We’re not in the position of turning down help, and every hard-working gal knows that sometimes, you HAVE to outsource some things in life to keep the wheels turning and the lights on!
Planning a trip can almost be a full-time job that can cause you almost more stress than the stress you’re trying to have a break from! So why don’t we outsource our travel to the experts more?
We did a deep dive into how you can outsource your travel admin, AND lower your mental load, by having a yarn to the experts at Flight Centre. How does it all work? What benefits can you unlock? And are free breakfasts the secret to a successful holiday? Flight Centre General Manager Heidi Walker shares her top tips!
Capsule x Flight Centre
Capsule: Hey Heidi, so lovely to chat again! Let’s delve straight into it – women especially, as we’ve talked about SO often, put up with waaay more than their fair share of the mental load, and it’s true around planning travel and trips, right?
Heidi: I know! I think women have a greater visual idea about what we want to experience, and we’re probably more emotive – we think about sitting at the perfect table in Paris drinking a coffee, or by the sea in Italy. My partner loves to plan our holidays and he’ll find a great price, but I’ll be like, ‘oh, I imagined that I’d be able to work from there’ or ‘I imagined a view of the Eiffel Tower’. We think about how we want to experience something, and look, we can be perfectionists too. We have a sense of control and it’s hard to give that up sometimes.
Yeah I mean to be fair, we can be our own worst enemy on that score!
[Laughs] absolutely – we don’t give it up and it’s not always healthy for us to be so in control! But women do make most of the decisions in the household, and we see holidays as investments, especially for the family. It’s an investment in time. So, naturally, we want it to be the very best it can be. But that is a lot of work!
Right – instantly my brain goes to spreadsheets and 14 tabs open and I’m just like… when on earth do I have time to figure all that out! It’s another full time job!
Yup – hence the outsourcing!
Absolutely froth that word. But before we get into ways to alleviate that mental load, what are we actually looking for when it comes to booking the perfect holiday?
Value. Value is KEY. It’s different from price or just a transaction, it’s about getting as much enjoyment, and memories, and fulfilment out of your dollar. We all want to know that we’ve made a great decision, and have that validation that we’ve managed to find the experience with the most value.
Which leads us nicely into what we’re talking about here – the solution to lessen the mental load AND get as much value smushed into your trip is to, I imagine, pop into Flight Centre and chat to a travel agent?
Yes! There’s lots of different ways it can work – from dropping off a dream list or a budget, or coming in with a coffee and sitting down and exploring what could be possible. People come into stores, call us or do it online, it depends on how you like to operate and there’s different ways of making this a productive use of your time, but also an enjoyable use of your time.
The key is how you can maximise the value of your trip, and the experts can take care of that for you. You always want to be making the most of your time away, and also knowing where you should invest your money and how to spend it the most wisely.
It all goes back to value, right?
Totally, I’m a FIRM believer in that. I mean, if you can get some meals included, whether that’s breakfast each day or an all-inclusive sort of thing, that’s going to help so much. When you’re travelling you don’t want to be adding to the mental load either – if you can wake up and have your first decision of the day made, that sets you up for success.
Very true. And let’s be honest, we’re all popping a muffin into a serviette from the breakfast buffet for later, right!?
[Laughs] Look, it’s very common to see that! But having breakfast included is a great way to take pressure off, both from a financial sense and a sanity sense, especially if you’re travelling with kids!
Speaking of making things as easy – and stress-free – as possible , what are some of the unseen stresses that outsourcing your travel can help to mitigate?
Visas are a big one – especially when you are transiting, and you didn’t realise you needed a visa just for the transit. We sort all of that out for you, so you’re never going in blind. There’s also things like crossing over date lines – for example, so many Kiwis get caught out by Rarotonga, as they’re a day behind and people haven’t realised and they don’t have accommodation booked! It’s so easily done.
But also, it’s other considerations like transit times – sure, the fare might be a few hundred dollars different, but if you’re stuck somewhere for 18 hours, it might end up more expensive in the long run. And it’s also looking at where your accommodation is – if it’s out of town, you might be spending too much time and money on getting to where you want to be.
There’s actually… SO much to think about when planning a trip, no wonder it’s easy to get overwhelmed!
Yeah exactly. We can take care of a lot of the niggle – making sure you have everything you need, like visas and insurance, and we’re there on the other end of the phone if something does go wrong, like if you need to get back home urgently.
What about the actual order of your trip, especially if you’re doing a big multi-stop Europe jaunt, for example – you’re able to help with what to do first, and how to get between each place, right?
Yeah, we know how different airlines fly and where the most value is – also for stopovers. We can suggest stopovers you might not have thought of that’ll work out better for your trip in the long run, and point you to cool neighbourhoods that fit your vibe.
It sounds like it’s like having a little travel concierge in your pocket to take care of all the boring stuff.
It’s about letting you experience the joy of travel. No one is more excited than you for your trip, for sure, but it’s a close second for your travel agent! It’s someone else to share in the joy and excitement!
Ok, so how does it all work?
We work around you. That’s the most important. You can email us on the website, you can call us, you can pop into a store on your lunchbreak and grab a brochure and go from there. All of our customers have their own story and what works for them. Some will be juggling kids, some will be at an executive job, and some people are so run off their feet it’ll be 9pm before they can even think about their holiday. Time is so valuable, so we can be there in any way possible! And once you’ve built a relationship with someone, then booking trips becomes that much easier each time.
What about AI – sooo many people are using AI to plan their trips.
Totally – but it’s about whether or not you can trust that information, and whether or not it’s 100% correct, or if it’s what you actually want to do when you’re away!
I mean very true – the opposite of lowering the mental load is worrying about your AI-generated itinerary, right?
[Laughs] very true! And look, time is everyone’s most valuable asset, so it’s nice to be able to leave it all to someone that you can trust, and just look forward to and enjoy your well-earned trip!