These are live ClientFare widgets — the same ones advisors embed on their own websites. Try each one to see the full client experience.
- 1. Click any button or widget to open the payment portal
- 2. Complete the intake form
- 3. Use the test card below to pay
Test Card Details
No real charges — Stripe test mode only
Widget Demo — Three ClientFare widgets are live on this page
A realistic travel advisor blog showing the Button, Banner, and Popup widget types simultaneously. Each links to a real staging portal — use the test card (bottom-left corner) to complete a payment.
Fee Scenarios — same 3 fees as the Agency Site
Fee A · Floating Button
Luxury European Itinerary
Standard planning fee. No calendar booking. Client pays the processing fee (pass-through enabled). No custom intake form fields.
Fee B · Banner Bar
Destination Wedding Planning
Higher planning fee. Calendar booking enabled — client books a consultation slot after paying. Advisor absorbs processing fee.
Fee C · Popup → Full Menu
Group Travel Planning
Group rate with price hidden on fee menu. No calendar. Processing fee passed to client. Short intake form: group size, destination region, travel month.
Why Charging a Planning Fee Is the Best Thing You Can Do for Your Business
I spent the first three years of my career as a travel advisor doing something I now consider one of the biggest mistakes in this industry: working for free.
Not technically free — I collected commissions. But for the hours I spent researching, the calls I took, the detailed proposals I built, the messages I answered at 9pm, none of that was compensated. And when a client went ahead and booked on their own after I'd done all the legwork? That was just the cost of doing business.
Until I started charging a planning fee. And everything changed.
It filters for serious clients
The moment you ask someone to pay for your time upfront, you learn something important about them. Clients who balk at a $300 planning fee for a $15,000 trip are telling you something. Clients who pay without hesitation are telling you something completely different.
My booking rate went up after I started charging fees. That sounds counterintuitive, but it makes sense: the people who pay are invested. They show up to calls. They respond to emails. They trust your recommendations. They don't ghost you after three hours of research.
It reframes your value
When you charge a planning fee, you're no longer a booking agent. You're a specialist. The fee itself is a signal, it says that your knowledge, your relationships, and your time have a dollar amount attached to them. It repositions the entire engagement before you've said a word.
"The fee itself is a signal. It says your time has a dollar amount attached to it."
How to collect it without the awkward ask
The hardest part for most advisors isn't deciding to charge a fee — it's the moment they have to actually ask for money. It feels awkward on the phone. It's clunky in an email with a Venmo link. It undermines the professional image you've spent years building.
What I use now is a branded payment portal — a dedicated page my clients land on that handles the fee, collects their trip details, and lets them book a consultation call all at once. By the time we speak, they've paid, I have everything I need, and we can actually get to work.
It takes the awkwardness completely out of it. And it looks like something a real agency sends — because it is.
Different fees for different trips
Not every trip is the same complexity. A two-week Italian honeymoon and a ten-person group safari require very different amounts of my time. My fees reflect that — I have separate rates for luxury itineraries, destination weddings, group travel, and add-on consultations. Each one has its own link, its own intake form, and routes the client straight to the right portal.
No confusion. No "which form do I fill out." Just the right starting point for the right trip.
Ready to start planning?
Browse our services and select the one that fits your trip. Your planning fee gets the process started.
View Our Planning Fees →Claire Whitmore is an independent luxury travel advisor based in Charleston, SC, specializing in European and Mediterranean itineraries. She has been charging planning fees since 2019.
Look for the floating button on the right edge of the page, the banner at the bottom, and the popup that appeared after 5 seconds. All three link to real staging portals — use the test card to go through the full client experience.