Is It Time to Outsource Your Family Travel Planning?

By Kim Zielinski

Are you in the midst of the winter doldrums, maybe feeling discouraged because the groundhog predicted another six weeks of winter to bear? Perhaps you’ve found yourself dreaming about a getaway … something warm and tropical? Or maybe you don’t even care if the destination is warm—you’re imagining a foreign land ripe with new things to learn and experience.

If so, you are far from the only one! This time of year tends to be the “dreaming period” for family travel planning. We all start thinking about the trips we would like to take during the upcoming summer, fall, and winter months. One thing’s for sure: We never seem to be short on our dreams of travel—wonderful family vacations, trips with our husband, or getaways with our girlfriends. But all too often, the dreaming is where the fun ends and planning is where the stress begins.

Family travel planning takes time

I’m sure you are familiar with the drill. The time comes for family travel planning and suddenly it becomes another task on your endless to-do list. And it’s not just any task—this planning can be a pretty big undertaking.

Good thing you’ve got a wealth of information that will help you—and it’s just waiting for you out there on the internet. Easy, right? So first you decide on a destination. Then you start to work on arranging the details—airline tickets, hotel, rental car, activities, dining. You spend hours researching each one of those components. And now you’ve found so much information online that it’s hard to sort through it all to determine what is right for you and your family.

How do you make an educated and informed choice? How do you ensure you are getting the best value?

So, maybe in reality it’s actually not so easy. It takes a lot of time. And let’s face it, your free time comes at a premium. I would bet you’d much rather spend it doing things you enjoy.

It’s OK to ask for help

I want to tell you that there is a better way. There are people out there ready and willing to take care of all work of travel planning for you—freeing up your time to focus on other things.

I used to be part of the corporate world. I worked for Procter & Gamble for 14 years. But I decided to follow my passion and I started a business of my own. I started a travel planning business that does exactly this for busy clients that value the experience of travel, but just don’t have the time to worry about arranging all the associated details.

After all my time in the corporate world, I know exactly how difficult it is to find balance in life as a working mom. There is always something that needs to attending to—kids, spouse, errands, house, extended family, friends, exercise… the list goes on. Let alone spending hours trying to plan travel for that down time you so desperately need.

As working moms, we are hard-wired to feel like we can—and should—do it all. But the fact is there are only so many hours in the day. Only so many hats we can wear at once. We need to allow ourselves permission to ask for help sometimes. So when you are faced with a task like trip planning, I encourage you to think about outsourcing it.

From wishlist to reality

A good travel consultant can do all this work for you. This person can be invaluable when you think about how much time you can save as well as being able to rest easier knowing you are getting the best value for your money. The days of do-it-yourself trip planning are starting to diminish as the demands on our time increase by the day and we have less free time to get it all done. Even Forbes has taken notice of the current resurgence of travel advisors.

As working moms, we are in this together. Give yourself permission to take this task off your plate. Give yourself the gift of reclaiming some of your time – your most precious resource. And you know what? We absolutely can still do it all… even if it takes a little bit of teamwork. So go ahead and continue to dream about all those fantastic destinations on your travel wishlist—and then let me help you turn those dreams into reality.

Kim Zielinski left her career in corporate finance to follow her passion for all things travel. Founder of Intellego Travel, she is a mom of two who helps busy families create a lifetime of memories by helping them plan their travel adventures. In addition to single trip planning, she also offers an exclusive multi-year planning service for families with a wishlist of places to see over time. Get her list of 7 Amazing and Unique Trips to Take With Your Kids.