Before departure: the weeks between booking and the trip

The quiet weeks

Most travel businesses put their effort into the sale and into the trip itself. The time between is treated as admin: a payment receipt, a PDF of vouchers, a reminder about passports. Yet this is when clients talk about the trip to friends, look at the route again and decide whether they chose well. A company that goes silent leaves that feeling to chance.

A sequence, not a pile of documents

Plan what the client receives as a short sequence, each piece with one job:

• The confirmation. A short, personal note from the person who planned the trip: what is booked, what happens next, who to call.
• The itinerary. Written to be read, not scanned. Day by day, with the reason behind each choice: why this guide, why this hotel, why the early start on day four.
• Something physical. A wallet for the documents, a map, a postcard from the route. One well-made object does more than a folder of printouts.
• The practical note. Clothing, money, health and staying in touch, kept apart from the itinerary so the story stays a story.
• The last message. Sent a day or two before departure, with the name and number of the first person they will meet.

Write it like a letter

The difference between a booking and a journey is often the writing. An itinerary that reads like a letter from someone who knows the place sets expectations, reassures and makes the price feel reasonable before the client has seen anything. It also gets forwarded, which is how tailor-made travel finds many of its new clients.

The trip starts when the client says yes, not when the plane takes off.

Lay out everything a client received from you after their last booking, in order. If it reads like an airline's inbox, the quiet weeks are working against you. If it reads like the start of the journey, they are working for you.

Related project: SIMOUN, identity, itinerary letters and website for tailor-made journeys.