Most people assume travel advisors are for luxury travelers or complicated cruises, but the reality is that a travel advisor can plan any trip, at any budget, and for hotel and cruise bookings it costs you nothing extra.
When I got laid off from my corporate marketing job, the first thing I did after I stopped crying was sign up to become a travel advisor.
I wish I could tell you that was a calculated pivot or a carefully researched next move. But, it was not. It was instinct. And it was probably the most logical thing I’ve ever done, even if it didn’t look that way at the time.
New to travel advisors? Start with my complete guide here.
Here’s the thing. I had always been the person planning everyone’s trips. Friends, family, coworkers… someone would mention they were going to Costa Rica and I was already in their DMs asking about their budget and whether they’d considered staying in Manuel Antonio over the cloud forest. I wasn’t getting paid for it. I wasn’t even thinking about getting paid for it. I was just doing what came naturally, which was researching hotels until I knew which rooms actually looked like the photos, building itineraries around the food, and figuring out how to stretch a budget further than people thought possible.
The travel advisor thing kind of snuck up on me. I’ll be honest: I knew advisors existed, but I thought of them the way I thought of fax machines. Like, sure, technically still a thing, but… why? Isn’t that what Google is for? Isn’t that what all of my 47 of those browser tabs are for?
And then I became one. And I got it.
What travel advisors actually do is not what most people think. It’s not plugging your dates into a search engine and sending you a PDF (sure, we can do that). It’s knowing that the hotel that looks gorgeous in the photos actually wouldn’t pass a blacklight test. It’s knowing which restaurant requires a reservation six weeks out and which highly rated one you can skip entirely. It’s building a trip around the actual people taking it (not a template) and then being available when the a storm messes with your plans or the hotel loses your reservation.
And for hotel and cruise bookings? It costs you nothing. No catch. No hidden fee somewhere. That’s genuinely just how it works.
I spent years assuming travel advisors were for a certain kind of traveler. The luxury cruise crowd. The honeymoon suite people. Not for someone like me who squatted over a hole in a French public restroom and called it an adventure (and would absolutely do it again). But travel advisors are for anyone who has ever come home from a trip thinking I wish I had found better restaurants or why did I book that hotel or how did we spend that much money and still feel like we missed everything.
That’s the trip I can help you avoid.
I started Wanders & Wink because I was already doing this for free for everyone I knew. At some point it made a lot more sense to do it as an actual business. So here I am.
If you’ve been planning your family’s trips alone and wondering if there’s a better way… there is. I’d love to be it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Working With a Travel Advisor
Do travel advisors cost money?
For hotel and cruise bookings, no. Travel advisors are paid by the hotels and cruise lines, not by you. For custom trip planning and itinerary design, some advisors charge a planning fee. Mine starts at $99.
What’s the difference between a travel advisor and just booking on Expedia?
When you book through Expedia or Booking.com you’re on your own if something goes wrong. You’re also usually getting the worst rooms, with no chance of an upgrade. A travel advisor has relationships with properties that unlock perks, room credits, and priority that you simply can’t get booking direct or through an OTA.
Do I have to have a big budget to work with a travel advisor?
Nope. I work with clients across a range of budgets and always offer low, mid, and stretch options with my reasoning for each. Sometimes the most expensive option isn’t the best one anyway.
What made you leave marketing to become a travel advisor?
I got laid off and realized I’d been doing this for free for everyone I knew for years. At some point that felt less like a hobby and more like a pretty obvious sign. I still do marketing but it’s more on a contract and freelance basis at this point.
How do I get started?
Fill out my inquiry form and tell me where you want to go.
Becca Marsh is a certified travel advisor affiliated with Fora Travel and the voice behind Wanders & Wink, based in Grants Pass, Oregon. A lifelong traveler who has explored every U.S. state and dozens of countries from the street food stalls of Vietnam to the Michelin-starred restaurants of Paris, she specializes in food-forward family travel that actually delivers on the fantasy. She takes her own family on at least six trips a year (research, she calls it…) and brings that firsthand experience to every itinerary she builds for her clients. She believes great travel is accessible to everyone and will always tell you exactly where to go and what to order.
