I recently received an email from clients, who I spent the last 10 months in contact with them planning a very custom tour based on their tastes, ideas, and dreams. We started with a Zoom meeting because they live 150 miles from my office. I asked dozens of questions to find out how they like to travel, what they hoped to get out of their trip, and yes, to dig for clues of their personalities. That's when I discovered that the husband is an artist, and wanted to have time to just soak in the beauty of Scotland. I realized this would be a different trip that sending them to my top 3, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness. I used the information I garnered from 10 trips to Scotland, and decided to go to Scotland to see how it faired with the covid lockdown. This gave me a good, and up-to-date information for their trip. I started with an itinerary proposal based on their wishes that they prefer to dig deeper into a destination than rush their trip just to 'see it all." With a few adjustments, we found an itinerary that worked for them. I must say, these clients made it easier because they were so invested in this trip being exactly to their tastes. They stayed in touch, answered questions, and helped me to create their dream vacation. This is my favorite way to work!
Once we made all the major decisions of an itinerary, I took care of booking hotels within their budget, but not below my standards, a car, ferry tickets, trains, and tours that we agreed would be good for them.
To finalize their trip information, I made a custom tour book for them which included tips for their trip to the UK, including Customs information regarding things they could bring home, recommended historical & interesting sites, restaurants, travel time between towns and on the ferry, information about their hotels, fun facts, and so much more. And for this couple, because they are comfortable with technology, I made it available via an app, instead of sending it to a printer to be printed and bound, as I do for some of my less-technologically inclined clients.
I didn't expect them to send me an email while on their trip, but love that they did! Here's a bit of what they said in their email:
"Currently on the CalMac ferry, heading to Islay. We loved the Old Manse... We have been blessed by sunny, blue skies! Here are some pics from the ferry ride thus far and our location yesterday!
Far far more stories and photos to come once we have time to breathe!!
Eric loved Glasgow, very glad we had as long as we did!" Note: He was worried that there wasn't enough to feed his artistic soul in Glasgow. I promised him there was and after much discussion, he decided to trust me. Trust is key in a client/advisor relationship. #celticheritagedestinations
