What is an independent travel planner? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, then you’re in the right place.

This blog post, written by l’oie, will explain everything about the job.

Well yes, you may have never heard of this job, just as you had never heard of the job of wedding planner 15 years ago. And yet, today wedding planners are legion and we don’t hesitate to call on them to plan and organize our wedding.

So why don’t you take the step of calling on a travel planner for your next trip???

Let’s go…

To find out more about the backstage and news of my company but also to receive advice, recommendations and inspiration to organize your next vacation or your next trip to perpète lès oies, subscribe to the l’oie newsletter!

Definition of travel planner

This is a person who works as a personalized and tailor-made travel advisor and planner.

He is there to guide you, advise you and support you throughout the process of researching, organizing and structuring your trip.

However, his role is not limited to travel, he can advise you on your vacation, a weekend or even a single day of getaway. He can also offer you à la carte research.

Where can you find a travel planner?

On online platforms

Some depend on large platforms like Vialala or Malt. You will find these on the respective websites of these platforms. They are paid by the platform and do not have total independence. There is a commission and return system.

On social networks:

These are individual entrepreneurs. Perpète lès oies-Travel Planner is one of them. They are mainly present on the social networks Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Linkedin. Some also have a website.

They work completely independently and on their own account. There is no commission system or obligation of performance.

With these entrepreneurs, you will really have a tailor-made formula.

Unlike a travel agency, you will not find a “ready-made” circuit to choose from a brochure.

The prices of research and organization are also often cheaper than platforms and agencies.

The missions of the travel planner

Advise and listen:

The travel planner is there above all to advise you and help you organize your trip. For example, he can advise you on a destination and validate your budget. He listens to each of your needs to adapt as best as possible and create your trip from A to Z. That’s 100% tailor-made!

Search:

Structuring and planning your vacation is very time-consuming. You also pay a travel planner to do these tedious tasks for you.

Adapt:

The travel planner also adapts to your desires and your budget. So the goose, for example, searches for you the means of transport, accommodation, possible public transport, visits, activities to do on site, good deals…

Everything is built from A to Z. The DNA of a travel planner is that too!

Communicate:

However, as an independent, a travel planner does not have the status of a travel agent. He cannot therefore book and pay for you. You then receive all the booking links associated with the searches to validate the services of your choice.

Which means that we stay in constant contact and we talk together.

Plan, structure and organize:

Once all the bookings have been made, the travel planner plans and structures your project so that your trip can come to fruition in the best possible conditions and always according to your wishes.

Create

Before your departure, if you have requested it, the travel planner will create a personalized travel diary for you. It includes the important points of your trip (itinerary, reservations, good deals, recommendations, tips, etc.).

Each diary is different and adapted to the client. This diary serves as a road book during the trip and as a souvenir afterwards.

How to recognize a serious and professional travel planner?

With social networks, we can be afraid of being scammed by someone who is not serious and we often hesitate to invest in organizing our trip without being sure of the result behind it. This is normal, so here are some points to check to help you in your decision.

Registration:

The travel planner must be a registered entrepreneur (have a siren number).

You will find the registration of perpetelesoies_travelplanner here.

General conditions of sale (GTC):

The travel planner must have legally validated general conditions of sale. They protect the entrepreneur and the client and set the rules of the contract and the commercial relationship.

Mediation:

A mediation service is mandatory when selling a service to individuals. It must be offered to the customer in the event of a dispute.

L’oie has subscribed to a mediation structure that you can find here: perpetelesoies.com

Professional civil liability (RC Pro):

It serves to protect the professional and the client.

– Bad advice from the professional (e.g. a disabled person who finds themselves in an unsuitable destination) = client protected.

– A material accident: a client comes to collect their travel diary from the professional’s office and accidentally drops their computer = professional protected.

– A bodily accident: a client misses the step when arriving at the professional’s and twists their ankle = client protected.

L’oie is a member of a RC Pro with Chapka insurance. You can find the RC Pro contract in my T&Cs.

Process and payment methods:

The travel planner must offer you clear procedures mentioned in these T&Cs as well as legal and secure payment methods.

Legal notices:

As soon as the travel planner has a website, it must have legal notices to protect the customer (GDPR, etc.).

You can find those of the goose here.

Certified quotes and invoices:

The travel planner must offer you certified documents to sign as soon as you decide to work with him.

Insurance:

This point is not an obligation, however, a travel planner who is a partner of travel insurance is better.

As a customer, it gives you an alternative and in the end, it is you who chooses with full knowledge of the facts whether to insure your trip or not.

Reviews:

Do not hesitate to consult the Google reviews, but also the reviews available on the social networks of the travel planner you decide to contact.

Here are the Google reviews of the goose here.

Training:

Check out the travel planner’s professional profile, for example, on their Linkedin account. You can check their career path and find out if they have trained for the job.

Unfortunately, many people usesent encore les réseaux sociaux à mauvais escient et sans avoir suivi une formation préalable.

How do you become a travel planner?

The profession of travel planner is still little known and not very widespread. If this profession can make you dream and is often a passion profession, it is nonetheless a profession like any other. Behind the glitter of travel, there are many things to learn and manage to practice the profession.

We are entrepreneurs like the others who must manage everything on a daily basis.

Manage your accounting, your communication, your social networks, feed and update your website, prospect, blog. But also, be comfortable with the telephone tool for customer calls, have a great sense of organization, anticipate, create content, like working alone almost all the time, manage stress, create a network …

And stop with preconceived ideas! We do not travel permanently, because we are not travel influencers. The two professions are different, but can be complementary. All this can be learned and cannot be improvised.

Skills assessment:

If you are already in the world of work, in my opinion, it is essential to do a skills assessment to know if you are made for this job.

For its part, the goose worked for 20 years in mobile telephony before retraining. I followed the Bloom’r skills assessment which I found excellent and which perfectly helped me find my new career path.

Pôle-emploi schemes:

If you are registered as unemployed, Pôle-emploi offers different schemes to learn the basics and concepts of self-employment.

These schemes are mostly free and some more advanced training courses may be paid for, but can be financed. Everyone must find out according to their own circumstances.

There are schemes specific to Pôle-emploi, others from chambers of commerce and industry and still others from BGE (boutiques de gestion ensemble pour agir).

The goose was also directed to the BGE Touraine by its employment center. Thus, I was able to follow various free workshops on the concept of business and business creation.

You might as well take advantage of it if you are entitled to it and if it is free!

Travel planner training:

Let’s be clear right away, today (in November 2022) there is no certified and state-funded travel planner training on the market. It is a profession that is still in its infancy, which has no laws and where everyone does more or less what they want and how they want.

This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

For its part, the goose followed the first travel planner training in France created by a former travel agent.

This is the esevoyage training. This training is paid for and cannot be financed by the CPF system.

You will therefore have to invest to follow it. Nevertheless, it is an excellent training that will teach you the basics of the profession and what revolves around it and will give you a good knowledge of the market.

The business creation and management training:

Training in the profession is one thing, but training to become an entrepreneur is another. Creating your own business cannot be improvised and is not innate.

Studying your market, your target, determining your offers, finding the right price, having basic legal knowledge, knowing how to do accounting (even simplified)…

The goose has therefore decided by choice to follow the Moodentrepreneurs training. Here too, this training is paid for and is not covered by the CPF system.

Which means a new investment if you make this choice. But I think it remains essential for anyone wishing to embark on the adventure.

The article is coming to an end. I hope I have taught you more about this wonderful profession.

Everything remains to be done so that this profession is better valued, known and recognized.

If you have any questions about my job, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment, I will be happy to answer them.

Also, if this article has made you want to take action and call on the services of the goose to organize your next vacation or your next trip, you can find my offers here and you can contact me there.