Practical planning guide
Build a holiday brief that produces a useful quote
By the Travel by Marketing Studios editorial team · Published 3 September 2026
A good holiday quotation begins before anyone searches for a hotel. It begins with a clear brief: who is travelling, what would make the trip feel worthwhile, what would make it tiring, and which costs must be visible. This guide is the same question order we recommend before a traveller sends an enquiry. It is not a package, a destination rulebook or a promise of price. It is a reusable way to turn a vague idea into a plan that can be compared.
1. Start with the fixed parts
Write down what cannot move: the earliest departure date, latest return date, departure city, number of travellers and any school, work or celebration deadline. If the dates are flexible, say exactly how flexible—for example, “any six nights between 10 and 24 November.” That is more useful than “November” because it gives the planner room to compare sensible flight patterns without changing the length of the holiday.
List children by age at the time of travel, not just “two children.” Room rules, tickets and activity suitability can depend on age. Also mention mobility needs, dietary requirements and whether a long overnight flight or a very early departure is acceptable. These details affect the shape of the itinerary and should not be added as an afterthought.
2. Describe pace before attractions
Two trips can visit the same places and feel completely different. Choose a pace:
- Slow: one main activity on most days, later mornings and free time near the hotel.
- Balanced: a main experience plus a lighter stop, with one deliberately open half-day.
- Full: early starts and several stops, suitable only when everyone travelling actually wants that rhythm.
Now name three priorities, not fifteen. “Beach time, local food and a child-friendly wildlife experience” gives the planner a hierarchy. A long unranked attraction list often creates unnecessary travel between places and leaves no room for delays or rest.
3. Make the budget comparable
State whether your total is per person, per couple or for the full group. Then say what you expect it to include: international flights, domestic connections, checked baggage, hotels, breakfast, airport transfers, sightseeing transport, attraction tickets, visas, insurance and taxes. A low headline price and a higher inclusive price cannot be compared until the missing items are visible.
If you do not have a firm figure, use priorities instead: “protect the hotel location, but use shared transfers,” or “we prefer a simple room and will spend more on activities.” This is more useful than choosing a star rating alone. Star categories do not describe room size, exact location, renovation quality or whether the hotel works well for your group.
4. Check the route for friction
For each hotel change, count the whole transfer: packing, check-out, travel, waiting and check-in—not only the driving time. A second island or city may look close on a map but consume much of a day. Ask what the extra stop adds that cannot be experienced from the first base. If the answer is weak, a day trip or a longer stay may be better.
Look closely at the arrival day and the day before the return flight. Avoid placing the most important paid activity immediately after a flight unless there is enough recovery time. On the final night, consider how far the hotel is from the departure airport and what happens if a ferry, road transfer or domestic flight is delayed.
5. Ask for assumptions in writing
A useful quotation should identify the travel dates used for pricing, room type and occupancy, meal plan, transfer type, listed inclusions, exclusions, cancellation conditions and how long the price can be held. Ask whether attraction tickets are included or only suggested. If flights are shown, check baggage and change conditions before payment.
Visa, entry, health and safety requirements can change. Treat any itinerary note as a prompt to verify the current rule with the relevant government, embassy, airline or official destination authority before booking and again before departure. A travel article or old quotation should never be the final authority for an entry decision.
6. Use a simple final worksheet
- Departure city and date window
- Adults and children with ages
- Number of nights
- Three trip priorities
- Preferred pace: slow, balanced or full
- Room arrangement and hotel-location preference
- Total budget and what it must include
- Mobility, dietary or timing constraints
- One thing you definitely do not want
Send that worksheet with your enquiry. It gives the planner enough information to explain the route and its trade-offs rather than sending a generic list of hotels. When a quotation arrives, compare it against the same worksheet. The best option is not automatically the one with the most activities or the lowest first number; it is the one whose assumptions match the holiday you actually described.
What our planner does—and does not do
The day-by-day planner on this site helps you organise a starting itinerary and send a structured requirement to our team. It does not make a booking, guarantee availability, replace current official travel advice or charge a payment. A human quotation should confirm the final services, suppliers, dates and commercial terms before you decide.