The one condition
How to Book a Vacation Package Through This Agency
Most trips on this sheet carry a condition: they need a minimum number of travelers, and an operator declares on a fixed date whether that minimum was reached. This page is that condition, from the words to the money.
The four words that matter
- Minimum
- the number of travelers an operator needs before it will run a departure. Usually between six and ten on the trips here, and always in writing before you pay
- Decision date
- the day the operator declares yes or no. Between forty five and ninety days out, depending on how early it must ticket internal flights or release rooms
- Guaranteed
- the operator has already declared yes and is contractually committed. The date is settled and its cancellation terms harden in exchange
- Shortfall
- the minimum was not reached. The operator refunds every cent paid to it, in full, and offers a nearby date
What a shortfall does and does not return
| What you paid | Who holds it | Does a shortfall return it |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit to the operator | the operator | Yes, in full, without argument. This is the one clean part |
| Balance to the operator | the operator | Yes, in full |
| Any fee from this agency | nobody, there is none | Not applicable |
| Your airfare, if you bought it early | the airline | No. The operator never sold it and owes nothing for it. This is the entire risk of the bottom two tiers |
| Travel insurance premium | the insurer | Usually not, though some policies cover operator cancellation. Read the certificate |
What this office does about it
- At enquiry
- tells you the tier, the minimum, and how that specific date has historically performed. A thin record is stated as a thin record
- At deposit
- puts the decision date in your document in bold, and quotes the flight as a separate line rather than inside the package
- Before the decision date
- advises against a non-refundable airfare, out loud, in writing. On the bottom tier it says so twice
- On the day
- forwards the operator's declaration the day it arrives, either way
- On a shortfall
- claims your refund from the operator, offers the nearest date that is already guaranteed, and does not charge for any of it
The sequence
| Step | What happens | Is the departure certain yet |
|---|---|---|
| You write | one or two lines. A month, roughly who, roughly what | No trip exists |
| We ask back | two questions: how firm the dates are, and a figure not to pass | No |
| We price | two or three trips, usually across different tiers, each with its record stated | No |
| You choose | or you do not. Both are ordinary endings | No |
| Deposit | your place is held with the operator | Only if the tier says guaranteed |
| Decision date | the operator declares | Yes or no, and you are told the same day |
| Confirmation | one document, every address and time in day order | Yes |
Who takes the money
Payment goes to the operator and never to this desk. Each takes its own money on its own timetable, and it is their name that appears on your statement.
What this office charges
Not a cent, on any trip, at any tier. Payment reaches it as commission from the operators' margin, once travel has happened and not otherwise. The obvious objection is that a commission rewards booking rather than advising, and the answer is on this page: the advice that costs this office the most is the advice to wait before buying a flight, and it is printed on every conditional trip.