Talk to a trip planner to design your next vacation

Who are human trip planners

Trip planners are individuals who support future travelers in designing itineraries and vacations. Human trip planners are often avid travelers and have a deep passion for sharing their experiences and advice with others. This experience is further enhanced when especially if they are locals staying in these destinations. Holicay helps connect you to human trip planners for no fee and they can support you with designing and organizing your next vacation through an online video call or messenger platform.

Why human trip planners are still important today

As technology continues to shape the landscape of travel planning, the significance of human trip planners becomes even more pronounced, particularly when organizing group vacations. Coordinating the needs and preferences of multiple individuals within a group setting requires a level of personalization, adaptability, and expertise that algorithms and automated systems struggle to provide. Here's why human trip planners remain indispensable for planning seamless group vacations and how their unique skills can shape the future of group travel.

1. Navigating diverse preferences and expectations:

Group vacations often involve individuals with diverse interests, ages, and preferences. Human trip planners excel in understanding the dynamics of group travel, taking the time to cater to the specific needs of each participant. Whether it's balancing the desire for adventure with the need for relaxation, or accommodating different budget constraints, human trip planners can craft itineraries that strike a harmonious balance, ensuring everyone in the group feels valued and satisfied. On Holicay, you may choose to book a 15- 30minutes session with a local travel expert where our experts will understand the requirements for your trip. Our experts consist of frequent travelers and are stationed all around the world covering over 20+ cities globally. 

Experts understand the difficulty of planning a trip, especially for larger groups. Coupled with the fact that many have limited time for managing trip research and logistics, it can be a dreading task for time-sensitive travelers, especially for working-class parents. In the online video call, Holicay travel experts will recommend and plan the trips with you on the Holicay online itinerary planner where you can visualize and edit the trip alongside the travel expert. You may also choose to invite your family or people going on the trip to be part of the entire experience to make them part of the entire planning process. 

After the video call, you may continue to engage their help with trip planning via the Holicay Web App or via email depending on your preference. Depending on your expert's availability, they might also be able to help you during your actual travel dates.

2. Save money on trip bookings:

Human planners are more often than not, frequent travelers themselves. Our research shows that travel agents can bring you savings of 5-10% and depending on the total value of the transaction that you have with them. Human planners double as travel agents and can help you structure holiday bundles that have greater cost savings due to economies of scale or through various other commission business models worked out directly with the suppliers. In these cases, the more people that book a trip, the cheaper the cost per person as the fixed cost of the trip is distributed across more people.

Most online travel agencies however, don't share this advantage with consumers. If you have realized, when you making bookings with Agoda or Booking.com, you don't get discounts for larger volume bookings, however suppliers can provide these discounts. Holicay specializes with group bookings and helps users save money and time through better trip structuring. Our product lets users choose and select a range of travel services such as hotel bookings, car rentals, private drivers, and more. Our platform automatically detects the trip services that you require and informs you of potential cost savings when you can bring more people on the trip. Unlike other online travel agencies, Holicay sells entire destination trip logistics and makes revenue from multiple suppliers, allowing Holicay to lower its supplier commissions and share that cost-savings with you.

As such, when you travel with 2 or more people, you get significant cost savings of up to 15% off the original price per person depending on the destinations and services you have chosen. 

3. Personalized Group experiences:

While algorithms can suggest popular attractions, human trip planners bring a personal touch to group vacation planning. They can curate experiences that resonate with the unique characteristics of the group, ensuring that the itinerary goes beyond standard tourist fare. Whether it's arranging exclusive tours, group-friendly activities, or private dining experiences, human trip planners inject a level of creativity that transforms a group vacation into a memorable and tailored adventure.

Our Team at Holicay understands that trip planning can sometimes be easier by talking directly to someone who has had similar experiences. Holicay's travel experts aim to provide a personalized take to travel planning by truly understanding the requirements of your trip and visualizing what a successful vacation looks like for the group. This will be done through a series of questionnaires that you'll fill up before meeting your travel expert. This is so the Holicay team can best assign someone who can cater to your vacation needs. 

4. Group Accommodations can be tricky

Finding suitable accommodations for a group involves more than just securing multiple rooms. Human trip planners can navigate the intricacies of group bookings, negotiate deals, and identify accommodations that cater to the specific needs of the group, such as meeting spaces, interconnected rooms, or communal areas for group gatherings. This personalized approach ensures that the accommodation aligns with the group's dynamics, enhancing the overall experience.

Leave the hassle of managing trip logistics to Holicay and your trip planners. Holicay's online itinerary builder helps consolidate all logistics into a single portal, helping you and your trip planner visualize the necessary logistics required to make your vacation a success. During your online 30-minute online consultation with the trip planner, we will support you by indicating this information before Generating a Price and ensure you're well-supported to make your trip emorable. This is done through Holicay's Generate Price function on the Holicay online itinerary CANVAS, you will then receive an all-in price where you can buy all trip logistics on Holicay.

5. Trip logistics a nightmare for large group bookings:

Coordinating transportation, activities, and logistics for a large group can be a logistical challenge. Human trip planners bring their expertise to the table, ensuring that transportation options can accommodate the entire group and recommending activities that cater to different interests and energy levels. Their attention to detail minimizes the potential for logistical hiccups, allowing group travelers to focus on enjoying the experience rather than worrying about the details.

Holicay trip experts travel arrangements hassle-free with their in-destination knowledge and expertise. We will make recommendations for where to stay, which transports to use, or even the best places to eat. While AI is improving at making these recommendations, nothing beats hearing from someone who has been there and done that. 

6. Adaptability to Changing Group Dynamics:

Group dynamics can change throughout a trip due to unforeseen circumstances or individual preferences. Human trip planners, with their adaptability and problem-solving skills, can adjust itineraries in real time. Whether it's accommodating a last-minute addition to the group, adjusting plans due to weather conditions, or addressing individual concerns, human trip planners can navigate these changes seamlessly, ensuring the group vacation stays on course.

In today's setting, most parts of trip logistics are booked on multiple travel platforms and they are all interdependent on one another. In the event that the hotel provider didn't receive your booking, you might need to contact the agency that you have bought from directly and liaise with any other affected logistics provider down the line all by yourself. When booking all-in vacations on Holicay, you are supported by a single point of contact at any point throughout the trip, ensuring that you will have peace of mind if anything in the itinerary crops up. 

7. Stress Reduction for Group Leaders:

For group leaders tasked with organizing the trip, the support of a human trip planner can be invaluable. Human trip planners take on the responsibility of handling logistics, making reservations, and addressing unexpected issues. This not only reduces the stress on group leaders but also allows them to participate fully in the group experience. The expertise of human trip planners acts as a safety net, ensuring that the group vacation runs smoothly from start to finish.

Having a human co-planner for the vacation makes planning much easier. This will take the responsibility off you as the group leader and allow you to enjoy the vacation as a participant rather than as an organizer.

In conclusion

Human trip planners are especially helpful in supporting trip designs and travel logistics. With the wealth of knowledge and travel experience, you will be able to benefit from the personalized recommendations, on-trip support and more importantly local insider tips for your next vacation.

Find out more about how you can contact a human trip planner today.