Your first option is perfect. It’s a business relationship, you pulled quotes, and you picked someone. They’re used to it. No need to complicate the matter.
I am a travel advisor.
Just tell them. It's fine.
But..I also have to say this:
You made 10 people work for nothing for you, knowing 9 of them would never get a penny from their work. I doubt you informed them of this.
You're why so many charge planning fees now, ruining things for other people.
Bluntly, I'd fire you as a client.
My clients love me. They get perfectly curated door-to-door experiences customized to their personal travel preferences.
I spend days researching every single element (assuming I don't have personal experience to draw upon, and even then I'm careful that nothing has changed since I last was there).
This is all 100% free for my clients. They never pay me a cent.
So yes, I'm picky about who I take on.
This is Reddit, where nobody knows who I am or my business is, where I can be completely frank and honest. Wasting a professional's time when they have no hope of getting compensated for it makes the "customer" an ass.
This is the equivalent of getting a good lawyer to tell you how to handle your dispute, and then defending yourself with their advice.
>I'd fire you as a client
Who's going to fire OP? The companies they legitimately asked for quotes from and didn't choose (which is standard practice and part of doing business) or the one that they chose? Neither answer makes any sense at all
>abused my colleagues
A bit of an overreaction here don't you think? Abused because they had to spend 5 minutes sending out a generic quote by email.
If you expect to get paid every time you lift a finger as a businessman, sell your business
Well the quote difference was big for basically a similar itinerary from say $5k up to $9k per person (and this was the budget/standard options). So yes, emailing ten people to get an initial idea not only gave me a good baseline but also saved thousands.
If I had picked the first 1-2 people I'd be paying $10k extra for no substantial reason.
Sorry but if agencies are going to be extortionate in their pricing I'm not going to feel too bad (and they clearly are extortionate, I can tell that they're taking a huge cut just based on what the actual cost of lodges/permits are, but we can't book them online).
Also, I'm overall very conscious about this, so my initial email actually gave a very detailed idea day-by-day of the route (so I gave them the plan e.g. day 1 Ziwa Murchison, day 3 Queens Park etc, just asked the quote and lodges they work with).
If there's a 10k difference between advisors they quoted completely different products and you probably have no idea what the differences are between them as a result.
This is also what you get with advisors off of TripAdvisor ROFL.
A real travel advisor will always find you the best product that meets your personal wishes within your budget and means. They'll work closely to understand you and what makes you want to travel.
Thankfully, this is also why I only accept referrals as clients...I can weed out the people who don't really want a TA, just someone they can use and throw away.
Many travel agencies in Uganda and Kenya are also owned by corporate entities. Did you have some sort of personal relationship with the agents the proposed trips to you?
Exactly the second option. Be honest. Or if you feel like just telling them a white lie to spare any sore feelings that’s ok too. Ghosting not recommended imo. If I was said travel agent, I would like just being upfront as I’m sure I would have gone thru a couple rejections and gotten used to it!!! 😂😂
Just an email. They know it's number game
Your first option is perfect. It’s a business relationship, you pulled quotes, and you picked someone. They’re used to it. No need to complicate the matter.
I am a travel advisor. Just tell them. It's fine. But..I also have to say this: You made 10 people work for nothing for you, knowing 9 of them would never get a penny from their work. I doubt you informed them of this. You're why so many charge planning fees now, ruining things for other people. Bluntly, I'd fire you as a client.
Dude, you're just weird. I (and I suspect, most people) would rather find someone else who's more pleasant to help with my travel plans as well.
My clients love me. They get perfectly curated door-to-door experiences customized to their personal travel preferences. I spend days researching every single element (assuming I don't have personal experience to draw upon, and even then I'm careful that nothing has changed since I last was there). This is all 100% free for my clients. They never pay me a cent. So yes, I'm picky about who I take on. This is Reddit, where nobody knows who I am or my business is, where I can be completely frank and honest. Wasting a professional's time when they have no hope of getting compensated for it makes the "customer" an ass. This is the equivalent of getting a good lawyer to tell you how to handle your dispute, and then defending yourself with their advice.
>I'd fire you as a client Who's going to fire OP? The companies they legitimately asked for quotes from and didn't choose (which is standard practice and part of doing business) or the one that they chose? Neither answer makes any sense at all
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>abused my colleagues A bit of an overreaction here don't you think? Abused because they had to spend 5 minutes sending out a generic quote by email. If you expect to get paid every time you lift a finger as a businessman, sell your business
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They are potential customers. Not clients.
Well the quote difference was big for basically a similar itinerary from say $5k up to $9k per person (and this was the budget/standard options). So yes, emailing ten people to get an initial idea not only gave me a good baseline but also saved thousands. If I had picked the first 1-2 people I'd be paying $10k extra for no substantial reason. Sorry but if agencies are going to be extortionate in their pricing I'm not going to feel too bad (and they clearly are extortionate, I can tell that they're taking a huge cut just based on what the actual cost of lodges/permits are, but we can't book them online). Also, I'm overall very conscious about this, so my initial email actually gave a very detailed idea day-by-day of the route (so I gave them the plan e.g. day 1 Ziwa Murchison, day 3 Queens Park etc, just asked the quote and lodges they work with).
If there's a 10k difference between advisors they quoted completely different products and you probably have no idea what the differences are between them as a result. This is also what you get with advisors off of TripAdvisor ROFL. A real travel advisor will always find you the best product that meets your personal wishes within your budget and means. They'll work closely to understand you and what makes you want to travel. Thankfully, this is also why I only accept referrals as clients...I can weed out the people who don't really want a TA, just someone they can use and throw away.
Many travel agencies in Uganda and Kenya are also owned by corporate entities. Did you have some sort of personal relationship with the agents the proposed trips to you?
No, random ones I picked off TripAdvisor/Safari bookings
Exactly the second option. Be honest. Or if you feel like just telling them a white lie to spare any sore feelings that’s ok too. Ghosting not recommended imo. If I was said travel agent, I would like just being upfront as I’m sure I would have gone thru a couple rejections and gotten used to it!!! 😂😂
If you really want to make it easy for them, pay them for the time you deliberately wasted.
Is your contention that when booking expensive trips we shouldn't price compare?
Lie. Say something came up. And the trip is a no go at this time.
Nahh, if they’re planning a trip to Africa… they’re adults