Behind the Scenes: Why We Charge an Upfront Travel Proposal Fee
A Familiar Face, A New Journey
When Client A reached out about her upcoming family trip to Taiwan this December, I smiled. She wasn’t new to us—this would be her third trip with Epic Travel Designer. We first met a decade ago when she travelled with her young family. Earlier this year, she returned to Taiwan with her senior parents.
This time, she wanted something “simple.” A week-long vacation in December with her husband and two grown kids. She’d already been to Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Nantou earlier this year, and wanted a fresh experience—somewhere she hadn’t explored.
Her family loved scenery, light hikes, fresh seafood, and soaking in a beautiful hotspring resort. They wanted two free days in Taipei at the end of their trip.
To anyone else, this might sound straightforward. But in bespoke travel planning, “simple” requests often require the deepest thought. Because when you’ve seen it all, crafting something new takes more than knowledge—it takes artistry.
After she purchased her air tickets, A promptly paid the upfront travel proposal fee. And that was the moment our creative gears began to turn.
The Art of Bespoke Travel Planning
Having pioneered Taiwan Free & Easy Tours in Singapore and earned a 98.7% satisfaction rate over the years, Taiwan is like a second home to us. So we knew immediately where to look—the East Coast of Taiwan, stretching from Yilan to Hualien and Taitung.
It’s the most scenic, most soulful side of Taiwan—untamed mountains rolling into the Pacific.
We thought of Taipingshan, a serene mountain region often overlooked by mass travellers. When A asked, “Should we go to Alishan instead?” my answer was instant: Taipingshan. Fewer crowds. No loudspeakers. Just silence, mist, and sunset over ancient forests.
Logistically, it wasn’t simple. The drive was long, and a day trip would never do justice to the area. So we began crafting a route that would allow her family to stay close to the mountains, enjoy Cuifeng Lake, and explore without rush.
Two days in Yilan. Two in Hualien. Two in Taitung. Then back to Taipei for a gentle close. The design was calm, balanced, and deeply personal—nothing rushed, nothing copied.
The Invisible Work Behind Every Proposal
Behind every effortless itinerary lies hours of unseen coordination.
We connect with our trusted local network to confirm that everything aligns perfectly—from routes and timings to logistics and pacing. We double-check driving distances, train schedules, and seasonal openings to ensure that every transition feels seamless.
Next, we shortlist places of interest that fit her family’s criteria: fresh seafood, hotsprings, and scenic walking trails. Because we’ve spent years on-site visits across Taiwan, we know which spots are authentic and which are best avoided.
Then came accommodations. Since A had travelled with us before, we knew her taste—refined, comfortable, and serene. We told her honestly: “Taipingshan is remote. The hotels are rustic, but we’ll find you the best one.”
Finally, we refined the flow and ensured everything stayed within her preferred budget, balancing comfort, travel time, and quality experiences.
What the client receives—a polished, personalised itinerary—is the final note in a long symphony of coordination, communication, and creative judgment.
That’s what the travel proposal fee represents: not paperwork, but partnership. Not a cost, but commitment.
Why We Charge an Upfront Travel Proposal Fee
Our work begins long before a single booking is made. Every bespoke itinerary requires research, planning, negotiation, and design. It’s hours of creative work that can’t be templated.
But there’s something deeper behind it—our field knowledge.
Every year, we invest months of our own time in field trips and site visits, personally travelling through destinations we design for our clients. We drive the routes ourselves to test travel distances and comfort levels. We stay in the hotels we recommend to evaluate service standards, rooms, and dining. We join escorted private tours to assess our local partners and ensure their guides uphold our standards.
Sometimes, we even embark on self-driving journeys—just to uncover those hidden gems most travellers never find.
This is the groundwork that supports every itinerary we create. And it’s why our clients can trust that when we recommend something, it’s been tested, verified, and genuinely loved.
That’s the level of commitment your travel proposal fee helps sustain.
It’s not a barrier—it’s a bridge.
When you pay this fee, you’re not just buying information. You’re gaining access to a body of knowledge built from years of experience—our expertise, insight, and personal connections. The proposal fee is the bridge that allows you to leverage all of that to design your ideal vacation.
It transforms an enquiry into collaboration. It ensures both sides are fully invested in the process.
Trust only works when both parties are committed. The client commits through that first gesture of faith. The travel designer commits through diligence, experience, and integrity.
And right between these two commitments lies the travel proposal fee—it’s the anchor of trust that holds the entire relationship steady.
Why We Can’t Craft Without Commitment
Each proposal we design is bespoke. It’s crafted from scratch, not copied from a template.
We can’t begin crafting without commitment simply because of the amount of work involved—the research, the coordination, the quality control. It would be unfair to our other clients, and to our craft, to create full-scale proposals without knowing both sides are genuinely invested.
The fee protects that process. It ensures we dedicate our energy to travellers who are serious about collaboration and value professional expertise.
And when clients confirm their trip with us, that fee is credited back into their final tour fare. It’s not a surcharge—it’s a symbol of trust paid forward.
The Clients We Serve
The clients who work best with us don’t approach travel as consumers. They don’t see us as a service provider.
They see us as specialists—a partner on their team, whose expertise they can rely on to make informed decisions and design experiences that reflect them.
These are travellers who value insight over comparison, and creativity over convenience. They know how to leverage our skills, our knowledge, and our experience to build something they couldn’t have created on their own.
They understand that bespoke travel planning is a collaboration, not a transaction.
Price vs. Value
Our ideal clients are discerning. They don’t chase line-by-line breakdowns or bargain for the lowest number. They understand that price is what you pay, but value is what you get.
They know that true luxury lies in peace of mind—in having someone who listens, thinks, and curates every detail with precision.
These are the travellers who understand that a proposal fee isn’t a hurdle—it’s the foundation that gives them access to professional expertise and peace of mind.
Building Trust, One Proposal at a Time
For us, the travel proposal fee isn’t about profit—it’s about partnership.
It allows us to take that first small step together in good faith: you commit to trusting us with your dream, and we commit to bringing it to life.
It’s how we slowly, deliberately, build a relationship. And if you proceed with us, that proposal fee is waived and credited as part of your total trip.
At Epic Travel Designer, we’ve learned that the best journeys begin not with a plane ticket—but with trust.
When clients value that trust over transactions, everything else falls into place naturally. They get the best of what we know, and we get to do what we love most—turn their travel dreams into reality.
Final Thoughts: What We Truly Work For
We don’t measure success by spreadsheets or margins. We measure it by that moment when a client texts us mid-trip to say, “This is exactly what we imagined.”
That’s why we do what we do. The travel proposal fee is simply the first handshake that makes it all possible.
Bespoke travel planning is not about selling holidays—it’s about designing stories, emotions, and memories that are uniquely yours.