Trip Support and Why You Need It.

A good day to you! James here, head of the travel planning department here at C.R. Referrals Travel. Today I want to talk a little about trip support and why you need it, and it starts with a little story. This is a story of a couple’s journey to Costa Rica, one that did not go as planned when it started, but had a happy ending. One sunny morning in our Atenas office, our 24-hour support line rang. On the other end of the phone was one of my travelers, “John”, there was a crisis, and John needed help! This is in part what we do, and help I was ready to give.

Let me back up a little. I had planned John’s first trip here 7 years ago. They loved it! This trip they were currently embarked on was the first time they had travelled since their first trip here and as they had explained to me, they desperately needed a vacation. I love planning return trips, and I am honored that they wanted to repeat Costa Rica as their next trip, I was delighted to hear from them when they got in touch with us. As directed, I planned a special trip in honor of that needed vacation. I even got an email from John’s boss, he told me he had been working very hard and he wanted to do something special for them at some point in the adventure. We put together a secret gift basket that was waiting for them along their journey, it was a meticulously planned adventure, and it was about to go off the rails!

Yes, on this day, the day they were to arrive and start their Costa Rica adventure, John and his wife missed the connecting flight. John was now on the phone with me telling me about the situation.

Now because John’s original arrival flight was early in the morning, and they were eager, the plan was to hit the ground running. On arrival to SJO airport we had arranged a private transfer to Cahuita where he was to spend the next few nights before heading off to Bocas del Toro, Panama. On Day 2 of his trip, he had tours, and so on…

John finally managed to get another flight that same day but instead of arriving at 10am, he was now arriving at 11pm. John could have panicked, he could have thrown his fists in the air cursing the travel gods, but instead he kept a cool head and he called us, 1 call, and everything on the Costa Rica side of the equation was taken care of. With an evening arrival, we got him a room for the arrival near the airport, we rearranged the private transfer that was taking him to Cahuita for the following day, we rearranged the tour that was supposed to happen that following day, and we let the hotel in Cahuita know that John would be a day later… 1 call. That’s it. His trip was back on track without any stress.

This is a good example of why 24-hour trip support is so important when you are traveling and the reason for the post today. John could have been in the position to try and reach out to multiple companies here in Costa Rica. Dealing with language barriers, international phone rates, and the stress of trying to do it all from an airport. Instead, he just made the 1 call. Within the hour everything was fixed.

Make sure that whoever you are working with, whoever is planning your trip, make sure they offer this. If John had booked everything independently, he would be trying to make multiple international calls to Costa Rica to try and rearrange everything on his own, in a language he does not speak, while also trying to sort out his flights. If he had worked with a company that did not provide real customer support with a human being, only automated services, then things would not have gone as well.

Beyond the handpicked guides and drivers, behind the customized planning, you also need trip support. The trip support we offer comes in 2 ways.

24-Hour Trip Support – Pretty self-explanatory, we offer 24 hour trip support to all of our guests while you are traveling here in Costa Rica. You will be given not only the 24 hour support line, but the direct WhatsApp number for your travel planner.
Trip Monitoring – This is part of our service that goes on behind the scenes. While a trip is happening, we are calling ahead to the drivers, guides, & hotels, 1 day before a service, to make sure everything is still on track. Sometimes a road closure or other event can change the pickup time for a tour or transfer. If there are changes in any way, we will alert you to them while you are here. This all happens in real time, and this is why our trips run like clockwork.

So that’s it, that’s the story and the message. Make sure to have 24-Hour Trip Support in ALL your travels around the world. It will save you a world of headaches. Pura Vida!