Would you be interested/pay for this holiday service?

[Fbcip2023]

Heyyy ☺️

I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a small side business creating adventure-style family travel itineraries - moving away from the typical package holidays and towards more memorable, experience-led trips.

Think: Jungle treks in Borneo, street food in Singapore, and hidden beaches in Thailand - all tailored for kids and based on my own experience traveling with a young family.

Would you pay for an expert to take the 'fear' out of planning a big adventure like this? Or are you happy sticking to the usual travel agents?

I wouldn't book the holiday, but would give hotel recommendations, links and contact numbers for companies/people we know in each area. A holiday pack of what's required for the country you're visiting. An add of of contact while away if you need help or are unsure of anything.

Honest feedback (good or bad!) is very much appreciated! ❤️

What would be the difference between what you would offer and what Audley Travel/Cox and Kings already do?

I think it sounds a great idea - not for me as I don't have that family set up, but I have long thought of doing something for solo travellers so as to avoid single occupancy nonsense etc. Mine would be less about the experience (i.e. there are plenty of holiday companies that do stuff for young singles) but more about getting the best possible deal for solo travellers to build their own adventure. Good luck!

Sounds potentially interesting but would anyone really pay for it?

What’s the point if you aren’t going to be doing the admin (booking etc) for them? Definitely not something I’d pay for.

What would you anticipate charging?
I'm planning a back packing family holiday in SE Asia at the moment - budget end of travel market but I struggle to find the time to research. I might be your market.
Companies like Intrepid are way beyond our budget. Would most people paying, just want the whole lot booked for them though?

No. Because you’d be recommending things that aren’t ABTA/ATOL protected if they’re not in a package. Are they health and safety checked? What if you recommend something that someone gets injured doing/staying at?

There are people who are paid to do this, with financial protection behind them, who don’t charge a fee. That’s exactly what a tailormade tour operator does, and they book the package and deal with all the shit that comes with it.

It is SUCH an underrated job. People think AI does it all, click a few buttons and hey presto everything’s sorted.

Sorry, I’m sure you mean well. But you couldn’t pay me to take that risk, let alone pay for it.

Speaking of AI, I would stick my requirements into chatGPT and get it from there. I understand your perspective but it seems a bit flimsy.

The whole point of using an agent is that they book it all for you and you get abta reassurance basically, means that they have to get you home

No I just ask ChatGPT for this kind of thing

Sorry it's a no for me, I would either go with a specialist agent for their expertise and protection if something went wrong, or book it myself.

I'm not sure what you would offer that was unique/better in that market?

no, I’d pay an actual travel agent to do this, and book it all for me.

It sounds like a hybrid of what travel agents like Trailfinders or similar offer, and the local experiences you can book through sites like Get My Guide.

No- lots of agents do all this and the booking as well. Audley, Scott Dunn etc. I’d also be looking for genuine country expertise which you
get with a larger operator. I don’t think a very small business can provide this. If it’s just research and recommendations I can find that myself for free.

Personally I don't find this part of planning a trip hard at all. there is so much available on Trip Advisor to guide you and the nice thing is they are usually from people who have been there very recently, who let you know there is currently building works etc or the pool is broken. It's the travel between places I find hardest- booking the overnight trains in India, finding the current bus timetable... if I was paying someone this is the bit I'd want them to be doing for me. I have visited 'hidden beaches' before but it is not much fun if it's impossible to get home from them afterwards.

No desire to visit any of those places.

Sorry but I agree with PP, I’d only be interested if you were also going to make all the bookings and take all the admin off my hands.

No, not our kind of holiday at all! But also when we do plan a trip I either look for an easy package or enjoy planning and researching myself.

This is everything I came to say. Really there are huge potential risks for you in this setup, and there’s no real reason why someone couldn’t sort something very similar for themselves given you wouldn’t be offering any additional guarantees or checks. So very little incentive to pay for half a service which is offered in full and with guarantees by specialist agents.

Definitely not, it's all readily available via AI recommendations, booking.com, TripAdvisor reviews etc for free.
You mention travel agents, not used a travel agent since forever, that's what the internet is for.

I usually get good itineraries from the internet and then book all the components myself except for China when I used a company to book absolutely everything for me.

What would you be charging?

I really don’t think this is really a gap in the market. People would either use a travel agent who would do it all for you, or if they don’t have money for that, would just ask the internet/chat gpt

Sorry no, I don’t think this would be useful to me without the provider going the extra step of booking and even then, unsure what I would be paying for when there is so much info out there, and your recommendations will be based on what you liked without, presumably, variations for families who might have different interests

I like the idea in theory but there is so much on the internet it would take me 30 seconds to do it myself

I wouldn't be interested if you weren't booking but planning trips is the fun bit for me. It's the booking but I hate. I'm always terrified of putting the wrong dates and details in.

I travel a lot independently, more than 4 months away a year, up to 12 trips, and complex ones - sometimes up to 5 internal flights per trip, sometimes to countries that others would not normally visit I have done the same for my family when my kids were younger. I always do my own research - I like doing it, and I like it to be perfect for me, (and the kids. In those days it was Europe, easy transfers, theme parks and family friendly accom etc. ) Now it is fully blown worldwide trips. I understand the risks of doing this with self transfer, not being protected by ABTA and ATOL, weather, visas etc. I have to work out everything It takes absolutely ages to get it right, and I do not manage this well every time. Everyone is really different in what they want and like, and I am worried that you will not get this right or have the local knowledge that is required. On the flipside. I am constantly surprised at what others pay to go on a package for a similar or inferior itinerary, often double or more BUT I can understand it, the big tour providers have employed people in-country that can cope with the unexpected, and can suddenly lay on another bus, hotel etc. they get discounts for block booking accommodation, they sort things like VISAs and so on this is why they are expensive. In general, they are quite good at what they do, but at a price, and they are insured to the hilt should something go wrong. You won't have this, or any protection, and if doing it remotely, it would not be long before the first complaint rolled in of "anticipated" vs "reality". I sound damning of your idea in it's original form, and I am not trying to be. I DO think there is a market out there for "something", a lot of people do travel blogs, and these, with their paid for links (mainly ignored) have been quite useful to me, but again, these tend to be localised to where I want to go. I suspect there is a niche market out there that would appeal to some families. esp of SEN, but even then, I would fear that it would quickly go out of date. I think you might be chasing your tail for very little income. Sorry to pour cold water on your idea. You will be a godsend to family and friends who will love your research HTH x