I have never worked with a travel advisor before. How does this work?
I am used to booking things on my own. Why should I book hotels through JST?
Do you charge fees?
What if the initial trip proposal is not exactly what I was looking for or the trip is out of my budget?
Do you book flights?
Do you book villas, condos or rental homes?
Do I need trip insurance?
I see you are affiliated with Departure Lounge?
What is that?
frequently asked questions
Click a question & scroll down to see the answer
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John Skelton Travels takes a highly personalized approach to planning your travels through a creative process of working with you to make sure everything is perfect. We book everything from flights to accommodations, transfers, tours, and other exclusive experiences. We take the stress out of travel planning by getting to know you and your preferences so that we may narrow down the endless options available to ones that are just right for you. We offer peace of mind, as you will be taken care of from start to finish, both before departure as well as by our extensive network of partners throughout the world while you are traveling.
John Skelton Travels offers value-added perks through our preferred partner programs with countless hotels around the world. On top of that, our relationships with hotel owners, general managers, and sales managers make additional amenities and VIP treatment possible. We are able to guide our travelers to the right experience thanks to our first-hand knowledge and experience. For a more “do-it-yourself” hotel-booking service, please see information on the exclusive John Skelton Travels Hotel Desk here.
John Skelton Travels charges a per-trip research and planning fee starting at $300, which is non-refundable and non-transferable, due after the first complimentary consultation call or meeting. The planning fee includes all stages of the creative process, including research and planning, proposal preparation, booking and confirming services, and preparation of documents for travel. Our clients find that they easily recoup the cost of fees through the value added to their travels by their travel designer.
See more details regarding other fees as well as change/cancellation policy here.
Two revisions to the initial itinerary are included in the initial research and planning base fee. After two revisions, there may be additional fees incurred. We will work with you until we get it just how you like it.
John Skelton Travels has extensive knowledge of international airlines, their products, as well as routing. We do manage air bookings for all clients—both commercial and private, domestic and international. Flight tickets are subject to fees which include 24-hour assistance. While we are not mileage or point specialists, we are happy to assist when possible.
See more details regarding flight ticketing and support fees as well as change/cancellation policy here.
John Skelton Travels has an amazing network of villa, condo and rental home partners around the globe. We only use reputable and accredited local suppliers who visit and maintain the quality of their villa product, and we do not work with Airbnb or VRBO.
While trip insurance might be the least exciting part of your travel experience, it is arguably one of the most important. We highly recommend trip insurance to help protect yourself and your trip investment for events such as cancellation, delays, emergencies and in travel assistance. There are different types of insurance available depending on your needs.
Departure Lounge is a global luxury travel agency with travel advisors in North America and Europe, along with storefronts in Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Departure Lounge is a member of the prestigious Virtuoso international luxury travel network which gives affiliates such as John Skelton Travels and their clients access to amazing complimentary upgrades and perks.
Kind Words from Happy Travelers
John is masterful at learning what the client wants and tailoring the trip to their interests and not his. I’ve worked with several agents and none have John’s firsthand knowledge of just about anywhere you want to go. I’ve yet to name a place—no matter how obscure—that he can’t immediately provide feedback on! Highly recommend!
-Kelly
“John Skelton was wonderful to work with! His knowledge of Europe (and other places too!) along with his professional but friendly personality made our experience going through a travel advisor a fun one. If we had tried ourselves to coordinate all of the fine details of travel, pick-ups, hotels, tours, etc... it definitely would not have been as well executed. His work and ideas made our trip easy and thoroughly enjoyable!”
- mary beth
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