The MAth Nobody Shows You
Let's talk about what travel actually costs.
Not the number on the booking confirmation. Not the hotel rate you found after three hours of research. The real cost - the one nobody calculates until they're sitting on hold with an airline at 2am trying to rebook a cancelled flight.
Everyone focuses on the booking fee. Nobody calculates what going it alone actually costs: your time, the upgrades you didn't know existed, the restaurants you couldn't access, the stress of wondering if you missed something important.
Here's the breakdown they don't show you.
YOUR TIME HAS A PRICE TAG
You spent 40 hours researching your trip.
Twelve browser tabs. Three Reddit deep dives. Five "best of" lists that contradict each other. Two nights lying awake wondering if you picked the right hotel. One mild panic attack about whether you should have booked the other one.
We spent: one conversation with you, one email with your perfect itinerary.
The difference: 40 hours of your life versus 14 years of our expertise.
So here's the question nobody asks: What's your time actually worth?
If you make $50 an hour (and let's be honest, your time off is worth more than your time at work), those 40 hours of research just cost you $2,000. Our fee? $399.
The math is mathing.
THAT "DEAL" YOU FOUND
The hotel website says $200 per night. You feel like you've won. You've saved money by booking direct instead of using an agent. Smart, right?
Let's look at what the website didn't mention:
Breakfast: $45 per person, per day
Resort fee: $35 per day (mandatory)
Parking: $40 per day
The room faces the parking lot
Check-out is 10am (you lose half your last day)
Your "deal" in reality is actually $320 per night with a bad view and early checkout (sorry it had to be said).
Now here's what we book at the same hotel, same dates:
Same $200 nightly rate
Breakfast included
Resort fee waived (relationship perk)
Parking included
Ocean view upgrade (when available)
4pm late checkout
Our booking: $200 per night + actual perks
The "savings" you thought you got? They evaporated somewhere between the resort fee and the parking lot view.
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
(AND THEY WILL)
It's 11pm. Your flight just got cancelled.
DIY Scenario:
On hold with the airline: 3+ hours
Rebooking yourself at 2am while half-asleep
Every hotel is sold out (there's a concert in town you didn't know about)
New flight costs $600 more than your original
You're panicking, Googling alternative routes, very much awake
You arrive at your destination a day late, exhausted, having lost a full day of your trip
Total cost: One day of vacation, $600 in extra flights, 3+ hours on hold, complete stress spiral, relationship tension from the panic, and a story you'll tell but not in a fun way.
With Us:
11:03pm: You text "Flight cancelled, help"
11:04pm: We're already on it
11:15pm: You get a text: "New flight confirmed for 7am, hotel booked near airport, car service arranged, breakfast voucher included. Check your email for details. Go to sleep."
Time elapsed: 12 minutes
Your stress level: Minimal
Your vacation: Saved
What's that worth at 11pm when you're supposed to be on a plane?
THE REAL COST
The real cost of travel isn't our fee.
It's the time you spend researching instead of working, spending time with family, or literally anything else.
It's the money you "save" on our fee but spend on resort fees, parking, mediocre meals, and missed upgrades.
It's the stress of handling everything yourself and hoping you got it right.
It's the experience you have versus the experience you could have had.
It's the trip that's fine versus the trip that's extraordinary.
It's the story you tell about your vacation versus the story you tell about that one meal, that one hotel, that one moment that made the whole trip worth it.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Booking with a travel advisor is an insurance that your time, money, and trip are actually worth it. It’s an investment in the difference between a trip you'll remember (for all the wrong reasons) and a trip you'll talk about for years (for all the right ones).
We’ve done the math, and now you know. Leave the stress at home, and have your main character moment.
Let's talk about where you're going and how we can make it extraordinary. Because life's too short for mediocre vacations and 40 hours of research.