Money, plainly
What it costs, and who gets paid
Short answer: you pay the planning lane nothing. Travel & Beyond earns a flat referral fee from the trade on completed bookings only, so the money comes from the booking side, not from you. What follows is the detail behind that sentence, in the same order it happens.
Three steps, from the first message to the first payment, and the one thing that changes the number in between.
-
Step 1
A planning range, in writing.
Send the WhatsApp brief and Lizanne replies the same working day with indicative options. An indicative option is a planning range built from the trade's published shoulder-season pricing, with the right routing, the right room type and the right seat availability for your dates. It is not a price, and nothing is reserved by asking.
-
Step 2
What would move the live number.
Lizanne flags the constraints that change the final number when she sends the range: a school-holiday surcharge, a peak-week fare, a long-weekend minimum, the fare bucket that is open on the day of booking, or a room category you decide to move. That way the last conversation is about choice, not surprise. One constraint is built into every band before any of those: per person sharing is two people in one room, and a single traveller or a third bed moves the number from there.
-
Step 3
The trade takes the money, not us.
Once you have chosen, Lizanne takes the booking through her usual trade back-office. The deposit and the balance go to the trade. Travel & Beyond never takes payment and never holds your money. Changes after booking run through the trade's usual change rules, and Lizanne tells you the cost before she acts.
The money questions that come up most, answered the way we would answer them on the phone.
Do I pay anything to send a brief or receive options?
No. Nothing is charged for the planning lane at any point, including after you receive the indicative options. The first money that moves anywhere is the trade's deposit, and only once you have chosen and Lizanne has confirmed the live price in writing.
What is the referral fee, and is it added on top of my price?
It is a flat fee paid by the trade on completed bookings only. It is earned when a booking completes, not when you send a message. You are not charged for the planning lane, and the price you are quoted is the trade's price.
Who do I actually pay, and when?
The trade. Lizanne takes the deposit and the balance through her usual trade back-office at the point you choose to book. Travel & Beyond never takes payment, and no card details are taken anywhere on this site.
What if the live price comes back higher than the range?
It does, when a constraint bites: a fare bucket closes, the dates land on a school holiday or a long weekend, or you move the room category. Lizanne tells you the moment it changes, before anything is charged, and you decide then. Nothing is booked on your behalf without your confirmation.
Do I pay for changes after I have booked?
Changes run through the trade's usual change rules rather than a Travel & Beyond fee. Lizanne tells you the cost before she acts, and you keep a WhatsApp line to her for the day of travel. See how it works for the three steps.
Is there a fee if I plan and never book?
None. Planning is free, and a plan that never becomes a booking costs you nothing. There is no fee, no card and no obligation.
The short version
-
Charges you nothing.
The planning lane is free to the traveller. No fee, no card and no deposit to send a brief or to receive options.
-
The trade pays us.
A flat referral fee from the trade on completed bookings only. It is earned when a booking completes, not when you send a message.
-
Indicative quotes only.
The number on WhatsApp is a planning range. The live price is what the trade confirms, in writing, before anything is charged.
-
Nothing to cancel.
If you plan a trip and decide not to travel, you owe nothing. No fee, no card, no obligation.
Ask a money question on WhatsApp
Free to the traveller. Indicative quotes only until your travel consultant confirms the live price. For what the gap between the first band and the third actually buys on each of the six, read what the bands buy. For the eighteen shapes filtered by a number you already have in mind, use what your budget buys. If the booking is for a party rather than a couple, the groups page multiplies the bands by eight and by twelve. The money the band does not cover, in the currency of each country, is on money on the ground. The band and that money added together, for all eighteen shapes, is the whole trip.