Hotels and cruise lines pay a commission when I book through them, and it comes out of a rate you could get yourself. Not a marked-up rate. Not some deeply discounted rate you’d have to dig for online, either, since those don’t pay commission and aren’t what I book for clients anyway. Same rate, same room. What’s different is what comes with it: free breakfast, early check-in, late check-out when the property can manage it, and often a room credit worth around $100, plus other amenities on top of that. Those come from my relationships with the hotels, and they add them to make your stay a little more special. None of it costs you anything.

Almost every time someone reaches out, before we’ve even talked, they tell me they don’t want to pay for a travel advisor. I tell them the truth: if you just want the hotel or the cruise booked, it doesn’t cost you anything. Then we talk about what else is on the table, and whether any of it is worth paying for. Some people stop right there, happy with a great room and nothing extra to pay. Others decide they want more of the trip handled and pay a fee for it. Both are the right call. It depends on what you actually want off your plate.

Where a fee comes in is everything past the room: researching tours, building out the days, lining up a private guide, booking a driver to meet your flight. That’s Door to Door, and for more than one household traveling together, it’s Groups & Private Homes. Some clients want to book that part themselves. I hand over the same links I use, and I still earn a small commission, so it costs you nothing either way. Some want me to do the research and hand them a shortlist to pick from. Some want to hand me the whole thing and never think about it again. All three are real options. None of them is the “right” one.

What each level actually costs, and where the line sits between them, is on the Services page.