all the answers

FAQ

• Who are you, and what does a travel advisor do?

  The short answer is, I’m a passionate traveller who loves to makes others travel dreams come true.

  The long answer is, I’m a passionate traveller and travel designer who works with you and my suppliers to create custom, one-of-a-kind itineraries. Whether you’re after a self-drive itinerary to New Zealand or Scotland, a Crystal river cruise, or an epic sailing trip to Antarctica, I handle all of the details – all you have to do is pack your bags.

  We source the best hotels in the best destinations, arrange whatever kind of tours you are interested in (private or small group), book rental cars or arrange drivers and guides, book your plane, train, and ferry tickets, and more. Dinner reservations – we do that. Theatre tickets (including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child or Hamilton) – done. Tickets to Wimbledon, Australian Open, British Open, or the next Royal Wedding? Of course, that sounds amazing.

• What is Virtuoso?

  Virtuoso is an invitation-only, global network of luxury travel advisors, hotels, tours, cruise lines, and more. 

  As a proud member of this diverse professional organisation, whose carefully curated collection offers exclusive access into some of the world’s most bespoke experiences, we can offer our clients perks, prices, and value they can’t get anywhere else.

• What does your planning and management fee cover?

  Our per-trip travel planning and management fee, which is determined by several factors and custom to each client, covers a myriad of things.

  • discover and get to know you: A phone or in-person consultation to learn about you and your travel plans
  • collaborate: Together, along with our preferred suppliers, we will design a personalised proposal for you
  • design, revise, tweak, review: A first draft is rarely the final one. We will collaborate to make sure the itinerary is perfect
  • confirm reservations: Once the itinerary is finalised, we will reserve and book your itinerary
  • stay in touch: we are available for any questions at any time in the lead up to your departure
  • experience: While you are travelling, we are monitoring your trip and ensuring everything going according to plan. If there are issues we can assist with, we are here to help
  • share your feedback: Once you have returned home, we will schedule a follow-up conversation to get feedback about your trip. This helps us to learn more about you as a traveller and will help us better serve your future travel needs!
• What is the difference between you and the Amex program?

  When you work with Paper, Ink, & Passports Travel, you’re working with someone who takes the time to get to know YOU. We spend time with each client getting to know your lifestyle, travel style, preferences, and more. That way, when we reach out to the hotel to confirm your booking and remind them of your anniversary or birthday, we can also request a particular bottle of wine.

  Our clients’ children aren’t left out either. Most of the hotels in the Virtuoso network offer unique amenities for littles, from child-size bathrobes and slippers to an in-room princess party on arrival.

  Don’t get us wrong, Amex has a wonderful credit card program and many of their hotel amenities are similar to the Virtuoso ones. However, you’ll never speak to the same person when you call the call centre, regardless of making a booking or filing a complaint. The person you speak to won’t personally know the general manager, and they do not call the hotel on your behalf to request upgrades or amenities. (We do.)

• I can do this myself. Why do I need you?

  We have access to the same (sometimes better) pricing than what you will see online and we can offer exclusive amenities that can add up to over $400/day of added value. 

  There’s an overwhelming amount of information available online, and part of our job is to curate that overwhelm. We can save you time by providing concise details on various properties or destinations and recommending tours or activities that we know you’ll find interesting.

• But, really, what do you do?

  Paper, Ink, & Passports Travel provides concierge level travel services for all of our clients. We specialise in luxury adventure travel, food and wine travel, and several specific destinations. 

• Why did you choose to be a travel advisor?

  I believe in going to the end of the road, in experiencing the unknown in order to realise the known. Everything I’ve done for the last five years has led me to this point, and I couldn’t imagine having any other career. Travel is so important to me, and I enjoy sharing that passion for travel with others.