Advisors panic when a client opens with "I have nothing in mind." I love it, because a blank slate means nobody else's ideas are in my way. What matters is having a ladder of questions you climb in order, so the brief assembles itself while the client just talks about the people they love.
“Is there anything he hates or would never want to do?”
The ladder, rung by rung
- Start with the relationship, not the trip: how do you like to work with an advisor, and if they've left one, why? The answer is your job description.
- People before places: who's coming, by name, age, and relationship. Then rooming configurations, before a single hotel is discussed. Rooms are family politics; solve them first.
- Ask the negative space: is there anything he hates, or would never want to do? Vetoes shape a trip faster than wishes.
- Find the occasion: are we celebrating anything while we're there? A hidden birthday changes the whole design.
- Go person by person through passions, the traveler who loves photos just handed you a family photo shoot and a camera-friendly tour.
- Get granular where luxury lives: drinks down to the preferred label, who books which flights (someone always has points), who gets met at the gate versus the curb.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
Start with the relationship
not the trip: how do you like to work with an advisor, and if they've left one, why? The answer is your job description.
- 2
People before places
who's coming, by name, age, and relationship. Then rooming configurations, before a single hotel is discussed. Rooms are family politics; solve them
- 3
Ask the negative space
is there anything he hates, or would never want to do? Vetoes shape a trip faster than wishes.
- 4
Find the occasion
are we celebrating anything while we're there? A hidden birthday changes the whole design.
- 5
Go person by person through passions, the traveler
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
Close with speed and a reason
End every discovery call with a concrete next step and an honest reason to move, peak-week availability is real scarcity, not a tactic. The client leaves feeling deeply heard; you leave with a brief so complete the itinerary nearly writes itself. That's what "nothing in mind" really is: an invitation for expertise to lead.
Common Questions
What questions should you ask on a travel discovery call?
Start with how they like to work with an advisor, then who is travelling by name and relationship, rooming preferences, what they would never want to do, whether anything is being celebrated, and each traveller's specific passions.
How do you plan a trip for a client with no ideas?
A blank slate is an advantage, because nobody else's ideas are in the way. Work a fixed ladder of questions and the brief assembles itself while the client simply talks about the people they love.
What details make a trip feel personal?
The granular ones: the preferred drink, who gets met at the gate rather than the curb, which traveller loves photography. Luxury is built from details clients never had to ask for.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
Claire B. Soares is the founder of Travel AI University, a 6x Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist, and a Certified AI Consultant with a B.S. in Computer Science. A top 10% enterprise sales executive, she sold $3.4B+ in enterprise software to Google, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD, then built $16M+ in luxury travel sales.
About Claire
