How to tell a real travel operator from the rest
Five questions that separate people who run trips from people who resell them. Ask these before you pay anyone anything.
We are not going to tell you our competitors are dishonest. Most of them are not. But the travel industry has a lot of companies that are really marketing departments with a phone number, and there is a way to find out in five questions.
1. Who is the trip leader and what have they done?
Ask for a name, not a role. Then ask where they have led trips and whether they have done this specific route. Anyone who cannot answer the second question in detail is being sent on the trip a week before you are.
2. Who is the guide in each city?
Local, employed by them, not a guy they met at the airport the morning of. A good operator will say so, name the guides, and tell you which cities they subcontract to.
3. What happens if the flight cancels?
This is the question that sorts them. A real operator has an answer about which hotel absorbs the night, what the contingency is, and what it costs you. A reseller changes the subject.
4. Who owns the hotel bookings?
A good operator books direct and can tell you the room category, not just the star rating. A reseller books through a bed bank, which is fine for volume and terrible when you want a specific room.
5. Will you speak to a reference?
Every operator with more than a year's trading will have people who will take your call. If they have never asked a customer for permission to do so, that tells you something too.
Key Highlights:
- Name your trip leader.
- Name the city guides.
- Ask about flight cancellation.
- Ask who books the hotels.
- Ask for a reference call.
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