A call of about thirty minutes
Not to sell you anything, but to work out what this trip is actually about. The answer is rarely the same as the first description of it.
The scope
What you get
In the order it happens.
A shortlist of three to five houses
Each one comes with why it is on the list and what argues against it. There is no house without a drawback. If a recommendation names none, someone has not done the work.
The room category, not just the hotel
On most trips it decides more about the outcome than the address does. I establish which category actually has the view you saw in the photographs, which one has been refurbished, and where the upgrade buys nothing but a higher room number.
Everything settled with the hotel in advance
Occasion, arrival time, preferences and special requests go to the house in writing beforehand, not mentioned at the desk on the day.
Transfers, restaurants and experiences
If you want them. Not a list of thirty suggestions, but the ones that suit you.
An itinerary that fits on one page
Times, addresses, confirmations, who to call. Not a twenty-page PDF nobody opens while travelling.
Reachable during the trip
If something is not right, you write to me and I deal with it. I do not promise round-the-clock availability, because alongside my job I cannot guarantee it. What I do promise, I keep.
Plainly
What stays with you
In short: the decisions and the flights.
- You decide which house it will be. I recommend, I do not choose for you.
- You pay the hotel directly, or through the booking platform. I reserve in your name. No money for travel services passes through my account, and that is deliberate: your booking does not depend on my balance.
- You book the flight. I will advise on the routing, but I do not issue air tickets.
Everything else is mine.
The process
How it works
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01
Enquiry and first answer
You describe where you want to go, or how the trip should feel. Within 48 hours you get an honest read on whether and how that works with your dates and your budget. Free, no obligation, and if it does not add up I say so instead of selling you something else.
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02
A call and a fixed price
About thirty minutes by phone or video. Then I name the price for planning this particular trip. I start only once you say yes.
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03
Shortlist and decision
Three to five houses with a reason and a counter-argument. You decide, I book.
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04
Before and during the trip
You get the itinerary. If something is wrong on the ground, you come to me.
Fee
What it costs
From CHF 800 for a trip with one destination and one hotel.
Up to around CHF 2,000 when several stops come together. The work rises faster than the number of stops, because every handover is a place where things can break and because the order has to be matched to flights, driving times and how much rest you actually need.
I name the exact figure after our first call, before I start. It does not change afterwards, even if the work turns out to be greater than expected.
The fee is the fee. It is not set against a booking and not refunded if you decide in the end not to travel. What you are paying for is the planning, and by then you have had it.
Plainly
How I am paid
This is the part most people leave out. I write it down, because otherwise you would rightly ask.
The fee is the larger part, and it is due whether you end up booking or not. That is the point that matters: I have no reason to push you towards a booking that does you no good, because I am paid for the planning either way.
On top of that comes a commission from the house when you book through me. It comes out of the hotel's own margin, not on top of your price: you pay the same rate you would get directly.
Why that does not bend the recommendation. Between comparable houses the rates sit close enough together that they do not turn a decision. Some of the best houses pay nothing at all, and they are on the list regardless. And you can ask me about any house on your shortlist whether it pays commission. I will tell you.
You never pay me for travel services. Hotels and everything else you pay directly to the house, or through the platform I reserve with.
Limits
What I am not the right person for
So that nobody enquires with the wrong expectations.
No air tickets
I will advise on the routing, but I do not issue tickets. The flight is booked by you or through a specialist.
No package holidays in my own name
I arrange individual services with the providers themselves and do not act as a tour operator.
No budget travel
Not out of snobbery, but because below a certain level my work no longer justifies the difference. There you are better off booking yourself, and I would rather tell you beforehand.
No destination I cannot judge
If I am not the right person for where you are going, I say so and point you elsewhere.
Next step
Tell me where you want to go.
No obligation and no charge. An answer within 48 hours, even if the answer is that the budget will not stretch to this trip.