Step-by-Step Booking Guide: Booking a DMC or Multi-Day Tour

If the partner is new to you, preview their work first. Check Portal, since sample itineraries may already be on their profile, or use the Sample Itinerary Request template to ask a few partners for a past example, kept high-level with no client details or custom work. If you already know their work, skip to the brief below.

Reach out with a clear client brief. Use the DMC Inquiry Email Template as your starting point. Fill in as much as you have, since a partial brief is better than a late one, and follow up with detail as it comes.

One DMC at a time. Sample requests can go to several partners at once, but a full proposal is real work, so once you request one, Fora's policy is to work with a single DMC per trip. Steer that partner well, and only move on if it genuinely is not working out.

A strong brief includes: destination and specific areas, travel dates and number of nights, number of guests and any children's ages, the occasion, travel style, accommodation preference, room configuration, key interests, non-negotiables, special requirements, and the overall budget inclusive of your commission.

Give direction, not a finished plan. Share your client's preferences, non-negotiables, and context in your own words, and let the partner design the itinerary from their local expertise, which will serve your client better than any AI-generated version.

Confirm your assumptions upfront. Flag what you will need nailed down so there are no surprises later: how they break out pricing (line item, by category, or lump sum), whether they will set up a WhatsApp group while your client is traveling, and, if you want to book a hotel yourself, whether they allow it.

Confirm the quoted rates are gross, with your commission built in, and that the commission applied matches your agreed rate in Portal, usually 12% of the commissionable trip total.

Review the itinerary against the brief: check the pricing is within budget, and the hotel locations, tiers, and routing. If anything needs clarifying or amending, raise it with the partner first.

Get the inclusions and assumptions you raised at briefing confirmed in writing: the pricing breakdown, a WhatsApp group during travel, or booking a hotel yourself.

Confirm whether there is a credit card processing fee and what it is (typically around 3%). If there is, ask whether the partner accepts other methods, since a wire transfer can save your client that fee.

Confirm the cancellation and amendment policies and the payment schedule.

Present the trip to your client only once the proposal looks right and all fees, policies, and terms are confirmed.

Expect some back-and-forth. Gather your client's feedback and relay adjustments to the partner (room types, pacing, activities, special requests), refining the itinerary until it is right. Confirm each change in writing, and lay changes out clearly so nothing is lost in translation and you keep revisions to a minimum.

For a complex trip, or one that has had a lot of changes, set up a call with the partner to review the full itinerary before your client travels.

Once your client approves, take the deposit to confirm the booking, then log it in Portal and submit your confirmation to the commissions team: client name, travel partner, confirmation number, travel dates, and commission amount.

Changes can still come up after confirmation; handle them through the partner and confirm each in writing.

Get the partner's 24-hour emergency contact before your client departs.

Confirm availability and departure dates for the specific tour before anything else.

Confirm the commission rate in Portal before you quote, since Multi-Day Tour rates vary by partner.

Book the tour, then build the trip around it: flights, pre and post stays, transfers, and pre-trip prep. You remain the client's point of contact throughout.

Triple-confirm that your commission is not visible to your client, since some operators are consumer-facing and clients may find the same trip priced online.

Where available, through Virtuoso and select partner programs, add client perks such as room upgrades or welcome offers, which make your booking more compelling than booking direct.

Set expectations on booking on your client's behalf. Once you book, you are the point of contact with the operator, and your client usually cannot change or manage the reservation directly; requests route through you (some steps, such as signing waivers, the client still completes themselves). What a client can access on their own varies by operator, so confirm it with the partner and set expectations upfront.

Log the booking in Portal once travel is confirmed and a deposit is paid.

Deposits and balances are paid on schedule

All confirmations received: accommodation, transfers, tours, and flights

Visas and entry requirements checked

Travel insurance in place

Client briefed on what to expect and key timings

Tipping and gratuity guidelines confirmed with the partner, and your client briefed (norms vary by destination)

Partner's 24-hour emergency contact on hand