FAQs
If you don’t see your question answered here, get in touch.
Travel advisors are paid commission from the hotel. This is how travel advisors make a majority of their salary. There is only a planning fee if we are designing a custom trip.
It depends on what you booked. Send me an email at heather@calliopetravel.com and I can check whether a “takeover booking” is possible. If it is possible, I would be added as the agent of record and you would receive the VIP amenities for that specific partner. No change is made to your booking and there’s no additional cost for this.
Yes I book flights, and there is a $50 ticketing fee per person. If we are booking a package that includes accommodation and airfare, there is no ticketing fee for this.
Yes, of course! You’ll still earn points plus status by booking through me, PLUS you’ll get VIP amenities through my partnerships. You will have the opportunity to provide all your loyalty membership numbers as part of your client profile.
Unfortunately I am not able to book client stays with points. I highly encourage clients to use points to book their flights instead, as the conversion rate is usually much better than booking hotels with those points.
If you would like my help with recommendations for you to use points to book a hotel, I do offer this service for a fee.
No, I do not work with Airbnb, but I do work with vetted villa and home rental companies around the world that prioritize guest experience (which is not the case with Airbnb).
Planning travel – if you have a lot of time – can be fun. Clearly I love it, I do it for a living!
But you’ll still benefit from working with a travel advisor. Tell me the hotels you’re interested in and I will book them for you so you get perks such as free breakfast, a room upgrade, early check-in or late check-out, at no extra cost to you.
Plus I’ll let you know if my network has any intel on the property that may not be obvious online (like the fact that the room you requested looks out onto a wall!) It’s like having a best friend who works in travel, and can help you plan your dream trip.
I enjoy working closely with clients to plan their trips, so you will still very much be involved in the process.
I can book most hotels and cruises at no extra cost to you – plus you receive perks if booking with a preferred partner. Hotels pay advisors for each booking (and it is the same as the big booking sites). You might not realize this, but hotels pay commission to websites like Expedia, Booking.com, and Priceline, and these are known as OTAs (online travel agencies).
For more complicated multi-stop itineraries, I do have planning fees. These will always be transparently presented.
Calliope is the Muse of epic poetry and eloquence in Greek mythology, known for her beautiful voice and for inspiring creativity. One of the benefits of world travel is that it exposes us to voices from all cultures and communities. Meeting those people and having those experiences broadens our horizons and helps us appreciate the magnificence and glory of our planet and its inhabitants.
As the Muse of epic poetry, Calliope also reminds that travel is about inspiring stories: watching the mountain goatherd as the sun sets, rowing out to a floating Caribbean bar, stumbling across the nightly ceremony to close the ancient castle.
Finally, the name celebrates the beautiful calliope hummingbird, the smallest long-distance migrating bird in the world. If a 0.1oz bird can travel 5,000 miles each year, then so can we!