Why Roam Travel Company?
Roam Travel Company is a women-owned and operated boutique planning service that specializes in curating unique and unforgettable travel itineraries across the globe. We’ve developed trusted relationships in destinations across the world whose connections allow us to craft experiences around the most specific interests. Whether it’s a private ceremony on the Amazon with a shaman or diving for your own diamonds in South Africa, we have access to moments that you don’t even know exist (yet!). We are proud to have a local office in each of our offered destinations, which provides a tremendous value to our clients. RTC travelers are reassured knowing they have a dedicated team both in the U.S. as well as overseas, who knows their itinerary intimately and can assist with any emergency, to allow for a seamless travel experience.
Our Affiliation
We are part of Serandipians by Traveller Made. This is a European-based invite-only consortium of luxury travel designers, hotels, villas, yachts and private jets. Our affiliation with Traveller Made allows us to offer complimentary amenities (like room upgrades, breakfast, airport transfers and spa credits) at some of our favorite properties and opens doors to exclusive experiences.
Planning Fee
Our planning fee starts at $450 per comprehensive trip and are required for us to embark on the journey of curating a wonderful program for you. The planning fee covers the creation of one trip proposal and three subsequent edits. It does not go towards the cost of your trip. This fee is collected after our initial discovery call, where we discuss your broad expectations, preferences and budget.
We can also assist with hotel-only bookings. Based on our expertise and your preferences, we would send you a curated selection of hotels, resorts, etc. that we believe would be a great fit. Benefits of confirming a hotel-only trip with us include our expert knowledge in your destination, access to VIP treatment and RTC perks + amenities, as well as 24/7 support while traveling. Planning fees for hotel-only bookings start at $250 based on scope of work required.
Initial Steps
We will continue the conversation by phone and email to review your travel profile and how it relates to this particular trip. Our job is to manage your initial expectations, then issue a formal proposal based on your unique travel preferences. The more details you share with us, the more successful the planning process will be! Your proposal will be presented in our custom Vamoos app, which includes vivid imagery, a day-to-day itinerary, and clear inclusions/exclusions. Usually, our clients say "yes" right away, but if the proposal is not perfect, your consultancy fee covers three additional edits. This means we can tear up the program and start over or we can make small modifications - whatever it takes to get it just right. Our proposal will outline the deposit and final payment costs, as well as the dates for each.
It is important to note that with the ever-shifting protocols and flight changes / cancellations due to the COVID pandemic, we are only assisting with trips where we can book and manage all trip components within your destination (hotels, internal flights, transfers, etc.). While we are happy to assist (see below), you are welcome to book your international flights on your own. However, we are not able to assist with any changes to services not booked by Roam Travel Company.
How do we get paid?
You can compare our business model to a real-estate agent who is compensated a percentage of a home sale. We have negotiated lower contracted rates with our hotel partners and suppliers. Because these are contracted rates, we do not offer price breakdowns of the program. For example, we do not provide the individual cost of each tour, transfer, hotel, flight, etc. Rather, we issue one final per person price with options to add/subtract components.
Payment Policies
Our payment and cancellation policies can be found in the Planning Fee contract that we send you after the initial call. For most comprehensive trips, the following payment schedule applies:
Deposit is 30%, due at time of booking to confirm services
Final payment is 70%, due 90 days prior to travel
For some destinations, properties or programs, the payment policy may differ and will be explained in the proposal. If we are assisting with a hotel-only booking, the payment and cancellation terms will be based upon the hotel’s policies.
Final Documents
Approximately 7-10 days prior to your trip start date, you will receive your detailed itinerary. This documentation will include: a recommended packing list, daily timings, meeting points, recommended restaurants, recommended gratuities, contact numbers, information on currency and other details required for a successful adventure. While on the road, you will have access to us and/or our local partners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will stay on top of any changing weather patterns, flight delays or other factors that could impact the flow of your trip. We work tirelessly behind-the-scenes to ensure your trip goes as smoothly as possible and once you return home, we will review your experience so that we can continue to build upon it for your next trip.
Passports + Visas
It is your responsibility to ensure that your passport is valid for a minimum of 6 months upon arrival in each foreign country you are visiting, and that all visas required for your trip have been obtained. It is also your responsibility to be aware of each countries’ entry and exit protocols. For further information relating to travel documentation (such as passports, visas, proof of health/vaccination certificates), health hazards, and other restrictions regarding travel to your domestic and/or international destination(s), and re-entry into the United States visit http://www.tsa.gov, http://www.dot.gov, http://www.cdc.gov, and http://www.cbp.gov on a regular basis.
International Flights
We can assist with the booking of international flights. We do not offer discounted Economy Class air, but often have discounts for Business and First Class air. Discounts could be as little as 1% or as great as 25%. We are happy to check!
Travel Insurance
Over the past year, this has become the most important component of a trip. We require all of our clients to have comprehensive travel insurance, which includes:
- medical coverage while traveling, minimum $25,000 USD per traveler
- emergency evacuation, at least to the "nearest adequate facility" - clauses that allow for trip cancellation due to medical reasons prior to the commencement of the trip
- clauses that allow for trip interruption benefits due to medical reasons while traveling
Most insurance companies dictate that you must purchase the policy within 14-21 days of your initial trip purchase to have maximum coverage, especially when it comes to pre-existing conditions. Our planning fee is not considered an "initial purchase" because this does not go towards the cost of your trip. However, if you purchased your international flights (even if you used points and only paid cash for the taxes) before contacting us, this would be considered your FIRST purchase and this is when the clock starts ticking to purchase the insurance. Please tell us in advance if you have already made any pre-trip purchases so that we can better advise you.
With all of our programs, we do quote travel insurance. It is especially important to note that there is no coverage for canceling "due to the fear of contracting COVID". Further, if a country is to close its borders to foreigners and/or if airlines cancel flights to/from the destination which prevents you from starting or continuing your trip because of a pandemic/epidemic or otherwise, these are also not covered conditions. This is standard practice across all travel insurance companies.
Please budget an extra ~3-5% of your total trip cost to go towards the purchase of travel insurance.
If you would like to purchase your own travel insurance, do NOT assume that your credit card offers coverage; many credit card companies are silently phasing out their coverage or limiting it only to lost baggage and self-drive car rental insurance. Likewise, if you are relying on your credit card insurance, you must research whether or not the entire trip cost will be put on your credit card and what the maximum value of your trip can be.