Visitor Faq: advisor or self-booking, and the money questions

We set out the questions a sceptical reader asks before paying: what an advisor costs, who holds the money, and which rules protect it. Each answer states its limits.

Three questions a sceptic asks before paying anyone

Will a travel advisor cost more than booking directly?

This page gives no fee figure, since the sources checked carried no neutral range for advisor fees. An advisor may charge a planning fee, be paid by the supplier, or both. Ask which applies, and compare the total you would pay with the cost of booking directly.

Does Massachusetts require travel sellers to register with the state?

According to a summary of seller-of-travel laws from CCRA, Massachusetts is not one of the five states that require travel sellers to register, though it still regulates sales through disclosure and refund rules. A trade summary is not statute text, so get the terms of any booking in writing before you pay.

Does a hotel's advertised price include the fees you will pay?

For lodging, the advertised price has to show the total. Since May 12, 2025, the FTC's fees rule has barred advertising a short-term lodging price without clearly disclosing mandatory fees. It covers hotels, motels and vacation rentals, not cruises or tours, so ask those sellers separately what their quote includes.

A white yacht moored in a marina at sunset; a picture of a boat, not of the terms of any booking

An open paper planner with a grid of blank squares, a few pencil ticks and a brass pen beside it, on a wooden desk — The blank squares are deliberate. Each month on the calendar carries its own planning job, so a reader can see what falls due when. This is an AI-generated illustration and shows no real dates or bookings.

Settle the timing before you settle the price

Timing decides which questions still have good answers. Routine passport processing is listed at 4 to 6 weeks, and expedited processing at 2 to 3 weeks for an extra fee, on the University of Minnesota Passport Office's fee page. A passport should therefore be settled before any deposit is paid. Confirm current times on travel.state.gov, because they can change.

The month-by-month view is on the seasonal calendar. It sets the planning job for each month beside the trip styles that suit it, so start there when the question is when to go, and come back here when the question is who to pay.

Who holds the money decides what you can get back

Who can refund you if the trip falls through?

Start with the seller's written terms, which set what is held and when a booking can be cancelled. If you paid by credit card, a billing-error dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days of the first bill that shows the error. The issuer must acknowledge it in writing within 30 days, unless the problem has been resolved, and resolve it within 90 days, as the FTC explains. A quality complaint is handled differently.

Airlines follow a separate rule. If an airline cancels a flight and offers no alternative, the passenger is due a full refund of the airfare, taxes and ancillary fees included, under 14 CFR 260.6. Those rules were reported as under reconsideration, so check the current text.

How big does a schedule change have to be to count?

For refund purposes, a flight counts as significantly changed when its scheduled departure moves earlier by 3 hours or more on a domestic itinerary, or by 6 hours or more on an international one, as set out in 14 CFR 260.2. A smaller move falls below that threshold, so ask the seller in writing what it will do about it.

What a planner has to decide, and what public sources raise

How the payment is routed

The card rules above have fixed deadlines, so the route you pay by matters. Ask the seller which route holds your money before the first payment, and keep every receipt and written term.

What insurance leaves out

The NAIC's travel insurance guide lists pre-existing health conditions, pandemics and civil or political unrest at the destination among the most common travel policy exclusions. Every policy differs, so read the exclusions before you buy.

What a quote leaves out

A quote is a starting point. Ask whether the total includes mandatory fees, what is refundable and by when, and what happens if the schedule moves. Those answers set most of what you can recover if plans change.

Two public sources to check on your own

Health and fraud, checked at the source

CDC Travelers' Health — current health notices and destination guidance to check before any international trip
FTC Consumer Advice — how to recognise travel and vacation scams and where to report them