Palermo, Agrigento & Taormina: Sicily Through Its Myths with Orient Express

Our professional retainer fee is non-refundable due to the commitment and resources we allocate once we take on a project. Here are the key reasons why this policy is in place:

‍Time Allocation: When we accept a project, we block out our time exclusively for that particular request. This means we decline other potential projects to ensure that we can provide the dedicated attention and high-quality service required for the task at hand.

‍Lost Opportunities: If a client decides to cancel or change their mind, we not only lose their business, but also the business from other clients we had to turn away. This double loss impacts our ability to maintain a sustainable operation.

‍Upfront Resource Commitment: The retainer fee also covers some of the time and expenses incurred during the initial phases of the project. This includes research, itinerary design, and other preparatory work necessary to provide a professional service.

‍Ensuring Serious Engagements: The non-refundable retainer also helps in ensuring that the engagements we enter into are serious and well-considered, which is crucial for maintaining a professional and reliable service.

Our aim is to provide exceptional service and to allocate our resources effectively to meet the needs of all our clients. The non-refundable retainer fee is a crucial part of achieving this goal, ensuring that we can continue to offer high-quality, dedicated service for each project we undertake.

Our prices are very compatible. We always look at value vs. cost and we make sure you get a fair price. This however doesn’t mean that our packages are always the cheapest. We work with trusted, hand picked tour operators that are service oriented, professional and reliable. We want to offer you the best experience at a reasonable cost, and that is our priority. When you book online, you are basically paying a service fee to a website, without actually getting the service in return. When you book with us, you are a priority to us, and we are at your service every step of the way.

a.  We have negotiated contracts with the suppliers we sell who pay us a commission. These are only paid to us only if you actually take the trip we booked, and we do not get paid typically only a few weeks after your return. If you book your trip months in advance, we only have the retainer as our payment for all that time and work, until we actually get paid by our suppliers.
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b.  Since our specialty is customization, we often work with suppliers on a net price basis. We do this when this option offers more flexible terms and conditions for you, or when we are working on trip components (such as train tickets, ferryboats, private transfers, exclusive activities and more) that make more sense to be booked on  a non-commissionable rate. In this case we charge a standard service fee to compensate for our lack of payment.

‍When you get our quotes the price you will see listed on them is inclusive of all the commissions and/or service fees, so you will know the exact cost of your trip before you are charged for it.

Retainers are not service fees for the work we do, they are a non-refundable payment to hire us to work with you. We keep these fees really low, starting at $100 - and it goes up depending on the complexity of your trip and number of travelers.

Before you are charged a retainer, we do a free consultation, during which we discuss your needs, and our general recommendations. It is very important that you are honest about what you are looking for, what your approximate budget is, and give us feedback on anything we suggest. This is what ensures that we can actually work on quotes that would be a good fit for you, instead of wasting your time with unsuitable options. There are a reasonable amount of revisions included in our quoting services, but the retainer is basically for one specific trip. If you are looking to shop around, see multiple quotes for several destinations just let us know, we would handle that with an hourly rate instead of a trip retainer.

It takes time for us to work on each of your quotes. We customize everything, and each time we quote you something, we work with you to adjust those to your needs. Quotes are usually valid for 24-72hrs. If you don’t purchase the trip, and come back to us at a later time, we have to start everything all over again. In this case a new retainer will be charged.

No, our retainers are fully non-refundable.