Frequently Asked Questions

A Travel Advisor (or TA) is your trusted partner in trip planning and personalized travel. As a TA, Noura can help you create your trip from scratch (think researching destinations, hotels, best time to travel, and best routes to take), book what you've already decided on, and anything in between!

Her job is to make sure your next trip is tailored perfectly to your taste, preferences, travel style, and budget, and to provide the best value for your time and money.

While DestiNations by Noura is Noura's own travel advising service, she works under a host agency, Fora Travel. By working under Fora, she has access to thousands of preferred partners to gain exclusive perks and provide her clients with a VIP experience.

Noura specializes in booking on-the-ground experiences, accommodations, and activities, which include: hotels, villas, rental homes, cruises, tours, safaris, trains, rental cars, airport transfers and more! While she can book airfare, most clients prefer to book that themselves. She can provide recommendations on air travel and pricing, and book airfare if requested for an additional fee.

For researching and booking accommodations (including cruises), there is no additional cost to you! A TA gets paid commission by the hotel, cruise line or other supplier for bookings. In most cases, you will pay the same amount you see online when booking directly with that supplier (see questions below regarding exceptions when it comes to Expedia). The reason to book with a TA is that Noura can often get you perks such as free room category upgrades, free daily breakfast, spa or property credit, and more!

*Please note that in order to best use her time and resources, Noura is only able to quote and book hotels that offer commission to TAs.*

Noura also offers curating and planning full trip itineraries with details like restaurant recommendations and reservations, activities, and other experiences in addition to hotel bookings. For this type of service, she charges a non-refundable Trip Planning Service Fee based on the length of the trip.

It's true that websites like Expedia and Booking sometimes provide lower rates than booking directly with a supplier, and if you're on a tight budget that may be the way to go. However, when booking with these websites, you are not offered any preferred status with the property and are often left without options or support should something happen with your booking or while you're on property.

Hotels pay a higher commission to these websites than they do Travel Advisors, and prefer to book with advisors because they know a lot of effort has gone into recommending the right place for each client. That's why they can add special perks such as free upgrades, breakfast, or spa credits for an advisor's clients that they would not offer a client coming through Expedia or Booking.

Advisors also normally have direct access to the property's reservations, concierge and sales teams, so someone can be reached directly should you need assistance.

1. Getting to know you: Whether you know exactly where you want to go or what to do, or have no idea where you want to spend your vacation, Noura likes to start by sending an Inquiry Form to get to know you and your travel style and budget. This helps her get a better sense of what you're looking for in an ideal trip so she can better curate your options to your preferences.
2. Phone Review: Once Noura receives your completed questionnaire, she will schedule a 15–20 min phone call to review your preferences and make sure she has all the information she needs, as well as to answer any questions you may have.
3. Planning & Curating Options: The fun part! Based on your conversation, Noura will research and come up with a list of 3–4 options of destinations, hotels, etc. within your budget for you to review. All rates, taxes & fees, cancellation policies and additional perks (if applicable) will be listed. If you need to see a few more options, just let her know! If planning a full itinerary, she will send a draft itinerary with a few options to start with.
4. Booking: Once you've selected your travel experience, Noura will make the booking with the hotel or other supplier with your payment information. You're booked! Please note all credit card info will be securely collected and stored via Fora's Vault.
5. Pre-Trip: As you get closer to your trip date, Noura will ensure everything is confirmed with the hotel and that any special requests are accommodated if applicable. She will send you an email with a summary of your confirmation(s) along with reminders and recommendations.
6. During Trip: While you're on your trip, Noura is one phone call or email away if you have any concerns or questions in regards to your booking. With a direct line of communication to the hotel's reservations and concierge teams, she can help address and follow up on any issues or requests that come up for you.
7. Post-Trip: Upon your return, you will receive a request to submit a review of your experience working with Noura as your TA, as well as a review of the property or supplier with which you booked. Your time is greatly appreciated in completing these reviews and, of course, please refer Noura to your other travel-obsessed friends and family!

Travel Advisors always book the best available rate as given on the hotel's website. Hotels are required to offer the same prices across all booking platforms, but occasionally you may see a different rate from a website like Expedia than the one advertised on the hotel's website. That happens very rarely but, if it does, Noura will investigate and contact the property directly to ensure it honors the same price.

Of course! Whether it's multi-generational family trips or reunions, corporate retreats, bachelorette parties, honeymoons, or room blocks for a wedding, Noura can help negotiate and lock in group rates and take the stress off planning!