay me a commission. The rate I book is the hotel's standard flexible rate — the same one you'd get direct — plus a contracted amenity package. If a cheaper rate exists that would cost you flexibility, I'll tell you and let you choose.
- What happens if the price drops after you book
- I keep checking. If it falls before you travel, I rebook you lower — which means I earn less, because what I make is a percentage of what you pay.
- How much of this you want to do yourself
- Some people want to pick the town and argue about the hotel. Some want to hand me the dates and see a plan. I'll ask rather than assume.
- Where I actually help
- Not the pretty document. The room that isn't ready, the flight that's gone, the guide who doesn't show. That's the part you can't see when you're comparing me to doing it yourself.
It comes down to the value of your time and the value of mine. I'd rather be plain about both.
We were so grateful for your support. I don't know that we would have found or chosen this resort without your insight and it was perfect!
Tell me the destination and roughly the dates and I'll tell you which of the three this is — including if the answer is "none of them, here's who you should call instead."