Journeys Retold

What it costs
to work with us

No hidden markups, no runaround. Here’s exactly how the money works - and why a travel design fee makes the whole thing better for everyone.

The fee structure

Travel Design Fee

Added to your final invoice once your trip is confirmed.

Travel Design Fee

5%

of total trip cost

One straightforward fee across all bookings - domestic, long-haul, or complex multi-country trips. No upfront payment. It appears on your final invoice alongside the trip costs.

To put it in perspective

Most credit cards charge merchants 1.5% to 3% just to process a payment. Our travel design fee is only a little more than that - and in return you get an expert building your trip from scratch, managing every booking, and being on call if anything goes sideways while you’re away.

On a $10,000 trip that’s $500. On a $5,000 trip it’s $250. Paid at the end, once the hard work is done.

All fees are in NZD. The travel design fee is in addition to supplier costs and is non-refundable once planning has commenced.

What you get

The full picture

01

Destination knowledge that means something

Not brochure copy. Real, lived knowledge of where you're going.

02

Custom itinerary design

Revised as many times as you need. No clock. No per-change fee.

03

Every booking handled

Flights, hotels, transfers, tours, insurance, visas. All in one place.

04

Supplier relationships

Upgrades, priority treatment and small mercies that happen because of who we know.

05

TAANZ-bonded and IATA-accredited

Your money is protected. Your fares are real.

06

24/7 support while you travel

From a real human who knows your file. Not a call centre in Manila.

If you’d like the fuller picture, here it is.

Research you don't have to do

Which resort, which region, which time of year. We work with you to design the right trip for you.

Itinerary design, not just booking

Sequencing multiple stops, balancing pace, building in recovery days after long-haul, making sure transfers and train timings actually work in the real world. Not just on paper.

Unlimited revisions before you commit

We'll quote many versions, swap hotels, re-route flights, rebuild the budget as many times as you need. No clock running. No per-change fee.

Honest opinions you can't get from a website

If a destination is overrated, an itinerary is exhausting, or a hotel is trading on past glory, we'll tell you. Booking sites will sell you anything you click on. We're as honest as Charlie.

Catching the bookings that cost you later

The "cheap" fare with $400 in baggage fees. The central hotel that's actually a tourist trap. The tour that doesn't operate in your travel month. We see these coming and steer you off them.

Visa and entry requirements, tracked

UK ETA, Schengen ETIAS, US ESTA, Vietnam e-visa. The rules change constantly and quietly. We make sure you have what you need before you board.

TAANZ trust protection

Your money sits in a bonded trust account. If a supplier or airline goes under, you're covered.

One point of contact across the whole trip

Five suppliers, four countries, three currencies. You talk to us. We talk to all of them. If something breaks, you don't have to work out who to call.

Your whole trip in one place

Every confirmation, voucher, map and emergency number lives in a travel app on your phone, offline-ready. No scrolling through emails in an Uber trying to find your hotel address.

Upgrades and small mercies

Hotels and operators look after our clients differently because they want our repeat business. Late check-outs, room upgrades, a bottle of something on arrival.

Special occasions, taken care of quietly

Anniversary? Big birthday? We tell the hotel before you arrive. Champagne shows up. They remember the date. You look like you organised it.

Concierge-style changes mid-trip

"We want to stay another two nights." We handle it. Adjusted flights, hotel extensions, transfers, all from your villa terrace.

A 24/7 line to a real human who knows your booking

When your flight from Bangkok cancels at 2am NZ time, you ring us. Not a call centre in Manila. Someone who can see your file and fix it before you've finished your coffee.

Schedule changes, rebuilt around you

Airline shifts your flight by a day? We move the hotel, the transfer, the tour, and the insurance dates. You don't lift a finger.

Strikes, weather and disruption, handled by pros

French air traffic control walks out overnight. Cyclone Vaianu strikes. Some bloody volcano erupts. We've seen it all and we're ready to act.

Geopolitical monitoring

When the Middle East flares up and airlines reroute, we're watching it for you. You'll hear about it from us before you read it in the news.

Insurance claim representation

If something goes wrong and you need to claim, we help you build the claim and support you along the way. No dealing with Claims departments and robotic emails.

Refund and credit chasing

When a tour cancels or a hotel doesn't honour the room category, that's hours of email and call-centre hell. That's our job, not yours.

The short version, shorter

You land at Heathrow knowing the car’s there, the hotel’s expecting you, the tour’s confirmed. And if any of it isn’t, you don’t have to fix it.

Someone else already is.

Common questions

Fair questions

Can't I just book this myself online?

Absolutely. For a simple hotel or flight, go for it. But if you're planning a two-week trip to Japan, a multi-country tour, or anything with moving parts - the time, the decisions, and the things that can go wrong add up fast. That's where having someone who's done it many times over is worth more than a small travel design fee.

Is the travel design fee on top of the trip cost?

Yes. The 5% travel design fee is added to your final invoice alongside the trip costs. The cost of flights, hotels, tours and so on are priced at market rate - there are no hidden markups on top.

When do I pay the travel design fee?

At the end, not upfront. The fee appears on your final invoice once everything is booked and confirmed. You're not paying for a promise - you're paying for the finished work.

What if I decide not to go ahead?

It's free to chat and get advice - no charge until your trip is confirmed. The travel design fee is only charged once your trip is confirmed and bookings are in place. If you decide not to proceed before that point, there's nothing to pay.

Ready to start?

It’s free to chat.
Always.

Tell us where you want to go, and we’ll tell you if we can build something worth booking. No obligation, no pressure.

Start the conversation →