November 21, 2023 • 47 mins
Are you ready to discover the insider secrets of romance travel? This exciting episode features Pamela from Wedaways, a luxury travel agency that specializes in crafting unique travel experiences for couples seeking something beyond the traditional honeymoon. She peels back the curtain to reveal what truly defines 'romance travel' and walks us through the meticulous process of planning a honeymoon with a travel agency. If you're dreaming about a post-wedding escape that's perfectly tailored to your desires, Pamela's insights are a must-hear!
Ever wondered how a professional travel advisor could level up your travel experience? Well, Pamela demystifies it all! From firsthand knowledge of global destinations to personalizing your journey, she highlights the multitude of benefits that come with working with an expert. Worried about breaking the bank? She unpacks the commission and fees, reassuring you that premium service doesn't always mean extravagant costs.
Lastly, get ready for a deep dive into planning budget-friendly safaris and honeymoons without skimping on the luxury. Pamela serves up some invaluable tips and tricks, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an open budget when planning your honeymoon. She generously shares her wealth of knowledge to ensure your journey is nothing short of a dream. So, tune in to uncover the hidden gems of the travel industry and embark on the perfect path to your dream honeymoon!
Places to go - People to see:
Kelly's Site: http://www.kellymcwilliams.com
Kelly's Blog: https://www.kellymcwilliams.com/blog
Instagram: @kellyamcwilliams
About Kelly:
Kelly knows how incredible a well planned wedding can be. Every moment counts and every decision plays a part. Wedding planning should be fun and as easy to do as possible. Besides planning weddings, Kelly travels the globe as an industry speaker. Kelly is a Martha Stewart Top Wedding Planner & this podcast won Brides magazine and WeddingWire's best podcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello and welcome to this Versus that making wedding
decisions with Kelly McWilliams.
This podcast is for you ifyou're making a wedding decision
and want to know what toconsider before saying I do to
all the things that will makeyour wedding experience a great
one.
I'm your host, Kelly McWilliams, and I'm so glad to be a part
(00:30):
of your wedding planning journey.
In each episode, you can counton me and my expert wedding
co-hosts to give you everythingit takes to make the best
decisions for the wedding thatyou're dreaming of.
Hey, guess what?
It's the last episode for thisseason.
It has been the most wonderfulseason, I don't know.
(00:51):
I really enjoyed it.
This last episode is all aboutplanning your honeymoon, which I
don't.
I feel like we talked about itlike maybe not honeymoon, but
like it may be honeymoon andmini-moons or anniversary
getaways.
I feel like we talked aboutthat with an onyx key.
(01:12):
But so we have Pamela on todayfrom Wedaways and boy did she
spill it about planning honeymoons.
I asked her so many questions.
I know it's usually like theback and forth, but I learned so
much during this and I had toask her a million questions.
I was like now's my chance.
(01:33):
So I'm really excited because Ifeel like this actually could
be a game changer for you guysand maybe, just like truly the
easy button you didn't even knowwas there, I'm 100% going to
call her from now on to behonest with you, because this is
, I'm just completelyenlightened.
(01:54):
Okay, so let's get Pamela onthe line and we can do all about
honey moons.
Hi, pamela, I'm so thrilled thatyou came on to be my official
first like travel person.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
I am excited to be here.
So thank you, kelly, forinviting me.
I'm honored, I'm excited in allthe things.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
I'm excited that this is your first podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
This is my first podcast and I know we went all
through COVID and there werepodcasts going on and I am an
avid podcast listener.
Oh, are you Well that's good,but this is really exciting.
So thank you again for havingme.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, I think you have a great voice for it too,
and okay, so we're going to ourepisode.
Topic is planning your ownhoneymoon versus having a
professional like you like guideyou through the process or plan
the whole thing for you in likesilver platter, because you
kind of do both of those things,don't?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
you, we do, we do Mostly.
The latter silver platter isour forte.
Like to just plan everythingand make it amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Okay, cool.
So, because this is your firsttime on the show, why don't you
tell us a little bit about you,specifically Pamela Goldman, and
then all about what a ways.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Thank you, I would love to.
I'm Pamela Goldman, co-founderof what a ways travel.
I wasn't always in the travelspace.
I parlayed into this industryabout eight years ago when I
developed what a ways with mymom.
So my mom is my businesspartner, which is fun, amazing,
(03:41):
all encompassing all of thethings all at once.
And before travel, I worked inthe startup world, so I helped
startups become acquired bybigger companies and that really
laid the framework for tacklingbig life transitions and just
(04:06):
big adventures, because sellinga company is quite an adventure
and so, I would imagine, so itactually worked really well to
parlay into this, into thetravel sphere that I am in now.
And what a ways travel is aluxury travel agency, so we
(04:28):
specialize in five star,extraordinary experiences, so
you're a travel agency.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
We are a travel agency.
I do not even know that.
Yes, you're going to teach meso much today.
I'm very excited.
Okay, I shouldn't have beeninterrupted you, okay, no,
please so you opened.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yes, we started a travel agency, but the why that
may not be so apparent at firstis because we developed our
brand specifically for thewedding market.
So, rather than being just likea regular travel agency that
you know books, you know AuntJane and Uncle Joe's travel to
Minnesota and business traveland all these different types of
(05:08):
travel we really specialize inthis romance travel.
So we partner with weddingplanners, we help with some of
the wedding travel needs oftheir events, but we also plan
extraordinary honeymoon globally, all over the world.
So that is a huge part of ourbusiness and I like to say that
(05:33):
we're really romance travelspecialists because it is what
we do.
We're not just a travel agencythat plans a couple of honeymoon
here and there we plan.
What we do is plan honeymoonsand then, you know, that turns
into other types of trips forour former honeymoon couples,
but our core really is honeymoontravel.
(05:55):
So it's an amazing part of thetravel industry because it's, of
course, really happy, whichhopefully all travels are, but
it's so special because couplesgo into planning their honeymoon
A lot of times wanting it to beromantic, wanting it to be
special, wanting it to be oncein a lifetime.
So it's really a privilege tobe part of that experience with
(06:16):
couples.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Can I ask you two questions?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Please.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Like when I hear romance travel.
I'm not quite sure what thatmeans.
What is, what is that?
Is that something that I should?
Is that a word?
Words I should know?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
No, and it's a good question.
It's kind of like a buzz phrase, okay, because it's just a more
general way of saying that wespecialize in honeymoon.
And when we say romance traveland and I Probably should also
say that not all of our coupleswho we plan honeymoons for are
romantic or Want anythingromantic I have some couples
(06:55):
that say we're not romantic,we're not into it, we want to be
with a bunch of other people,like we just don't the
one-on-one as much.
Maybe they've been together foryou know, decades or maybe
they're just like to be ingroups, but so I should probably
rename that Kind of buzz phrase.
But romance travel is just likean all-encompassing way of
(07:16):
saying we really specialize inhoneymoons, mini moons,
anniversary trips, everythingthat's kind of centered around
the wedding in some way.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Okay, like I remember I told you I was like I'm gonna
interrupt you because you'remaking me think of all these
questions.
I want to ask you now so okay,so there's honeymoons.
Would you take one after yourGet wedding, or get wedding
Right after you get married?
Or maybe not even just right?
A lot of my clients don't dothem right afterwards.
(07:48):
They're like you know, we'regonna do the wedding and then
we're gonna do the honeymoon,like three months, six months
time, months later to kind ofseparate those times.
But you also mentioned a coupleof other things.
So do you like?
Are mini moons like?
Like the mini moons followright behind the wedding with
their short Exactly, come do thebig one later is out, that is
(08:13):
yeah, exactly, we saw a ton ofthe mini moon in like the real
COVID height.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
So, like 2020, 2021, we had a lot of couples getting
married domestically and doingjust a three night Getaway the
day after the wedding or twodays after the one, somewhere,
either domestic or a quick Jauntto Mexico, which was relatively
open during COVID or, yeah, Icompletely open actually.
(08:42):
So they did, you know, a quickgetaway to Mexico because it was
easy and quick, still luxurious, still amazing, still felt like
something special, and thensaved the bigger honeymoon to a
location that may have just beenhad closed borders at that time
and they wanted to plan it forlater.
Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I do a lot of destination weddings so
Immediately my thought isthey're already kind of out of
destination and a lot of myclients in particular will go
Somewhere close by for a littlemini moon, but not like right at
the same resort.
You know They'll still leavetown, like somewhere else in the
state of Florida or somethinglike that.
(09:21):
But then they also have bigweddings or honeymoon to planned
, okay, and then I want to sorryto interrupt yeah, what to?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
they get married in a destination like.
We have a lot of Cabo weddings,so they'll change hotels for
three nights, stay in Cabo and,yes, you know, six months, eight
months, a year later They'll doit.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Okay, when most people do that, do they plan
them separately or at the sametime?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It depends on the couple and it depends, like, how
much they want to take on theirplate at that moment.
Okay, many of them are also inthe thick of planning their
wedding.
You know they're using aTalented professional like you,
they have a wedding planner, butthey still.
It can be overwhelming to planboth.
Even though a mini moon ispretty Quick and straightforward
(10:11):
, I would say it's about a split.
Half of our couples will say,okay, I want to do a quick honey
, a quick mini moon to you know,somewhere beachy, and then I
want to do the big honeymoon onsafari, and we'll plan them both
Simultaneously.
And then some will say let'sjust get the, the mini moon
booked and then we'll talk aboutthe honeymoon.
So those could be within a weekof one another or they could
(10:34):
okay, they may take a couple ofmonths break before planning the
next trip.
Okay, and then what?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
what other kind of like little vacations for
romantic Travel?
Is that we I already forgot was, yeah, we just all romance
travel and romance travel.
So what other kind of otherGetaways or vacations you guys
do?
But just so I can kind of getthose like listed somewhere
Totally, and there are a lot ofthem and we believe every trip
(11:03):
could be a romance trip.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Say like the real mouth, you really like your wife
or husband you hopefully.
I Would say that the milestonesreally are like right after the
wedding, like a mini moon ahoney moon, baby moon, so you
know that's like the.
That's usually the next big kindof romance getaway would be a
(11:29):
baby moon Anniversary trips.
So we have one, a couple, thatwe plan every year to a new big
destination on their anniversary.
That's really fun and reallybig.
And then sometimes our coupleswill have like a milestone
birthday they're turning 40, butthey want to do just a
one-on-one trip with theirpartner and that kind of turns
(11:52):
into a romance trip.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Do you guys do non romance meaning like bachelor
and bachelorette.
We do.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And that kind of came from our honeymoon business and
our relationship with you know,the top wedding planners in the
US, like you think, just kindof Turned into that.
Yes, we absolutely do high-end,of course, bachelor and
bachelorette and other grouptravel.
We have a couple right now wejust planned.
(12:23):
They are he's celebrating his35th birthday and they're going
with a group of friends toMexico and it's Non, it's
definitely not romantic, it'sdefinitely a fun group trip but
we can plan that.
So some of our clients onlywant us to touch their travels,
so we plan their business travel.
Some of our clients owncompanies and they want to do a
(12:45):
corporate retreat and so we planthat travel.
So it definitely, we definitelycan plan all types of high-end
travel.
We just kind of specialize.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
In, got it, got it.
So you know all the things, soyou can actually do all the
things is just, you really knowthe wedding industry well.
Yes, Okay and I love that.
You love weddings.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Oh yeah, I love it.
It's just such a beautifulthing to be a part of, so I love
it.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
It really is so okay.
So let's talk a little bitabout what the differences are
between, like, when someone'strying to plan their honeymoon
on their own, versus when theywork with someone like you.
Are you the only people that dothis, or is there other
companies?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I have to ask absolutely and there are other
companies, absolutely and I meanany travel agent can book a
honeymoon, can plan a honeymoon.
It's just, it's not everybody'sforte and I would say, when you
are Looking for a professionalto plan a honeymoon specifically
, you should seek out ones thathave experience and that kind of
(13:50):
tote themselves as Honeymoonmanors or romance Okay, because
we kind of we look at it throughdifferent lens.
It's not just an epic trip,it's an, it's a really special
epic trip.
Yeah and we also know what toask of the hotel.
Yes, and we know you know howto kind of Finesse the trip.
(14:12):
So but there are absolutelyother professionals that can
plan exquisite honeymoon forsure.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay, so Explain to me.
You know like what havingsomeone like you alleviates as
far as like, like the workloador the research.
Imagine the costs.
Like yeah, I feel like I justneed to ask you to like spill it
.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Totally, and I'm so happy to, because, let me tell
you something, kelly and a lotof people think that travel
agents are from the past, andyou know I did.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Confess, I confess Totally.
This is why we do theseepisodes, because we don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Exactly, and you know , it's our job, my job as the
next generation travel advisorto really Change the the Course
of the conversation and tellpeople that we are a thing of
today and actually more thanever, you need a travel advisor.
(15:20):
You can certainly do it on yourown.
I mean, I have some couplesthat love to research and they
know exactly which hotels theywant to stay, but they don't
want to have to put the piecestogether of how to get here to
here and what.
So a lot of times we are veryinteractive with our couples.
We're planning the triptogether.
(15:43):
Why want an epic trip?
But I want to go to SouthAmerica?
And then we just plan the wholething.
But it just depends on theperson.
But I'll break it down likethis and I am a planner,
obviously I plan honeymoons andI love to research and I Always
would plan my own trips prior toreally entering this industry
(16:05):
as a professional, and I did, ofcourse, plan my trips like a
travel advisor.
That's why I make a very goodone.
But I will say that it wasdifficult to know what Resources
were legit and what weren't,because Google is just like it's
a such a huge resource.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Google and I feel like Sorry told you, it's gonna
interrupt you.
I Feel like, like I like morerecently, like in the last year,
I've been like following moreinfluencers because I've been
traveling a little bit more andI, you know, I have to wonder
like how much of that is reallyreal and how much of that is
(16:47):
made to make it look that muchbetter.
You know, and it's coming atdifferent angles and they're
only gonna show you what theywant to show you and so, okay,
sorry, I had to put no, you'reabsolutely right now.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I was gonna actually touch on that because that's a
really important remark.
And first of all, google you.
If you Google what to do withthree days in Paris, you're
gonna get all kinds of stuffshow up and all types of
companies you know purporting tobe the best at the Food tour of
(17:22):
Paris.
You know there's so much outthere that it can be very
overwhelming, but also you maynot be going to the right place
for what you want to do.
Yeah, so working with aprofessional will really help to
drown out a lot of the noiseand we have direct connections
(17:42):
with local artisans, with localDestination specialists, so
we're not just looking onlineourselves for the best food tour
in Paris.
I call my contact who is inParis and I tell her I have a
couple that's coming and theywant to do in the Fantastic food
tour and they love chocolateand they love baguettes and we
(18:05):
want to put together somethingreally fantastic and they will
bring, you know, the, the pastrychef from the top hotel in
Paris to demonstrate somethinglive.
I mean, we really that's whatyou get when you work with a
professional is really insideraccess and knowledge.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And so it's just kind of like hiring a wedding
planner.
It's all the reasons that youwould hire wedding planner
because you only know what youknow.
You don't know what you don'tknow and you, like you, can
easily Overspend.
You don't know how to cut costs, you don't know how long it's
gonna take to do something orwho the right experts are.
(18:48):
I could go.
I mean, I feel like you'reexactly me, except for you work
after me.
Well, you know what, probablywork in use and probably at the
same time.
But you know what I mean likethat's exactly we.
That's, I feel like that'sexactly what it is.
But okay, so I have to ask youdo you, do they pay, do people
(19:12):
pay you directly?
How does it?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
work.
Yes, good question so, and Iwant to just make a comment that
, yes, we're a parallel to you.
Okay, same reasons I hire you.
Obviously, you're planning anentire wedding, that's, you know
, a lot bigger of an event, butit's just like seeking out a
professional to find us.
Yeah, you have a fee, of course, but my god, I bet every single
(19:36):
couple is says that was thebest money I ever spent.
Wedding planner and.
Travel advisors, myself included, have fees as well, because, as
much as we love to do this, youknow we do need to make a
living.
You have fees, and I will saythe fees for a travel advisor,
(19:56):
because it's different Then,what a wedding planner does, and
wedding planners don't mentionwe do.
Travel advisors earn commissionon what we book.
So, oh, information foreverybody who doesn't know
anything about a travel companyor working with a travel advisor
we earn a commission on thehotels that we book.
(20:17):
It does not increase the pricethat a couple days.
So, okay, we see a price online.
They're gonna pay the sameprice if they book it through me
or if they book it direct.
In fact, sometimes, because wehave a lot of insider access, we
can actually get a better rate.
So, you know, depending.
Plus, we add a lot of perkslike free breakfast and upgrade,
(20:39):
you know, and then specialhoneymoon things when they check
in.
So, yes, they pay us a fee, butthat fee is that easily Just
taken care of as soon as we bookone hotel for them.
Okay and fees range.
Fees range between traveladvisors.
Some charge an hourly fee, somecharge a flat fee, which is
(21:04):
what we do based on the scope ofthe trip.
So I would say that you'll findtravel advisors that will
charge $250 per couple.
You'll find travel advisorsthat charge $5,000 per couple,
and that a lot of times dependson the scope of the trip.
We charge between 750 and$1,500, depending on the scope
(21:25):
of the trip.
So, okay, you know, I'm tendays in Europe, so it's closer
to the 750 to 1,000 mark.
If it's three weeks in Africa,then it's a $1,500 fee, and but
you're doing, like all thethings, like flights and hotel
(21:47):
Transportation.
We can do as much or as littleas the couple want, but
typically, so typically, ourcouples are their booking
flights with points because justa lot of times they've paid for
much of the one on their creditcard and so they've earned, you
know, a million points, and soa lot of times they'll book
(22:08):
flights on their, on theircredit card, you know.
However, they want to bookthrough points or through sorry,
they book flights throughpoints.
That's totally fine with us.
The only thing that we can'tfacilitate is Booking hotels
with points.
We don't facilitate that.
Yes, they'll have their flights.
Yeah, and so they'll book theirown flights and then, as soon as
(22:30):
they touch down In the airport,we will start providing every
single service throughout theirtrip.
So we can have and for mosthoneymoons I'd say about 75
percent of our honeymoons wehave somebody meet the couple at
the door of the plane and theytake them through immigration.
So they're saving like a ton oftime.
(22:51):
Yes, they're saving a ton oftime.
They have a dedicated assistantthat whisks them through while
they wave at the people waitingin the customs line and they get
to go all the way to the front.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So you guys can't see this, but my jaw just dropped
because I had no idea.
Like to me that right there isworth it, because the second you
leave this country it is likecustoms and lines and you don't
know what to pull up, where anddo I turn left or right, and
(23:23):
everything's written in adifferent language.
I feel like that is thescariest and most frustrating
part of travel to me.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
So that right there pays for the Totally, and it's
also your first experience whenyou land.
So I mean, what's better thanthat, having somebody?
Just?
There's nothing more specialfeeling than that, and I have
been with this for many, manyyears and I book that service
for myself when I travel, andeven though I do it 10 times a
year with that same service.
(23:55):
Every time I have an assistantpick me up from the door of the
airplane, I feel truly VIPbecause, yeah, there's nothing
more VIP than that and you'vegot a lot of people looking at
you like, oh my God, who is this?
Is this a celebrity?
Do I need?
Speaker 1 (24:10):
to take a picture.
I have big black glasses on.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yes, yeah.
Because of the, the hiding undera hoodie, really, and you can't
.
Most of the time, a regularperson, if you will like, just a
, not a travel advisor cannotbook that service on their own.
We book it through our partnersin the country.
So many times that's not evenavailable for somebody to book
(24:35):
on their own, so that's alreadysomething that we can offer.
And then we, of course, takecare of them every step of the
way.
So, transportation, hotelactivities If we're going to a
destination like Africa Easternor Southern Africa, safari
requires charter flights andrequires complicated logistics.
(24:55):
We handle all of that.
So, truly, it is a white gloveservice.
And sometimes our couples arelike I don't want to touch this.
I'm busy thinking about thewedding, I'm busy working, you
do everything and we plan soupto nuts, the most amazing trip
within their budget constraints.
And sometimes our couples arelike I really like the planning
process, so I want to beinvolved in it, and you work
(25:17):
with them in tandem.
Hey, this is a safari lodgewe're going to book.
Take a look at some pictures.
Here's an alternative aroundthe same price point.
Take a look at some pictures.
What do you prefer?
So we'll go that way?
Oh, ok.
Lots of times they've seenthings from influencers on
Instagram.
So they say what about this?
And because we know we'll saywell, yeah, it looks beautiful
(25:39):
in pictures, but let me tell youthe real lowdown on what this
is.
Those influencers are beingpaid to deliver this message,
and from a professional, let metell you how the scoop on what
this really is.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
So yeah, the scoop is , they got BitBugs.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Exactly.
That's a good point.
That has a filter, yes.
So there are a lot of benefitsNot to knock doing it on your
own.
I think I find great joy inplanning travel, so I can
understand that others would too.
But it's great to have a guide.
(26:16):
You know somebody that's saying, yeah, this is great.
Or you know what, let's look atthe logistics of the itinerary.
Does it really work for whatyou want to do, location wise?
So let's, you know, let's thinkof something else.
And I can't tell you, kelly, howmany times a couple says I just
planned this honeymoon with, Ijust planned this wedding with
my wedding planner.
And you know we have 300 peopleand it's a four day event.
(26:38):
It was this huge, this hugeproduction and we just want to
lay on the beach and just chillout.
And they're like so we want togo to Greece and Greece is
beautiful.
But we explain to them whatGreece chill out on the beach
looks like, versus somewherelike French Polynesia where you
(27:00):
have Bora Bora or the Maldivesor some of the African islands
or the Caribbean.
So we get to tell them, hey, Ilove what you're thinking, but
if you really want to chill out,these are the destinations you
want to consider and obviouslyit's hard to get to.
Greece can be hard to get to,yeah, and the longest trips back
(27:21):
and forth I ever took.
Yeah, I mean, especially ifthere are no direct flights to
Athens, for sure that can be,you know, I mean.
That was a long trip.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
I'm glad I went, but I also, just like you said, I
didn't know.
When I went to Greece I lookedlike one picture and you know
like everyone thinks it's alljust like those white buildings,
like on a cliff, like lookingto blue water.
That was not all of Greece, noteven close.
It's like one island orsomething right.
But I also didn't realize liketheir beaches aren't all sand.
(27:56):
The one I went to, I don't knowif they're all like that, but
the one I was at, it was pebbles.
It was really cool, but I waslike I never seen anything like
it was like that is not a likerelax on the beach kind of place
.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Totally not exactly.
It's not where you go if youwant that like Soft white sand
yeah, it is water with thefruity drink brought to you, you
know yeah, that's not.
Greece service.
No, there are greatdestinations for that and Greece
is amazing.
But if you would be remiss togo to Greece without doing some
of the highlights of the historyyachting Wine, you know there's
(28:33):
so much more.
So I think that the knowledge,just like anything, hiring a
professional For a professionaljob is worth it, because there's
just so much more that you willget out of it as opposed to
trying to do it on your own backto you.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Don't know what you don't know, because you only
know what you've been exposed toand there's only so much
research.
Can I ask you a question so, doyou have you like gone to many
of the places yourself orsomeone on your team, or Just
like, and then some of theplaces that you said?
I think you said you have likerelationships with people who
(29:10):
really like, are there boots onthe ground?
Who can I say exactly like?
Like you got like?
What did they call them thatwith ci's?
What did in the like thecriminal tv shows where they
have the person that knowseverything?
Yes, what are those peoplecalled?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
ci, was it a detective or the.
It's like the air.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, it's like it's the person.
It was a criminal, it wasactually.
They were criminals turned um.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Oh, like undercover no.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yeah, no, they used to be criminals but now they pay
them under, like the police paythem to give them information.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Oh, I think that is undercover or I gotta watch more
of those shows.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I'm getting so off track here, but you have your
people there.
So so for most people like you,um, who provide this service,
have you been to most of theseplaces and experience most of
them and have all that insiderknowledge like let me tell you,
like, what it actually is, andoh, I've had the pizza at this
(30:14):
place and that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, great question.
So, yes, and you'll find this,with all good travel advisors,
we are extremely well traveled,um, so we travel All the time.
I mean two weeks out of themonth typically.
Um, oh, wow, not everybody, butthat's how our team travels.
So, yes, we have gone, noteverywhere, um, I have a team
(30:38):
that works with me.
I have a team of five, um, Ihave one stationed in portugal,
so she's traveling throughouteurope all the time, and it's
not only to go and experience,um, the destination, but also,
especially post-covid, thingschange, hotels change.
Oh, it used to be the best inthe destination Is probably not
(31:03):
the best in the destination fiveyears later.
So, you know, you could workwith a travel advisor who has,
you know, 10 year in theindustry and has been doing this
for 40 years, but if theyhadn't been to the destination
the last five years, you know,then you so much could change.
Yeah, so much could have changed.
And obviously we are people sowe can't go everywhere, but in
(31:27):
every single destination that weplan we have boots on the
ground.
And they're not employed by mycompany.
They are independent companiesthat work with Select travel
advisors all over the world, sothey are our Vendors, if you
will.
But they are not direct toconsumers, so a person couldn't
(31:48):
find them and start to plan atrip with them.
Got it only work with thetravel trade and then, through
us, you know, of course offerthe service to our clients.
But another, and I think one ofthe biggest reasons to work with
a travel professional isbecause when you are in travel,
we have a local phone numberAvailable for you 24 hours a day
(32:09):
.
So if you are in Italy and youfind yourself in a big pickle
because you took a wrong left oryou know whatever, you have a
medical emergency, god forbid oryou know something, you need
something immediately, there isa local number that you call 24
hours a day.
We also give you a number thatyou could correspond with via
(32:31):
whatsapp.
That is local.
Of course, they also haveaccess to our team, but, being
there, it feels good to have anumber that is also there that
they could call in case of aneed.
Um, so we provide that to you.
So you're not like, oh my god,who do I call?
What do I do?
I need to cancel the rest of mytrip, like, how do I put that
(32:52):
into motion?
Oh my god, I need to do thatall myself now.
No, we have that done for youand I will say that's so nice.
Yeah, and I'll just from peaceof mind.
Exactly, yeah, and during covetI think the use of travel
advisors Is probably quadrupled.
I think people are starting touse us more and more and more
(33:13):
because During covet it was areal it was so difficult to
change plans Um, try and getrefunds and try and postpone and
all of these things Was was sodifficult without an advocate,
and a travel advisor is youradvocate.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
So I never looked at that way.
Yeah, you said that and putthat word there.
Yeah, just like you guys,you're the advocate of your
client so yeah, exactly, I usethat word all the time because
it's exactly that.
I feel like I have learned somuch in half an hour, like I
(33:54):
mean I don't think I realized, Idon't think it's Okay, but
really my favorite part was likethe like getting greeted at the
airport.
Yeah I, I mean, it's yourhoneymoon.
It's like it should feel thatspecial, you know, and I feel
like this is easy.
But I do want to ask one otherquestion.
Do you think, do you know?
(34:15):
I should say, do you know, isit most often that people in the
end will save money with usingyour service, or do you find
it's more that You're notnecessarily saving money but the
value in what you get is justexponentially more?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Great question and it depends how I hate to do this,
but it depends how you Considersaving money.
So, overall, yes, the value ismuch better than if they did on
their own.
So in that sense, they'resaving money because they're
saving time and they're saving,and they're saving what you know
, a trip that we plan to SouthAfrica is going to be a better
(34:55):
value than they can planthemselves, because we also Work
with partners who havecontracted rates.
So a lot of times those arebetter than the rates that
anybody is going to get on theirown.
So, yes, in that sense,definitely.
But I will say that a lot oftimes, because we know
destinations, a couple will cometo us and say I want to spend,
I'm just going to throw out anumber 30,000 dollars for two
(35:17):
weeks and I want to do a safariIn southern Africa.
I want to go to Cape Town, Iwant to go drink wine, and then
I want to go on safari, andwe'll say, great, um, we'll
start planning the trip and wewill let them know at which
parts they may want to splurge alittle bit, because it's an
experience that's worth Sporgingon and a lot of times, just
(35:38):
like a wedding, they will end upover their budget by choice,
because they have decided toQuote-unquote, upgrade or
splurge on something that'sreally extraordinary, like a
Helicopter to the top of themountain for a private gin
tasting.
Um, that's something that we doa lot in Cape Town, which is
(35:58):
amazing, and so that's a reallyspecial experience.
They'll splurge on that, sothey may go over the budget a
little bit, but, yeah, it's mychoice and always a great value.
I will say that 100.
Find yourself a travel advisorthat can plan epic honeymoons,
because, yes, there may be anupfront fee, but it is always
well it sounds like it pays foritself to me, like, like I just
(36:23):
want to go in lots of honeymoonsnow.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I need to book some more weddings.
But, um, even just for thoselittle things, like those
excursions and and like, I feellike you could never find the
quality, is my guess that youguys have available to you like
that In the amount of time Ijust can't even imagine, is it
(36:49):
so?
You said $30,000, is that howmuch is the safari cost?
Cause I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
That you know.
It really depends because thereis no cost really, and that's
also a misconception about anAfrican safari.
A lot of people think you needto have a huge budget to do
African safari.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Yeah, I definitely did.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
That's not necessarily true.
You can do a safari, you know,with being more budget conscious
.
We don't plan every level ofsafari because our connections
and relationships really are atthe high end, but I would say
that you know you need I wouldsay you need at least $1,000 per
(37:26):
person per day If you want toconsider it that way.
So like that's a smart way tolook at it, yeah, and that would
get you in.
But also to understand thatwhen you're on safari, at the
safari lodges, everything isincluded, so all of your meals,
all of your alcohol, all of thegame drive.
So sometimes it can be asticker shock when you're doing
(37:49):
something in Africa becauseyou're like, oh, you know that's
a, but if you consider all thatyou're saving by not spending
on food and alcohol it'sactually it's a pretty good
value.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Yeah, because, like, if you go to Paris, you know you
got to pay for your tickets togo on the Eiffel Tower, you got
to go pay for every class of oneyou have, you have to pay for
your train to get from here tothere, so those little things
add up and you don't see it.
Like when you're planning ityourself, you don't see just the
bottom line, do you?
I'm sorry we're going like wayover 30 minutes here, but I have
(38:22):
so many questions.
So when someone comes to you,should they come with anything
like prepared for you?
Like, should they come and saywe have blank amount of dollars
and we want to be somewhere PG,or we have blank amount of
dollars and we want to gosomewhere cold and we, but we
(38:44):
don't like to ski, but we wantto be outside, like, is that how
it goes?
Speaker 2 (38:50):
So the more information, of course, the
better.
But we can pull out a lot ofinformation on our initial
discovery calls.
So we always have a first callwith a couple.
It's usually about 30 minuteslong and we ask them a lot of
questions about themselves,about their travel style.
Where have they been in theworld?
That's been their favoriteexperience?
What hotel have they stayed in?
(39:11):
That's been their favoriteexperience?
The more information theyalready have is great With.
Some couples say oh, Iabsolutely know, I want to go to
Bora Bora for one week and I'mgoing right after the wedding
and I want to stay at the FourSeasons.
And it's very, you know,straightforward, and we book it
for them and we add all kinds ofperks.
And it's amazing Could theyhave booked that online, because
(39:33):
it was only a resort that theywere booking?
Yeah, they could have, but weprovide a lot of value in all of
the perks that we had upgradesand things like that.
And also they have us to touchbase with.
Oh, my gosh, my flight wascanceled.
Oh, the boat, the weather, blah, blah, blah.
We're there for them.
So the more information thebetter, but we really can pull
that out.
(39:53):
I would say, the most importantthings to come to a
conversation about the honeymoonwith would be budget.
I can't tell you how many timeswe have a call with a couple and
they're like well, I don't knowhow much does it cost.
And just like if they asked youhow much a wedding costs, there
are so many variables there'sno way that we can give you that
answer.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yeah, so when I talk to clients the very first phone
call I say tell me what you'recomfortable with spending and
tell me what you the maximum isthat you can spend.
So I know really where we'resitting and the students are
like oh okay, so I understandthere's flexibility there, but
give me those two numbers andopen the doors for that.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Yeah, and we need that too.
And totally fair that peopledon't know how much it costs.
Because how would they if it'sthe first wedding, the first
honeymoon they're planning?
They don't know how much thingscost.
We're there to guide them.
But if they want to go on anepic three week trip to
Australia and New Zealand, wecan tell them right off the bat
(40:59):
if they're working with a budgetthat's too low.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
So that's why it's really that's so good.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Yeah, it's really important to know a budget, to
have discussed that with theirpartner, their families,
whoever's putting the bill forour call.
Dates are also really important.
So dates are going to informhow much things cost.
So there's a high season andthere's a low season For every
location, yes.
And then there's a shoulderseason.
(41:24):
We in our industry call it ashoulder season.
It just basically meansmid-season.
So dates are super important.
If they know they want to go toX destination and they don't
care when it is, that's easy.
We'll just let them know thebest times to go.
But if they don't know wherethey want to go and they don't
have any preference of when theywant to go, that's when we
(41:47):
really need to work together tonarrow down dates that much.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Do you also provide the service of being the expert,
meaning that, like when someonecalls me and they're explaining
what they want, I'm hearingwhat they're saying and they
think they know what they want,but I know what they really want
.
And not that I'm trying to bebossy, I am a little bit bossy
(42:13):
but, like the example you said,they want to go to Bora Bora,
they want to go and save thefour seasons, but you and your
head, as you're asking themquestions, are thinking of a
different place.
Do you say, okay, you know that, you told me this, but can I
give you another option thatmaybe you want to consider, that
maybe you don't even know about, that you haven't been exposed
(42:35):
to?
Do you do that early on to like, like, give them the option
Because, again, I go back to you, you don't know what you don't
know.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
One million percent and, like I mentioned about
Greece before, we've had couplesthat say I just want to lay out
on the beach, so we want to goto Greece.
Like, I know that that's notGreece, so let's talk about
other destinations.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
We definitely will help.
It's such an educationalprocess.
So we absolutely help toeducate on destinations.
And if they say, well, I thinkBora Bora is where I want to go,
because I want white sandybeaches and I want overwater
bungalow and I want an island,and so it's Bora Bora, we don't
(43:18):
just say, great, we'll book youin Bora Bora, we will also
introduce other options becauseat the end of the day, we want
the couple to be in the bestdestination for what they do.
So we'll say well, you know,the Maldives also has overwater
bungalows, also has white,creamy sand and beautiful water,
and there's a lot more resortsin the Maldives, and so we'll
(43:39):
discuss different options thatmake sense for what they want.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
This has been the most enlightening episode, I
think, where I got the mosteducation out of it, even if
it's just for myself so happy.
And even just that you said,Pamela, about changing the
mindset behind travel agents oradvisors, because, yeah, back
(44:06):
when I was a kid that was thedeal.
But then the internet camealong and everyone just never
mind, we just book everythingonline.
And then the influencers came inand like we're gonna tell you
where to go.
And now I'm feeling like, oh,we definitely need to be leaning
into the humans and not chatGPT to be setting up your entire
(44:27):
that whole mess.
I'm sorry, like I love AI, butI'm not gonna have that plan by
any moon or any of the largevacation.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
Totally, and we have actually had very high end
clients give us an itineraryfrom chat GPT and say I wanna do
this, can you book everything?
And I'm not gonna lie, theitinerary looked pretty good,
but there were major holes inthe actual area.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
So, definitely.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Can you get great ideas from AI?
Can you get great ideas fromInstagram?
Absolutely, but having aprofessional to really help with
the human part of it.
And AI didn't taste the food atthis restaurant and this is
where it is vegan, so why wouldyou trust their steak and crete
(45:15):
suggestion, you know like all ofthose things really play a role
in it.
So, yeah, you cannot take thehuman out of this business, just
like what's happening.
You just can't take the humanout of it.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Pamela, thank you so much.
This is.
You have to come back.
I've already signed your.
I forged your signature on thedotted line going Thank you.
We are gonna talk about thesefour things because there's so
much travel around weddings, soI really appreciate it and I'm
very excited for those episodesLike they're like my wheels are
(45:49):
spinning in my head.
I really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
I appreciate you telling me.
Oh, my God, what an honor to beinvited.
I just love chatting with youalways, and this was so fun.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (46:02):
You're welcome.
I'm so glad to be able to sharemy wedding experiences and
expertise with you, and that myco-hosts are so giving it theirs
.
We truly do want you to havethe best time at your wedding,
and our hope is that thispodcast is helping you to make
your engagement time whileplanning your wedding that much
easier.
(46:22):
May I ask a favor of you?
If this is the case, would youjust take a moment to leave a
review of this podcast on yourlistening platform?
It helps people just like youto find the podcast and to also
find out their answers so theycan make decisions.
I would also absolutely lovefor you to give this versus that
(46:43):
podcast a shout out on yoursocial media.
You can find us at this versusthat wedding podcast on
Instagram, and if you would likeme to help you with a specific
question, a wedding decision,please by all means ask.
Send me a DM.
I would love to hear from youand maybe, just maybe even have
(47:04):
you as a wedding cast on afuture episode.
How fun.
Here's to another great wedding.
Hello and welcome to this Versus that making wedding
decisions with Kelly McWilliams.
This podcast is for you ifyou're making a wedding decision
and want to know what toconsider before saying I do to
all the things that will makeyour wedding experience a great
one.
I'm your host, Kelly McWilliams, and I'm so glad to be a part
(00:30):
of your wedding planning journey.
In each episode, you can counton me and my expert wedding
co-hosts to give you everythingit takes to make the best
decisions for the wedding thatyou're dreaming of.
Hey, guess what?
It's the last episode for thisseason.
It has been the most wonderfulseason, I don't know.
(00:51):
I really enjoyed it.
This last episode is all aboutplanning your honeymoon, which I
don't.
I feel like we talked about itlike maybe not honeymoon, but
like it may be honeymoon andmini-moons or anniversary
getaways.
I feel like we talked aboutthat with an onyx key.
(01:12):
But so we have Pamela on todayfrom Wedaways and boy did she
spill it about planning honeymoons.
I asked her so many questions.
I know it's usually like theback and forth, but I learned so
much during this and I had toask her a million questions.
I was like now's my chance.
(01:33):
So I'm really excited because Ifeel like this actually could
be a game changer for you guysand maybe, just like truly the
easy button you didn't even knowwas there, I'm 100% going to
call her from now on to behonest with you, because this is
, I'm just completelyenlightened.
(01:54):
Okay, so let's get Pamela onthe line and we can do all about
honey moons.
Hi, pamela, I'm so thrilled thatyou came on to be my official
first like travel person.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
I am excited to be here.
So thank you, kelly, forinviting me.
I'm honored, I'm excited in allthe things.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
I'm excited that this is your first podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
This is my first podcast and I know we went all
through COVID and there werepodcasts going on and I am an
avid podcast listener.
Oh, are you Well that's good,but this is really exciting.
So thank you again for havingme.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, I think you have a great voice for it too,
and okay, so we're going to ourepisode.
Topic is planning your ownhoneymoon versus having a
professional like you like guideyou through the process or plan
the whole thing for you in likesilver platter, because you
kind of do both of those things,don't?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
you, we do, we do Mostly.
The latter silver platter isour forte.
Like to just plan everythingand make it amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Okay, cool.
So, because this is your firsttime on the show, why don't you
tell us a little bit about you,specifically Pamela Goldman, and
then all about what a ways.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Thank you, I would love to.
I'm Pamela Goldman, co-founderof what a ways travel.
I wasn't always in the travelspace.
I parlayed into this industryabout eight years ago when I
developed what a ways with mymom.
So my mom is my businesspartner, which is fun, amazing,
(03:41):
all encompassing all of thethings all at once.
And before travel, I worked inthe startup world, so I helped
startups become acquired bybigger companies and that really
laid the framework for tacklingbig life transitions and just
(04:06):
big adventures, because sellinga company is quite an adventure
and so, I would imagine, so itactually worked really well to
parlay into this, into thetravel sphere that I am in now.
And what a ways travel is aluxury travel agency, so we
(04:28):
specialize in five star,extraordinary experiences, so
you're a travel agency.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
We are a travel agency.
I do not even know that.
Yes, you're going to teach meso much today.
I'm very excited.
Okay, I shouldn't have beeninterrupted you, okay, no,
please so you opened.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yes, we started a travel agency, but the why that
may not be so apparent at firstis because we developed our
brand specifically for thewedding market.
So, rather than being just likea regular travel agency that
you know books, you know AuntJane and Uncle Joe's travel to
Minnesota and business traveland all these different types of
(05:08):
travel we really specialize inthis romance travel.
So we partner with weddingplanners, we help with some of
the wedding travel needs oftheir events, but we also plan
extraordinary honeymoon globally, all over the world.
So that is a huge part of ourbusiness and I like to say that
(05:33):
we're really romance travelspecialists because it is what
we do.
We're not just a travel agencythat plans a couple of honeymoon
here and there we plan.
What we do is plan honeymoonsand then, you know, that turns
into other types of trips forour former honeymoon couples,
but our core really is honeymoontravel.
(05:55):
So it's an amazing part of thetravel industry because it's, of
course, really happy, whichhopefully all travels are, but
it's so special because couplesgo into planning their honeymoon
A lot of times wanting it to beromantic, wanting it to be
special, wanting it to be oncein a lifetime.
So it's really a privilege tobe part of that experience with
(06:16):
couples.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Can I ask you two questions?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Please.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Like when I hear romance travel.
I'm not quite sure what thatmeans.
What is, what is that?
Is that something that I should?
Is that a word?
Words I should know?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
No, and it's a good question.
It's kind of like a buzz phrase, okay, because it's just a more
general way of saying that wespecialize in honeymoon.
And when we say romance traveland and I Probably should also
say that not all of our coupleswho we plan honeymoons for are
romantic or Want anythingromantic I have some couples
(06:55):
that say we're not romantic,we're not into it, we want to be
with a bunch of other people,like we just don't the
one-on-one as much.
Maybe they've been together foryou know, decades or maybe
they're just like to be ingroups, but so I should probably
rename that Kind of buzz phrase.
But romance travel is just likean all-encompassing way of
(07:16):
saying we really specialize inhoneymoons, mini moons,
anniversary trips, everythingthat's kind of centered around
the wedding in some way.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Okay, like I remember I told you I was like I'm gonna
interrupt you because you'remaking me think of all these
questions.
I want to ask you now so okay,so there's honeymoons.
Would you take one after yourGet wedding, or get wedding
Right after you get married?
Or maybe not even just right?
A lot of my clients don't dothem right afterwards.
(07:48):
They're like you know, we'regonna do the wedding and then
we're gonna do the honeymoon,like three months, six months
time, months later to kind ofseparate those times.
But you also mentioned a coupleof other things.
So do you like?
Are mini moons like?
Like the mini moons followright behind the wedding with
their short Exactly, come do thebig one later is out, that is
(08:13):
yeah, exactly, we saw a ton ofthe mini moon in like the real
COVID height.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
So, like 2020, 2021, we had a lot of couples getting
married domestically and doingjust a three night Getaway the
day after the wedding or twodays after the one, somewhere,
either domestic or a quick Jauntto Mexico, which was relatively
open during COVID or, yeah, Icompletely open actually.
(08:42):
So they did, you know, a quickgetaway to Mexico because it was
easy and quick, still luxurious, still amazing, still felt like
something special, and thensaved the bigger honeymoon to a
location that may have just beenhad closed borders at that time
and they wanted to plan it forlater.
Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
I do a lot of destination weddings so
Immediately my thought isthey're already kind of out of
destination and a lot of myclients in particular will go
Somewhere close by for a littlemini moon, but not like right at
the same resort.
You know They'll still leavetown, like somewhere else in the
state of Florida or somethinglike that.
(09:21):
But then they also have bigweddings or honeymoon to planned
, okay, and then I want to sorryto interrupt yeah, what to?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
they get married in a destination like.
We have a lot of Cabo weddings,so they'll change hotels for
three nights, stay in Cabo and,yes, you know, six months, eight
months, a year later They'll doit.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Okay, when most people do that, do they plan
them separately or at the sametime?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
It depends on the couple and it depends, like, how
much they want to take on theirplate at that moment.
Okay, many of them are also inthe thick of planning their
wedding.
You know they're using aTalented professional like you,
they have a wedding planner, butthey still.
It can be overwhelming to planboth.
Even though a mini moon ispretty Quick and straightforward
(10:11):
, I would say it's about a split.
Half of our couples will say,okay, I want to do a quick honey
, a quick mini moon to you know,somewhere beachy, and then I
want to do the big honeymoon onsafari, and we'll plan them both
Simultaneously.
And then some will say let'sjust get the, the mini moon
booked and then we'll talk aboutthe honeymoon.
So those could be within a weekof one another or they could
(10:34):
okay, they may take a couple ofmonths break before planning the
next trip.
Okay, and then what?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
what other kind of like little vacations for
romantic Travel?
Is that we I already forgot was, yeah, we just all romance
travel and romance travel.
So what other kind of otherGetaways or vacations you guys
do?
But just so I can kind of getthose like listed somewhere
Totally, and there are a lot ofthem and we believe every trip
(11:03):
could be a romance trip.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Say like the real mouth, you really like your wife
or husband you hopefully.
I Would say that the milestonesreally are like right after the
wedding, like a mini moon ahoney moon, baby moon, so you
know that's like the.
That's usually the next big kindof romance getaway would be a
(11:29):
baby moon Anniversary trips.
So we have one, a couple, thatwe plan every year to a new big
destination on their anniversary.
That's really fun and reallybig.
And then sometimes our coupleswill have like a milestone
birthday they're turning 40, butthey want to do just a
one-on-one trip with theirpartner and that kind of turns
(11:52):
into a romance trip.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Do you guys do non romance meaning like bachelor
and bachelorette.
We do.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And that kind of came from our honeymoon business and
our relationship with you know,the top wedding planners in the
US, like you think, just kindof Turned into that.
Yes, we absolutely do high-end,of course, bachelor and
bachelorette and other grouptravel.
We have a couple right now wejust planned.
(12:23):
They are he's celebrating his35th birthday and they're going
with a group of friends toMexico and it's Non, it's
definitely not romantic, it'sdefinitely a fun group trip but
we can plan that.
So some of our clients onlywant us to touch their travels,
so we plan their business travel.
Some of our clients owncompanies and they want to do a
(12:45):
corporate retreat and so we planthat travel.
So it definitely, we definitelycan plan all types of high-end
travel.
We just kind of specialize.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
In, got it, got it.
So you know all the things, soyou can actually do all the
things is just, you really knowthe wedding industry well.
Yes, Okay and I love that.
You love weddings.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Oh yeah, I love it.
It's just such a beautifulthing to be a part of, so I love
it.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
It really is so okay.
So let's talk a little bitabout what the differences are
between, like, when someone'strying to plan their honeymoon
on their own, versus when theywork with someone like you.
Are you the only people that dothis, or is there other
companies?
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I have to ask absolutely and there are other
companies, absolutely and I meanany travel agent can book a
honeymoon, can plan a honeymoon.
It's just, it's not everybody'sforte and I would say, when you
are Looking for a professionalto plan a honeymoon specifically
, you should seek out ones thathave experience and that kind of
(13:50):
tote themselves as Honeymoonmanors or romance Okay, because
we kind of we look at it throughdifferent lens.
It's not just an epic trip,it's an, it's a really special
epic trip.
Yeah and we also know what toask of the hotel.
Yes, and we know you know howto kind of Finesse the trip.
(14:12):
So but there are absolutelyother professionals that can
plan exquisite honeymoon forsure.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Okay, so Explain to me.
You know like what havingsomeone like you alleviates as
far as like, like the workloador the research.
Imagine the costs.
Like yeah, I feel like I justneed to ask you to like spill it
.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Totally, and I'm so happy to, because, let me tell
you something, kelly and a lotof people think that travel
agents are from the past, andyou know I did.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Confess, I confess Totally.
This is why we do theseepisodes, because we don't know.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Exactly, and you know , it's our job, my job as the
next generation travel advisorto really Change the the Course
of the conversation and tellpeople that we are a thing of
today and actually more thanever, you need a travel advisor.
(15:20):
You can certainly do it on yourown.
I mean, I have some couplesthat love to research and they
know exactly which hotels theywant to stay, but they don't
want to have to put the piecestogether of how to get here to
here and what.
So a lot of times we are veryinteractive with our couples.
We're planning the triptogether.
(15:43):
Why want an epic trip?
But I want to go to SouthAmerica?
And then we just plan the wholething.
But it just depends on theperson.
But I'll break it down likethis and I am a planner,
obviously I plan honeymoons andI love to research and I Always
would plan my own trips prior toreally entering this industry
(16:05):
as a professional, and I did, ofcourse, plan my trips like a
travel advisor.
That's why I make a very goodone.
But I will say that it wasdifficult to know what Resources
were legit and what weren't,because Google is just like it's
a such a huge resource.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Google and I feel like Sorry told you, it's gonna
interrupt you.
I Feel like, like I like morerecently, like in the last year,
I've been like following moreinfluencers because I've been
traveling a little bit more andI, you know, I have to wonder
like how much of that is reallyreal and how much of that is
(16:47):
made to make it look that muchbetter.
You know, and it's coming atdifferent angles and they're
only gonna show you what theywant to show you and so, okay,
sorry, I had to put no, you'reabsolutely right now.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I was gonna actually touch on that because that's a
really important remark.
And first of all, google you.
If you Google what to do withthree days in Paris, you're
gonna get all kinds of stuffshow up and all types of
companies you know purporting tobe the best at the Food tour of
(17:22):
Paris.
You know there's so much outthere that it can be very
overwhelming, but also you maynot be going to the right place
for what you want to do.
Yeah, so working with aprofessional will really help to
drown out a lot of the noiseand we have direct connections
(17:42):
with local artisans, with localDestination specialists, so
we're not just looking onlineourselves for the best food tour
in Paris.
I call my contact who is inParis and I tell her I have a
couple that's coming and theywant to do in the Fantastic food
tour and they love chocolateand they love baguettes and we
(18:05):
want to put together somethingreally fantastic and they will
bring, you know, the, the pastrychef from the top hotel in
Paris to demonstrate somethinglive.
I mean, we really that's whatyou get when you work with a
professional is really insideraccess and knowledge.
Speaker 1 (18:28):
And so it's just kind of like hiring a wedding
planner.
It's all the reasons that youwould hire wedding planner
because you only know what youknow.
You don't know what you don'tknow and you, like you, can
easily Overspend.
You don't know how to cut costs, you don't know how long it's
gonna take to do something orwho the right experts are.
(18:48):
I could go.
I mean, I feel like you'reexactly me, except for you work
after me.
Well, you know what, probablywork in use and probably at the
same time.
But you know what I mean likethat's exactly we.
That's, I feel like that'sexactly what it is.
But okay, so I have to ask youdo you, do they pay, do people
(19:12):
pay you directly?
How does it?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
work.
Yes, good question so, and Iwant to just make a comment that
, yes, we're a parallel to you.
Okay, same reasons I hire you.
Obviously, you're planning anentire wedding, that's, you know
, a lot bigger of an event, butit's just like seeking out a
professional to find us.
Yeah, you have a fee, of course, but my god, I bet every single
(19:36):
couple is says that was thebest money I ever spent.
Wedding planner and.
Travel advisors, myself included, have fees as well, because, as
much as we love to do this, youknow we do need to make a
living.
You have fees, and I will saythe fees for a travel advisor,
(19:56):
because it's different Then,what a wedding planner does, and
wedding planners don't mentionwe do.
Travel advisors earn commissionon what we book.
So, oh, information foreverybody who doesn't know
anything about a travel companyor working with a travel advisor
we earn a commission on thehotels that we book.
(20:17):
It does not increase the pricethat a couple days.
So, okay, we see a price online.
They're gonna pay the sameprice if they book it through me
or if they book it direct.
In fact, sometimes, because wehave a lot of insider access, we
can actually get a better rate.
So, you know, depending.
Plus, we add a lot of perkslike free breakfast and upgrade,
(20:39):
you know, and then specialhoneymoon things when they check
in.
So, yes, they pay us a fee, butthat fee is that easily Just
taken care of as soon as we bookone hotel for them.
Okay and fees range.
Fees range between traveladvisors.
Some charge an hourly fee, somecharge a flat fee, which is
(21:04):
what we do based on the scope ofthe trip.
So I would say that you'll findtravel advisors that will
charge $250 per couple.
You'll find travel advisorsthat charge $5,000 per couple,
and that a lot of times dependson the scope of the trip.
We charge between 750 and$1,500, depending on the scope
(21:25):
of the trip.
So, okay, you know, I'm tendays in Europe, so it's closer
to the 750 to 1,000 mark.
If it's three weeks in Africa,then it's a $1,500 fee, and but
you're doing, like all thethings, like flights and hotel
(21:47):
Transportation.
We can do as much or as littleas the couple want, but
typically, so typically, ourcouples are their booking
flights with points because justa lot of times they've paid for
much of the one on their creditcard and so they've earned, you
know, a million points, and soa lot of times they'll book
(22:08):
flights on their, on theircredit card, you know.
However, they want to bookthrough points or through sorry,
they book flights throughpoints.
That's totally fine with us.
The only thing that we can'tfacilitate is Booking hotels
with points.
We don't facilitate that.
Yes, they'll have their flights.
Yeah, and so they'll book theirown flights and then, as soon as
(22:30):
they touch down In the airport,we will start providing every
single service throughout theirtrip.
So we can have and for mosthoneymoons I'd say about 75
percent of our honeymoons wehave somebody meet the couple at
the door of the plane and theytake them through immigration.
So they're saving like a ton oftime.
(22:51):
Yes, they're saving a ton oftime.
They have a dedicated assistantthat whisks them through while
they wave at the people waitingin the customs line and they get
to go all the way to the front.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So you guys can't see this, but my jaw just dropped
because I had no idea.
Like to me that right there isworth it, because the second you
leave this country it is likecustoms and lines and you don't
know what to pull up, where anddo I turn left or right, and
(23:23):
everything's written in adifferent language.
I feel like that is thescariest and most frustrating
part of travel to me.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
So that right there pays for the Totally, and it's
also your first experience whenyou land.
So I mean, what's better thanthat, having somebody?
Just?
There's nothing more specialfeeling than that, and I have
been with this for many, manyyears and I book that service
for myself when I travel, andeven though I do it 10 times a
year with that same service.
(23:55):
Every time I have an assistantpick me up from the door of the
airplane, I feel truly VIPbecause, yeah, there's nothing
more VIP than that and you'vegot a lot of people looking at
you like, oh my God, who is this?
Is this a celebrity?
Do I need?
Speaker 1 (24:10):
to take a picture.
I have big black glasses on.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Yes, yeah.
Because of the, the hiding undera hoodie, really, and you can't
.
Most of the time, a regularperson, if you will like, just a
, not a travel advisor cannotbook that service on their own.
We book it through our partnersin the country.
So many times that's not evenavailable for somebody to book
(24:35):
on their own, so that's alreadysomething that we can offer.
And then we, of course, takecare of them every step of the
way.
So, transportation, hotelactivities If we're going to a
destination like Africa Easternor Southern Africa, safari
requires charter flights andrequires complicated logistics.
(24:55):
We handle all of that.
So, truly, it is a white gloveservice.
And sometimes our couples arelike I don't want to touch this.
I'm busy thinking about thewedding, I'm busy working, you
do everything and we plan soupto nuts, the most amazing trip
within their budget constraints.
And sometimes our couples arelike I really like the planning
process, so I want to beinvolved in it, and you work
(25:17):
with them in tandem.
Hey, this is a safari lodgewe're going to book.
Take a look at some pictures.
Here's an alternative aroundthe same price point.
Take a look at some pictures.
What do you prefer?
So we'll go that way?
Oh, ok.
Lots of times they've seenthings from influencers on
Instagram.
So they say what about this?
And because we know we'll saywell, yeah, it looks beautiful
(25:39):
in pictures, but let me tell youthe real lowdown on what this
is.
Those influencers are beingpaid to deliver this message,
and from a professional, let metell you how the scoop on what
this really is.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
So yeah, the scoop is , they got BitBugs.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Exactly.
That's a good point.
That has a filter, yes.
So there are a lot of benefitsNot to knock doing it on your
own.
I think I find great joy inplanning travel, so I can
understand that others would too.
But it's great to have a guide.
(26:16):
You know somebody that's saying, yeah, this is great.
Or you know what, let's look atthe logistics of the itinerary.
Does it really work for whatyou want to do, location wise?
So let's, you know, let's thinkof something else.
And I can't tell you, kelly, howmany times a couple says I just
planned this honeymoon with, Ijust planned this wedding with
my wedding planner.
And you know we have 300 peopleand it's a four day event.
(26:38):
It was this huge, this hugeproduction and we just want to
lay on the beach and just chillout.
And they're like so we want togo to Greece and Greece is
beautiful.
But we explain to them whatGreece chill out on the beach
looks like, versus somewherelike French Polynesia where you
(27:00):
have Bora Bora or the Maldivesor some of the African islands
or the Caribbean.
So we get to tell them, hey, Ilove what you're thinking, but
if you really want to chill out,these are the destinations you
want to consider and obviouslyit's hard to get to.
Greece can be hard to get to,yeah, and the longest trips back
(27:21):
and forth I ever took.
Yeah, I mean, especially ifthere are no direct flights to
Athens, for sure that can be,you know, I mean.
That was a long trip.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
I'm glad I went, but I also, just like you said, I
didn't know.
When I went to Greece I lookedlike one picture and you know
like everyone thinks it's alljust like those white buildings,
like on a cliff, like lookingto blue water.
That was not all of Greece, noteven close.
It's like one island orsomething right.
But I also didn't realize liketheir beaches aren't all sand.
(27:56):
The one I went to, I don't knowif they're all like that, but
the one I was at, it was pebbles.
It was really cool, but I waslike I never seen anything like
it was like that is not a likerelax on the beach kind of place
.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Totally not exactly.
It's not where you go if youwant that like Soft white sand
yeah, it is water with thefruity drink brought to you, you
know yeah, that's not.
Greece service.
No, there are greatdestinations for that and Greece
is amazing.
But if you would be remiss togo to Greece without doing some
of the highlights of the historyyachting Wine, you know there's
(28:33):
so much more.
So I think that the knowledge,just like anything, hiring a
professional For a professionaljob is worth it, because there's
just so much more that you willget out of it as opposed to
trying to do it on your own backto you.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Don't know what you don't know, because you only
know what you've been exposed toand there's only so much
research.
Can I ask you a question so, doyou have you like gone to many
of the places yourself orsomeone on your team, or Just
like, and then some of theplaces that you said?
I think you said you have likerelationships with people who
(29:10):
really like, are there boots onthe ground?
Who can I say exactly like?
Like you got like?
What did they call them thatwith ci's?
What did in the like thecriminal tv shows where they
have the person that knowseverything?
Yes, what are those peoplecalled?
Speaker 2 (29:25):
ci, was it a detective or the.
It's like the air.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, it's like it's the person.
It was a criminal, it wasactually.
They were criminals turned um.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Oh, like undercover no.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Yeah, no, they used to be criminals but now they pay
them under, like the police paythem to give them information.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
Oh, I think that is undercover or I gotta watch more
of those shows.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I'm getting so off track here, but you have your
people there.
So so for most people like you,um, who provide this service,
have you been to most of theseplaces and experience most of
them and have all that insiderknowledge like let me tell you,
like, what it actually is, andoh, I've had the pizza at this
(30:14):
place and that kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, great question.
So, yes, and you'll find this,with all good travel advisors,
we are extremely well traveled,um, so we travel All the time.
I mean two weeks out of themonth typically.
Um, oh, wow, not everybody, butthat's how our team travels.
So, yes, we have gone, noteverywhere, um, I have a team
(30:38):
that works with me.
I have a team of five, um, Ihave one stationed in portugal,
so she's traveling throughouteurope all the time, and it's
not only to go and experience,um, the destination, but also,
especially post-covid, thingschange, hotels change.
Oh, it used to be the best inthe destination Is probably not
(31:03):
the best in the destination fiveyears later.
So, you know, you could workwith a travel advisor who has,
you know, 10 year in theindustry and has been doing this
for 40 years, but if theyhadn't been to the destination
the last five years, you know,then you so much could change.
Yeah, so much could have changed.
And obviously we are people sowe can't go everywhere, but in
(31:27):
every single destination that weplan we have boots on the
ground.
And they're not employed by mycompany.
They are independent companiesthat work with Select travel
advisors all over the world, sothey are our Vendors, if you
will.
But they are not direct toconsumers, so a person couldn't
(31:48):
find them and start to plan atrip with them.
Got it only work with thetravel trade and then, through
us, you know, of course offerthe service to our clients.
But another, and I think one ofthe biggest reasons to work with
a travel professional isbecause when you are in travel,
we have a local phone numberAvailable for you 24 hours a day
(32:09):
.
So if you are in Italy and youfind yourself in a big pickle
because you took a wrong left oryou know whatever, you have a
medical emergency, god forbid oryou know something, you need
something immediately, there isa local number that you call 24
hours a day.
We also give you a number thatyou could correspond with via
(32:31):
whatsapp.
That is local.
Of course, they also haveaccess to our team, but, being
there, it feels good to have anumber that is also there that
they could call in case of aneed.
Um, so we provide that to you.
So you're not like, oh my god,who do I call?
What do I do?
I need to cancel the rest of mytrip, like, how do I put that
(32:52):
into motion?
Oh my god, I need to do thatall myself now.
No, we have that done for youand I will say that's so nice.
Yeah, and I'll just from peaceof mind.
Exactly, yeah, and during covetI think the use of travel
advisors Is probably quadrupled.
I think people are starting touse us more and more and more
(33:13):
because During covet it was areal it was so difficult to
change plans Um, try and getrefunds and try and postpone and
all of these things Was was sodifficult without an advocate,
and a travel advisor is youradvocate.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
So I never looked at that way.
Yeah, you said that and putthat word there.
Yeah, just like you guys,you're the advocate of your
client so yeah, exactly, I usethat word all the time because
it's exactly that.
I feel like I have learned somuch in half an hour, like I
(33:54):
mean I don't think I realized, Idon't think it's Okay, but
really my favorite part was likethe like getting greeted at the
airport.
Yeah I, I mean, it's yourhoneymoon.
It's like it should feel thatspecial, you know, and I feel
like this is easy.
But I do want to ask one otherquestion.
Do you think, do you know?
(34:15):
I should say, do you know, isit most often that people in the
end will save money with usingyour service, or do you find
it's more that You're notnecessarily saving money but the
value in what you get is justexponentially more?
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Great question and it depends how I hate to do this,
but it depends how you Considersaving money.
So, overall, yes, the value ismuch better than if they did on
their own.
So in that sense, they'resaving money because they're
saving time and they're saving,and they're saving what you know
, a trip that we plan to SouthAfrica is going to be a better
(34:55):
value than they can planthemselves, because we also Work
with partners who havecontracted rates.
So a lot of times those arebetter than the rates that
anybody is going to get on theirown.
So, yes, in that sense,definitely.
But I will say that a lot oftimes, because we know
destinations, a couple will cometo us and say I want to spend,
I'm just going to throw out anumber 30,000 dollars for two
(35:17):
weeks and I want to do a safariIn southern Africa.
I want to go to Cape Town, Iwant to go drink wine, and then
I want to go on safari, andwe'll say, great, um, we'll
start planning the trip and wewill let them know at which
parts they may want to splurge alittle bit, because it's an
experience that's worth Sporgingon and a lot of times, just
(35:38):
like a wedding, they will end upover their budget by choice,
because they have decided toQuote-unquote, upgrade or
splurge on something that'sreally extraordinary, like a
Helicopter to the top of themountain for a private gin
tasting.
Um, that's something that we doa lot in Cape Town, which is
(35:58):
amazing, and so that's a reallyspecial experience.
They'll splurge on that, sothey may go over the budget a
little bit, but, yeah, it's mychoice and always a great value.
I will say that 100.
Find yourself a travel advisorthat can plan epic honeymoons,
because, yes, there may be anupfront fee, but it is always
well it sounds like it pays foritself to me, like, like I just
(36:23):
want to go in lots of honeymoonsnow.
Speaker 1 (36:25):
I need to book some more weddings.
But, um, even just for thoselittle things, like those
excursions and and like, I feellike you could never find the
quality, is my guess that youguys have available to you like
that In the amount of time Ijust can't even imagine, is it
(36:49):
so?
You said $30,000, is that howmuch is the safari cost?
Cause I don't even know.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
That you know.
It really depends because thereis no cost really, and that's
also a misconception about anAfrican safari.
A lot of people think you needto have a huge budget to do
African safari.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
Yeah, I definitely did.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
That's not necessarily true.
You can do a safari, you know,with being more budget conscious
.
We don't plan every level ofsafari because our connections
and relationships really are atthe high end, but I would say
that you know you need I wouldsay you need at least $1,000 per
(37:26):
person per day If you want toconsider it that way.
So like that's a smart way tolook at it, yeah, and that would
get you in.
But also to understand thatwhen you're on safari, at the
safari lodges, everything isincluded, so all of your meals,
all of your alcohol, all of thegame drive.
So sometimes it can be asticker shock when you're doing
(37:49):
something in Africa becauseyou're like, oh, you know that's
a, but if you consider all thatyou're saving by not spending
on food and alcohol it'sactually it's a pretty good
value.
Speaker 1 (38:00):
Yeah, because, like, if you go to Paris, you know you
got to pay for your tickets togo on the Eiffel Tower, you got
to go pay for every class of oneyou have, you have to pay for
your train to get from here tothere, so those little things
add up and you don't see it.
Like when you're planning ityourself, you don't see just the
bottom line, do you?
I'm sorry we're going like wayover 30 minutes here, but I have
(38:22):
so many questions.
So when someone comes to you,should they come with anything
like prepared for you?
Like, should they come and saywe have blank amount of dollars
and we want to be somewhere PG,or we have blank amount of
dollars and we want to gosomewhere cold and we, but we
(38:44):
don't like to ski, but we wantto be outside, like, is that how
it goes?
Speaker 2 (38:50):
So the more information, of course, the
better.
But we can pull out a lot ofinformation on our initial
discovery calls.
So we always have a first callwith a couple.
It's usually about 30 minuteslong and we ask them a lot of
questions about themselves,about their travel style.
Where have they been in theworld?
That's been their favoriteexperience?
What hotel have they stayed in?
(39:11):
That's been their favoriteexperience?
The more information theyalready have is great With.
Some couples say oh, Iabsolutely know, I want to go to
Bora Bora for one week and I'mgoing right after the wedding
and I want to stay at the FourSeasons.
And it's very, you know,straightforward, and we book it
for them and we add all kinds ofperks.
And it's amazing Could theyhave booked that online, because
(39:33):
it was only a resort that theywere booking?
Yeah, they could have, but weprovide a lot of value in all of
the perks that we had upgradesand things like that.
And also they have us to touchbase with.
Oh, my gosh, my flight wascanceled.
Oh, the boat, the weather, blah, blah, blah.
We're there for them.
So the more information thebetter, but we really can pull
that out.
(39:53):
I would say, the most importantthings to come to a
conversation about the honeymoonwith would be budget.
I can't tell you how many timeswe have a call with a couple and
they're like well, I don't knowhow much does it cost.
And just like if they asked youhow much a wedding costs, there
are so many variables there'sno way that we can give you that
answer.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yeah, so when I talk to clients the very first phone
call I say tell me what you'recomfortable with spending and
tell me what you the maximum isthat you can spend.
So I know really where we'resitting and the students are
like oh okay, so I understandthere's flexibility there, but
give me those two numbers andopen the doors for that.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Yeah, and we need that too.
And totally fair that peopledon't know how much it costs.
Because how would they if it'sthe first wedding, the first
honeymoon they're planning?
They don't know how much thingscost.
We're there to guide them.
But if they want to go on anepic three week trip to
Australia and New Zealand, wecan tell them right off the bat
(40:59):
if they're working with a budgetthat's too low.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
So that's why it's really that's so good.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Yeah, it's really important to know a budget, to
have discussed that with theirpartner, their families,
whoever's putting the bill forour call.
Dates are also really important.
So dates are going to informhow much things cost.
So there's a high season andthere's a low season For every
location, yes.
And then there's a shoulderseason.
(41:24):
We in our industry call it ashoulder season.
It just basically meansmid-season.
So dates are super important.
If they know they want to go toX destination and they don't
care when it is, that's easy.
We'll just let them know thebest times to go.
But if they don't know wherethey want to go and they don't
have any preference of when theywant to go, that's when we
(41:47):
really need to work together tonarrow down dates that much.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Do you also provide the service of being the expert,
meaning that, like when someonecalls me and they're explaining
what they want, I'm hearingwhat they're saying and they
think they know what they want,but I know what they really want
.
And not that I'm trying to bebossy, I am a little bit bossy
(42:13):
but, like the example you said,they want to go to Bora Bora,
they want to go and save thefour seasons, but you and your
head, as you're asking themquestions, are thinking of a
different place.
Do you say, okay, you know that, you told me this, but can I
give you another option thatmaybe you want to consider, that
maybe you don't even know about, that you haven't been exposed
(42:35):
to?
Do you do that early on to like, like, give them the option
Because, again, I go back to you, you don't know what you don't
know.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
One million percent and, like I mentioned about
Greece before, we've had couplesthat say I just want to lay out
on the beach, so we want to goto Greece.
Like, I know that that's notGreece, so let's talk about
other destinations.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:56):
We definitely will help.
It's such an educationalprocess.
So we absolutely help toeducate on destinations.
And if they say, well, I thinkBora Bora is where I want to go,
because I want white sandybeaches and I want overwater
bungalow and I want an island,and so it's Bora Bora, we don't
(43:18):
just say, great, we'll book youin Bora Bora, we will also
introduce other options becauseat the end of the day, we want
the couple to be in the bestdestination for what they do.
So we'll say well, you know,the Maldives also has overwater
bungalows, also has white,creamy sand and beautiful water,
and there's a lot more resortsin the Maldives, and so we'll
(43:39):
discuss different options thatmake sense for what they want.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
This has been the most enlightening episode, I
think, where I got the mosteducation out of it, even if
it's just for myself so happy.
And even just that you said,Pamela, about changing the
mindset behind travel agents oradvisors, because, yeah, back
(44:06):
when I was a kid that was thedeal.
But then the internet camealong and everyone just never
mind, we just book everythingonline.
And then the influencers came inand like we're gonna tell you
where to go.
And now I'm feeling like, oh,we definitely need to be leaning
into the humans and not chatGPT to be setting up your entire
(44:27):
that whole mess.
I'm sorry, like I love AI, butI'm not gonna have that plan by
any moon or any of the largevacation.
Speaker 2 (44:38):
Totally, and we have actually had very high end
clients give us an itineraryfrom chat GPT and say I wanna do
this, can you book everything?
And I'm not gonna lie, theitinerary looked pretty good,
but there were major holes inthe actual area.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
So, definitely.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
Can you get great ideas from AI?
Can you get great ideas fromInstagram?
Absolutely, but having aprofessional to really help with
the human part of it.
And AI didn't taste the food atthis restaurant and this is
where it is vegan, so why wouldyou trust their steak and crete
(45:15):
suggestion, you know like all ofthose things really play a role
in it.
So, yeah, you cannot take thehuman out of this business, just
like what's happening.
You just can't take the humanout of it.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Pamela, thank you so much.
This is.
You have to come back.
I've already signed your.
I forged your signature on thedotted line going Thank you.
We are gonna talk about thesefour things because there's so
much travel around weddings, soI really appreciate it and I'm
very excited for those episodesLike they're like my wheels are
(45:49):
spinning in my head.
I really appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
I appreciate you telling me.
Oh, my God, what an honor to beinvited.
I just love chatting with youalways, and this was so fun.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (46:02):
You're welcome.
I'm so glad to be able to sharemy wedding experiences and
expertise with you, and that myco-hosts are so giving it theirs
.
We truly do want you to havethe best time at your wedding,
and our hope is that thispodcast is helping you to make
your engagement time whileplanning your wedding that much
easier.
(46:22):
May I ask a favor of you?
If this is the case, would youjust take a moment to leave a
review of this podcast on yourlistening platform?
It helps people just like youto find the podcast and to also
find out their answers so theycan make decisions.
I would also absolutely lovefor you to give this versus that
(46:43):
podcast a shout out on yoursocial media.
You can find us at this versusthat wedding podcast on
Instagram, and if you would likeme to help you with a specific
question, a wedding decision,please by all means ask.
Send me a DM.
I would love to hear from youand maybe, just maybe even have
(47:04):
you as a wedding cast on afuture episode.
How fun.
Here's to another great wedding.
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