Stop Getting Price-Shopped

If you’ve ever sent a quote that was basically air, hotel, taxes, and fees, then watched the client go quiet, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common reasons travel advisors get price-shopped, ghosted, or backed into the “can you do it cheaper?” conversation.

Here’s what’s really happening. When you only quote logistics, you accidentally position yourself like a booking engine. The client may like you, trust you, and even want to work with you, but the quote itself doesn’t show your value. It shows a price.

The second your value looks like a price, you’re in a race to the bottom. Not because you did anything wrong, but because you gave them something that’s easy to compare.

Clients don’t travel for the flight or to hang out in their hotel room. They travel for what happens when they get there. The memories are made in the moments, not the mechanics.

That’s why experiences are not an “extra.” They’re the heart of the trip.

When advisors treat excursions, transfers, attraction tickets, and day tours as optional add-ons, clients often do one of two things. They either over-plan in a panic once they arrive, or they under-plan and spend half the trip overwhelmed and unsure what to do. Either way, they feel the stress at the exact moment they were hoping to feel free.

The other issue is the one nobody loves to talk about. When you step back too far and let the client “figure it out,” you can still get blamed when it goes sideways. Sold out tickets. Long lines they didn’t expect. A sketchy tour booked from a random link online. Missed opportunities. Regret. 

In the client’s mind, you were the professional. You should have protected them from that.

Experience-first packaging fixes all of this. It shifts the quote from “here’s your price” to “here’s your plan.” It shows the client you’re not just booking their bed and their seat, you’re curating their journey. It gives them the freedom to land in a destination and start living, not start planning. And it helps you sell in a way that feels confident instead of pushy, because you’re recommending what they actually told you they wanted.

A simple place to start is your consultation. Ask a question that pulls out emotional priorities, not just logistics. One of my favorites is: “What’s the thing you’d be disappointed in if you came home without doing?”

That answer becomes the anchor for the package. Maybe it’s front-of-the-line access to major sights. Maybe it’s a cooking class, a private guide, or a day trip that makes the destination feel real. When you lead with that, the client isn’t focused on shaving dollars. They’re focused on whether they can picture themselves in the experience.

And that’s when selling gets easier. Not because you got better at persuasion, but because you stopped selling a commodity and started selling what they actually came to you for in the first place.