- 01
How does working with an advisor actually work?
It starts with a conversation, not a contract. You bring a destination, a celebration, a constraint, or just a feeling; I ask the questions that turn it into a real trip — pace, season, what you want to bring home that you can't bring home from any other trip. From there I bring you a short list of options, not a catalog, each one chosen because it earns the slot. I'd rather hand you three considered ideas than twenty you have to sort through.
Read the manifesto - 02
Is there a fee — and how are you paid?
Both, and I'll always be straight about it. Most of my income comes as commission from the hotels, cruise lines, and operators I book — paid by them, not added to your price. You'd pay the same rate booking direct and get none of the work. For complex, multi-stop trips I also charge a planning fee, which covers the research, the supplier calls, and the design that happen before I book a single thing. On a simple one-resort week, there's usually no fee — and I'll tell you that on the call.
Read the full breakdown - 03
What do you specialize in?
Honeymoons and milestones, groups and celebrations, wild places and luxury lodges, and rivers and small ships — all run out of Austin, TX. The through-line is trips where the details compound: where the right pacing, the right room, and the right person on the ground change how the whole thing feels.
See the specialties - 04
Why not just book it online myself?
For a long weekend in a city you know, you should — and I'll say so. For everything bigger, two things change the math. First, the choices a booking site can't make for you: when to go, which property within a brand, which cabin category, how to sequence multiple stops, what's actually worth the upgrade. Second, what happens when something goes wrong. I'm the call you make at 2 a.m. from a different time zone — not a queue at a booking platform.
Read the honest answer - 05
Who are you the right fit for?
I'm the right fit for travelers who want a trip built around them rather than a generic version of a place — a honeymoon, a milestone, a group celebration, or somewhere you don't already have a network. The trips where I earn the relationship are the ones with enough at stake, and enough moving parts, that the leverage I bring more than pays for itself. If yours isn't there yet, I'll tell you honestly — I'd rather point you to the right move than sell you something that doesn't fit.
- 06
How far in advance should I start planning?
Earlier than most people think, and it's rarely too early. For a honeymoon or a milestone trip, six to twelve months gives us room to hold the right rooms and sequence things properly; the best suites and the small-ship cabins go first. Peak-season Europe, safari, and holiday sailings reward planning a year out. That said, I've pulled together beautiful trips on short notice — if your timeline is tight, start the conversation anyway and we'll work with what the calendar allows.
Read more on timing - 07
What's a discovery call actually like?
Thirty minutes, no fee, no pressure — a real conversation, not a pitch. Tell me where you're thinking, what's open, what you've already ruled out, and the rough budget shape. I'll ask the questions that get us to the shape of the trip, and you'll leave knowing what planning looks like from here. And if I'm not the right advisor for what you want, I'll tell you on the call and point you toward someone who is.
Book a call - 08
What kind of access and destinations do you have?
I work the places where the details are hard to get right on your own — Europe end to end, the small-ship and expedition world, safari and the wild-lodge circuit, and the rivers from the Rhine to the Mekong and the Nile. I'm a traveling advisor: I'm in the field, I sit with suppliers at industry conferences, and I keep relationships current with the people who pick up the phone. Where I haven't been myself, I lean on a vetted bench of operators and colleagues who have. As a Signature Travel Network advisor, my clients see room upgrades, welcome amenities, and resort credits that don't appear on public booking sites.
See where I send people - 09
What happens if something goes wrong while I'm traveling?
That's the part of the job I take most seriously, and it's most of why people come back. A missed connection, a closed border, a property with a problem — by the time it happens you're past fixing it yourself. I'm already on it. Airlines return advisor calls faster than passenger calls, and I often have a direct line to the property. The quiet version of this is the work you never see: price drops caught without your asking, every property contacted before you arrive, problems handled before they reach you.
- 10
What is a travel consortium — and why does it matter?
A consortium is a network of advisors who collectively negotiate with luxury suppliers — Four Seasons, Belmond, the major cruise lines, the small-ship operators. I'm part of Signature Travel Network. The amenities you get through me — room upgrades, daily breakfast, resort credits, Wi-Fi — are perks tied to that status, not promo codes anyone can find online. It's the structural reason an advisor can deliver value direct-booking can't.
Read the full explainer - 11
What's the difference between river cruising and expedition travel?
River cruising is small-ship travel on the world's rivers — the Rhine, the Danube, the Mekong, the Nile — one unpacking, multiple cities, all-included pricing, depth over breadth. Expedition travel is what happens when the destination is the activity: Antarctica, the Galápagos, the high Arctic, the Sea of Cortez, on small ships built for ice and wildlife with naturalist-led shore time. Different trips, different temperaments — and a discovery call is the fastest way to find out which one is yours.
Read on river cruising
Bring them to a discovery call.
The first 30 minutes are a conversation, not a sales pitch. Tell me where you're thinking, what's open, and what you've already ruled out. I'll tell you whether there's something to plan together.
Book a Discovery Call