With the ubiquity of online travel booking services, launching a travel business these days might seem like a risky premise. Yet Kim Zielinski thinks the services offered by her new company,
Intellego Travel, will fill a unique niche.
Many people have an extensive list of places to visit and sites to see, but doing the research to accomplish those travel goals can be daunting. That’s where Intellego Travel comes in, with Zielinski operating as an independent contractor affiliated with larger travel consortiums and tour operators. She’s launching a new long-term travel planning service in 2016.
“I meet clients somewhere that is convenient to them and on their schedule,” Zielinski says. “We talk about their travel style, things that they like, things they don’t like, how much they want to spend every year on travel, how often they want to travel and discuss the destinations they want to visit over time as well as any specific timing for those trips, like an anniversary or graduation gift.”
Zielinski uses that information to put together a proposal plotting a three- year or longer travel schedule, balancing big budget trips with smaller itineraries. That document gives Zielinski a blueprint for timing advantageous booking, and the client has a framework for allocating savings and valuable vacation time.
“Multi-year travel planning helps remove a lot of the barriers to travel,” Zielinski says. “Clients often don’t have the time and effort to do all the planning, so I take care of that. And although they might have an idea, they don’t really know how much it will cost or they don’t have enough lead time to put that money aside. The plan we create helps them feel confident that over time they have a strategy and can check these destinations off their list.”
Planning travel years in advance may make some people nervous: What if things change or something comes up? Zielinski has the answer.
“There are a million things that can happen, it’s life,” she says. “So if there are advance deposits or a significant money outlay, I highly recommend a travel insurance policy. In general I always encourage coverage, but especially for big trips.”
As a mother and avid traveler, Zielinski appreciates the
benefits of family travel and understands the challenges in making that family vacation a reality.
“Travel is so important because it gets you out of your little bubble,” she says. “There are so many things to see and do and experience, especially if you have kids. It’s amazing to give them an opportunity to see the world and how that opens their eyes and makes them curious. When you travel together, that shared experience is something that people remember forever and is so much more valuable than any material gift.”
Zielinksi works with a range of clients from independent travelers to group tour participants, retirees and working families.
“I think one of the big advantages of operating as an independent contractor is that I have access to all of these different tour operators, vendors, companies and products but I’m not tied to any of them,” she says. “I can recommend the things resonate with you, whether that’s volun-tourism, biking trips, adventure travel or something you wouldn’t necessarily think of.
“There are so many different and cool travel opportunities out there. At the end of the day, clients value the expertise and sounding board that I can provide as they accomplish their travel wish list.”
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