You've got more booking tools than ever — so why would you hire a travel advisor? In this episode, Afar editorial director Billie Cohen sits down with travel journalist and matchmaker Wendy Perrin, founder of wendyperrin.com, to answer the questions travelers actually have: What can an advisor do that you can't do yourself? When does it make sense — and when doesn't it? How do you find a good one, interview them, and understand what you're paying for?

From crowd-skipping at Venice to landing the perfect Egyptologist, Wendy makes the case for what truly expert trip planning looks like.

In this episode

• Why connections (not booking tools or AI) are the real currency of great travel


• The difference between advisors who specialize in you vs. those who specialize in a place
  


• How to interview a travel advisor (and what their answers reveal)


• What travel actually costs — and why it often isn't itemized


• Why multi-gen trips and post-pandemic travel are driving a new wave of advisor use

Chapters

00:00:00 Why Travel Advisors Still Matter
00:03:00 Advisors vs. Agents vs. Tour Operators
00:06:00 What a Great Advisor Can Do
00:13:00 Choosing and Interviewing an Advisor
00:24:00 Fees, Costs, and Transparency
00:28:00 Cruise Specialists and Misconceptions
00:33:00 Who's Using Advisors Now

Links & resources

• 
  Wendyperrin.com and Wendy's Wow List of top trip designers


• Listen to our Unpacked episode about cruise travel advisors
  


• Explore the Afar Travel Advisory Council
  


• Follow Afar at @afarmedia on Instagram and TikTok


• More travel planning resources at afar.com
  

Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel.

Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

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