Travel With CCTP: The Hitch-Free Process

Here at Cultivating Connections Travel Planners, we don’t just sell vacations; we research, we explore, we experience and then we design!

You’re fed up with coronavirus quarantines and you’ve decided to take a trip. Great!

So you hop onto Google and start researching your options. But you soon realize that there’s more to this than you bargained for and your mind is flooded with questions:

Which destinations are open?

What are the entry requirements?

Do I need a visa?

How much is this really going to cost?

Your neighbor’s cousin is a travel agent, so she puts you in touch. You talk on the phone for a few minutes and the T.A. seems rushed and uninterested in your preferences. She asks for bare-bones information like your dates and where you want to go. Nothing about where you’ve been before, and nothing about your interests.

Oh well, you think. She’s a professional. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.

A few days later you receive an email with a PDF “itinerary” that’s really just a hotel, a crappy redeye flight, and an invoice. "This is what it’s like to use a travel agent?" you think. No wonder people are booking this stuff on their own.

Is This the Best There Is?

No!

And in case you didn’t hear it in the back...NO!

This is NOT how working with a travel agent should be, and if this has been your experience in the past, I’d encourage you not to let one bad experience with a self-proclaimed “travel agent” discourage you from working with a real travel advisor.

Here at Cultivating Connections Travel Planners, with our hitch-free process, we can guarantee we’ll surpass all your expectations of your dream vacation. No rushed phone calls, crappy 4 AM flights, or disappointing trips here.

At CCTP, we uncover your vision for the perfect trip! It’s all about collaboration! Your opinions count and that’s why we have a Plan Your Trip form to complete first. Then we schedule a meeting with you either by phone, in person, or even via Zoom to discuss your preferences. We want to know how we can best partner together to make this trip a reality for you.

Agreement & Planning Fee

Next, we’ll provide an expectations and pricing guide for your vacation. You’ll be asked to sign a travel services agreement and pay our planning fee, and then we’ll be ready to get started!

Some clients are initially surprised that we ask for a planning fee, but here’s the reality: working with a professional travel advisor means you’re not just going to be delivered a run-of-the-mill itinerary with little to no personality. When you work with a true professional (not your neighbor’s cousin!) you’re getting years of experience in the industry, creativity, advice, and advocacy. And the final element is of vital importance in our current climate!

Trip Research and Presentation of Proposal

Once we’re ready to go, we’ll give you our welcome guide and secure a spot for in-depth trip research on our calendar.

Cultivating Connections Travel Planners will then work hand-in-hand with you to create a custom, personalized itinerary that focuses on your unique personality and interests. Can Expedia do that? I didn’t think so! And we’ll continue refining the proposal until it’s 100% tailored to your desires.

Booking

The next step is to make your actual bookings by processing the necessary deposits to hold your spot. But this isn’t where our services end!

Even once your reservations are finalized, CCTP stays engaged with you throughout the entire travel process. That’s pre, during, and post-travel.

We’ll facilitate your payments, suggest excursions and activities, keep you updated on coronavirus news, and offer you a comprehensive travel insurance quote that best matches your needs.

As your travel date comes nearer, we’ll process your final payment and will send your travel documents to you.

During Travel

The Cultivating Connections Travel Planners team is always available every step of the way--even while you’re traveling! Whether you have issues with your flight, run into an unexpected problem, want a reservation at a particular restaurant, or you decide you’d like to book a tour, we’ll be there to help you every time.

After Travel

After your vacation, we’ll help you relive the magic of your journey with a post-trip review. We welcome feedback and testimonials from our clients, which fortunately for us, is nearly always positive! (In fact, we can’t think of a single negative review!) But if our clients experience any negative issues, we’re always happy to hear constructive criticism too. Our goal at CCTP is to keep improving our services, no matter what!

Now Let’s Start Talking About Your Next Adventure!

Common Fears and Concerns of Using a Travel Agent

1. I’m used to booking my vacations myself. I don’t trust an agent to do it for me.

Some people book their vacations themselves because they fear the travel agents will offer them something generic and impersonal. Even though the process may be stressful and time-consuming, they would rather go through it than have a travel agent mess up their dream vacation.

However, at Cultivating Connections Travel Planners, we work in partnership with clients to plan their trips. They are involved in the planning and we are there to guide them every step of the way. Our wide range of knowledge, connection, and expertise comes in handy as we provide recommendations to make the vacation worthwhile.

Learn more about the benefits of using a travel agent.

2. Don’t travel agents just book airline tickets and hotels? That’s easy - anyone can do that!

Some people are genuinely confused about the services travel agents provide to their customers. They often wonder if there is an additional value to using a travel agent to plan for a vacation. We understand it is because they haven’t had the CCTP HITCH-FREE TRAVEL experience. We provide custom-made itineraries and guided trips to passionate travelers. We use our connections to get VIP access, exceptional service, and the absolute best value for your trip. We handle all the logistics for you such as booking transfers, hotel accommodations, transportation, tours and activities, dining reservations, and more. The Cultivating Connections Travel Planners process is designed to make your travel experience perfect, enjoyable, and memorable!

Doing all the booking and planning yourself can be quite tiring and time-consuming. It can take many weeks or months yet when you finally travel, the vacation is nothing to write home about. Especially when your vacation is in a destination you haven’t experienced before.

At CCTP, we thoroughly research your destination making sure to go the extra length to remove common problems people often face while traveling.

3. Is it easier to plan travel myself?

Let’s say you decided to book your travel yourself as opposed to using a travel agent.

You have spent about three weeks planning the perfect vacation. After all, it’s your honeymoon, and you want it to be perfect.

You’ve secured all the plane tickets and even booked a five-star hotel. You thought you had covered all the bases. And in your mind, you probably did!

But problems may occur even with the best-laid plans. You thought you hit the jackpot when you got a cheap rate for your room through Expedia. But you didn’t know that the fine print states you can be “walked” from your room if the hotel is overbooked. That’s right - the hotel can actually deny you your room and move you to another hotel - even if you booked that specific hotel through a booking engine!

But when you work with Cultivating Connections Travel Planners, this will never happen.

We work with trusted travel partners around the world, many of whom offer us competitive wholesale rates, to guarantee not only your room but a fabulous VIP experience too!

4. Don’t travel agents cost more than just planning it myself?

Any professional travel advisor worth his or her salt will charge a planning fee. But this can be viewed as a net positive when you consider all of the value a highly trained advisor brings to the table. Ask yourself: what’s more important - pinching pennies or having the best possible experience for the money?

Unlike travel agents who don’t charge fees and are usually inundated with too many customers, at CCTP we’re able to treat our few clients as VIPs. We dedicate our time to working on an intimate level with you and for you, ensuring you’re receiving top-notch service as we design the travel experiences of your dreams.

When you work with us, you’re working with professionals, not just booking agents. As a VIP client, you have our experience, education, contacts, and insider information available at your disposal.

5. I can do it better.

Most people think they can do better than a professional travel advisor. But what they fail to realize is that they’ve not acquired the expertise, education, or experience to plan a truly memorable, stress-free vacation. Nor do they have the connections that great travel advisors have.

For example, our database of Virtuoso luxury properties not only gives us access to private booking options. We also have instant access to hotel management and even corporate management if our clients have an issue or request that needs to be addressed right away.

Also, remember that as a Cultivating Connections Travel Planners client, you’ll join a long list of happy clients who have taken amazing trips around the world. Check out our testimonials for more information!

6. Travel advisors are just salespeople at heart. They’ll sell me anything to make a commission.

The above may be true for advisors who depend on commissions alone. But because we also charge a planning fee, we’re able to set aside the extra time to design a trip that’s a truly remarkable experience.

Our reputation as a professional travel advisor is at risk if our clients remain unsatisfied with our services. Granting you the best experience you’ve ever had is worth more than commissions. Furthermore, we are interested in having a long-term relationship with you, not just one booking.

7. Travel advisors will impose themselves on me even if we’re not a good fit.

At CCTP, honesty is one of our core values. If working with you isn’t the best option, we’ll tell it like it is. We may even refer you to another professional who might be a better fit for you.

8. Travel agents will only send me mass-market products - nothing unique.

While this may be true for some travel agents, this never occurs with Cultivating Connections Travel Planners. We work with vetted partners from all over the world, so you can be sure you’re in competent hands. With the help of these trusted supplier partners, there’s hardly any dream vacation too impossible to bring to reality. Have you heard that space travel is projected to be a consumer industry within the next 20 years?

Even traveling to space isn’t out of reach for us!

For more information on our trips, check out our client testimonials with photos of their dream vacations. They will definitely convince you that we’re worth the investment!

9. I love planning vacations! It’s as simple as that!

Well, that’s good news! We love planning vacations as well. You have the passion, but you likely lack true expertise. But with CCTP by your side, we can work together to create a travel experience that’s out of this world! You can be as involved as you’d like in the planning process, including reviewing the itinerary and making suggestions for improvements. We love working hand-in-hand with our clients!

10. Travel agents don’t search for the best price.

Cultivating Connections Travel Planners differs from the rest in the travel industry by not only offering you the best service but also ensuring you get value for every penny. You’ll get the value of the wonder-filled vacation you deserve, and we’ll guarantee you won’t spend a dime on anything you consider outrageous.

At CCTP, we truly care about giving you a memorable vacation, and that is why we take into consideration your preferences and style during the consultation call. We plan vacations for people from all walks of life because we know everyone deserves the vacation of their dreams.

Interested in a complimentary planning session? Contact us to get started! We can’t wait to work with you!

If you’re not sure of the best destination option for you, talk to me, your trusted travel advisor, about your options. I’ll be able to guide you toward the best choice for your unique situation!

To find out more check out my home page here.

Or you can just give me a call at 405.310.7588

IS A GOLF COURSE AN EXCELLENT TRAVEL DESTINATION?

Are you planning a vacation with your buddies? Don’t break a sweat worrying about where to go. Vacation should be fun! Have you thought of going on a golf-themed cruise? You have the opportunity to choose the course that best fits your experience. Some courses are challenging to play on. If your group are professionals; then, that’s no problem. But if you have novices in your group, it’s best to pick something smaller that everyone can play on. Do you want to go on a golf trip? Let’s talk.

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