Questions for a Travel Advisor: How do you start the trip planning process?

I often get asked how I start planning a big trip, and the answer is, the same way I start planning any trip - with some good, old fashioned research and data collection.

This photo is of a trip that I’m taking with 2 other wanderers to see Jerry Seinfeld. I started with all the tour dates and locations, then started pricing. Each location required me to do some hotel research, scout out the venue location to see what was nearby, and then get the pricing information. Once I had all this research done, I presented it to the other 2 passengers and we decided on … VEGAS!

This was a relatively easy trip to plan since the dates and locations were not flexible, the research you see here took me about 3 hours. I’m kind of a perfectionist when it comes to the hotels, so a lot of my time is spent researching different properties, reading reviews, comparing room types, amenities and additional costs and making the best recommendations.

Stay tuned for more questions for a travel advisor, and please feel free to submit your questions for Heather Smith below. We’re always listening and we’re always wandering!