What Happens When You Plan Luxury Travel Around Purpose, Not Place
The most meaningful trips begin with the purpose for traveling, not the destination, which is why the most intentional way to work with a luxury travel advisor is before you’ve chosen where to go. Through discovery calls focused on travel style, expectations, and emotional anchors, Whitney Shindelar designs personalized itinerary options that align with how clients want their experience to feel, not just where it takes place. Real client examples, from a 20th anniversary rooted in nostalgia to a passion-led birthday and a growth-focused adventure, show how purpose-led planning leads to more satisfying, aligned travel experiences.
Table of Contents
Why to Reach Out to a Travel Advisor Early (even before you choose the destination)
Why Use a Travel Advisor If You Want Inspiration, Not Just Bookings
It’s happened many times in the last ten years of running my luxury travel business.
A potential client gets in touch to plan a trip. They usually start off by sharing a destination and specific dates, hoping I can help make their idea a reality. And I do. We book luxury hotels that are as much a part of the experience as any of the activities on the itinerary. We weave in moments of delight and surprise, from little details like reservations to undiscovered local restaurants to VIP entry at some of the world’s most extraordinary sites.
On paper, these trips are everything the traveler is hoping for. And many times they return home with glowing reviews and excitement for the next adventure.
But sometimes, something unexpected happens. When I check in post-trip, they share:
"We were excited to see and do all these things that we always hear about, and we loved the trip…but we came home so tired!"
or
"Everyone told us we should go to the Louvre and go up into the Eiffel Tower, but on the way home, we all agreed the croissant + baguette baking class and the Dior Museum visit were our favorites!"
Many years of experience as both a traveler and luxury travel advisor has shaped the way I plan travel: starting with the reason for the trip, not the destination.
The trips that stay with people long after they return usually begin with the “why”. A milestone coming up. A desire to reconnect. A sense that this trip should feel different from the last few.
Often, all someone needs to say is, “We want to go somewhere next year, but we don’t know where yet.”
That moment — the not-knowing — is where clarity begins to take shape. And it is where I do my best work.
When travel is built around purpose and passion rather than a predetermined destination, it opens the door to possibilities most travelers would never uncover on their own. And it almost always leads to an experience that feels more personal, more intentional, and far more meaningful.
How to Decide Where to Travel (When You Don’t Know Yet)
Not knowing where you want to go is often framed as indecision.
I see it as opportunity.
When a client comes to me with a blank slate and some general direction, it gives us room to think expansively before narrowing things down. We start by talking about why they’re traveling in the first place. What they’re celebrating. What they’re craving more of right now. What has energized them on past trips — and what hasn’t.
Those early conversations aren’t about locking anything in. They’re about understanding how someone actually experiences travel.
Do you like slow mornings or full days?
Do you recharge through adventure, culture, food, nature?
How do you like to balance time together with time apart as a group?
What makes a trip feel restorative rather than rushed?
Once we layer in the practical pieces — timeframe, budget, logistics — I’m able to do my “matchmaking” work, suggesting destinations and itineraries that are personalized to each traveler.
And sometimes, as you’ll see through the client stories below, I come back to you with a few options to choose from. Different destinations. Different pacing. Different textures to the experience. And you choose what feels most aligned with how you’re envisioning this trip.
That process doesn’t just help you choose where to go. It helps you gain clarity around what kind of travel experience you truly want…sometimes for the first time.
Why to Reach Out to a Travel Advisor Early (even before you choose the destination)
When people ask why they should use a travel advisor, the assumption is usually that the value comes later in the process.
Booking logistics. Hotel coordination. Making sure everything runs smoothly once the destination is chosen.
And yes, that matters.
But the real advantage of working with a travel advisor earlier — even before you’ve chosen where to go — is discernment rooted in experience.
Google, Instagram and AI tools are excellent at generating options. They surface what’s popular, what’s highly reviewed, what other people tend to choose. What they don’t do is ask why you’re traveling, or notice when the trip you’re building doesn’t actually align with the reason you’re taking it.
On a planning call with me, things are different. I know the questions to ask to get to the heart of your travels. What can you expect from working with a travel advisor like myself?
I know when an idea looks good on paper but might “feel off” once you’re in it.
I can recognize when you’re defaulting to something familiar instead of something that would genuinely excite you.
I connect the dots between your past experiences and what might make this next one feel meaningful.
When clients come to me earlier in the process, my role isn’t just to plan a trip. It’s to guide them toward clarity before decisions start stacking on top of each other.
That early conversation changes everything. It shifts the experience from destination-led to purpose-led. From reactive to intentional. From “this seems like a good idea” to “this feels exactly right.”
The most intentional way to work with a luxury travel advisor is before you’ve decided where to go.
So the next time you know you want to take a trip, consider starting the conversation before you’ve even chosen the “where.”
What does this actually look like?
Three Real Examples of Purpose-Led Travel Planning
Three different clients, three different reasons to travel. Here are stories and conversations that highlight my travel planning process. A journalist looking to get out of her comfort zone. An art gallery owner wanting a memorable birthday celebration. A realtor planning a 20th wedding anniversary rooted in nostalgia.
These stories are featured in articles written by travel writer Karla Walsh for DSM Magazine. If one of them inspires you, read the full article and then reach out to schedule your own “destination matchmaking” discovery call.
An Anniversary Trip That Started With a Question, Not a Country
Local Des Moines real estate agent Sara Hopkins already knew my planning style when she reached out to talk about her 20th wedding anniversary trip. The first trip I’d designed for her family was destination-focused, Paris during spring break. This time around, she was eager to try things “my way” and got on a discovery call without a destination in mind.
Although I knew her family’s travel style well, we spent the call focused specifically on her and her husband. We talked through how they like to travel together, what this anniversary represented, and what they were craving in this season of life. Even without a concrete destination on the table, one thing became clear very quickly. The emotional anchor of this trip was Southeast Asia, where they had spent several months backpacking when they were first married.
But this time, with a higher budget for some luxurious 5-star hotels.
The question wasn’t simply whether to return to where they’d built early marriage memories. It was how to build on those memories twenty years later…butwith different needs, different expectations, and a desire for comfort woven into the experience.
After our call, I built three distinct trip concepts that Sara and Marc could choose from. Each one was rooted in the same emotional starting point, but interpreted in a different way.
The festival of lights in Thailand invited a slower-paced, immersive experience rooted in cultural tradition
Revisiting Cambodia & Vietnam would be a return to the countries they’d backpacked through as newlyweds, but this time with a river cruise and visiting Angkor Wat during Buddha’s birthday
A new destination, Indonesia, would offer them the chance to visit an undiscovered place, with cultural exploration highlighting less-visited sites alongside a stop in Bali
Each meaningful option designed based on how they wanted this anniversary to feel, not just where it would take place. And there was no ‘wrong’ choice.
A Birthday Trip Designed Around Passion
When Liz Lidgett reached out to plan a birthday trip with her husband, Nick, she wasn’t looking for a long getaway or a complicated itinerary. The parameters were clear: A short adults-only trip. A defined budget. A celebration that took both of their interests into account.
And what mattered more than the destination was how they like to travel together.
Because Liz knows that a memorable vacation for her includes specific art experiences and moments to relax. While Nick, on the other hand, loves to move quickly through a place, seeking out very specific museums, architectural details, or cultural sites. Their ideal day doesn’t look identical. For some travelers, that would seem like a point of friction.
For Liz and Nick, it’s about balance.
Instead of forcing them into the same pace or building a schedule where one person compromises, we talked through building a celebratory trip that matches their rhythm:
Mornings exploring together. Afternoons spent separately, with Liz enjoying a spa experience while Nick dives deep into museums or performance spaces. Evenings reserved for reconnecting over great food and a shared experience.
These are the three options I curated for them to choose from:
Albuquerque & Santa Fe: An art-forward Southwest escape centered on public art and grounding landscapes, with a standout stay at Los Poblanos and immersive visits to Meow Wolf and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Hudson Valley, New York: A historic, slow-paced celebration rooted in art and food, anchored by a stay at Troutbeck and days spent wandering Storm King Art Center and Art Omi.
Sundance, Utah: A secluded creative retreat designed for restoration and inspiration, featuring art studio workshops, sunrise yoga, and spa time in a nature-immersed mountain setting.
Each option fit the same timeframe, the same budget, and the same celebration. What differed was the expression. The pace. The feeling of the days.
That’s the advantage of starting with travel style instead of a place. When the destination is chosen last, it becomes a natural extension of the experience you’re actually trying to create.
An Adventure Beyond the Comfort Zone
When travel writer Karla Walsh reached out to plan her next trip, she wasn’t looking for rest or familiarity. She was looking for challenge.
For Karla, travel has always been tied to growth. She wanted an experience that would push her slightly outside her comfort zone while still feeling thoughtful and well supported.
We started with what kind of challenge she was craving. Physical challenge. Mental challenge. The kind of experience that requires curiosity, patience, and a willingness to be uncomfortable in productive ways.
(But with delicious meals all along the way!)
From there, I created three itinerary options, each designed around that same intention but expressed differently.
One option challenged her assumptions about cruising by placing her on an intimate expedition ship in Alaska, surrounded by wildlife, conservationists, and daily opportunities to get off the boat and explore.
Another combined physical movement with culture in southern Spain, blending hiking, biking, and canyoning with food, music, and history in cities like Seville and Granada.
The third was a more introspective challenge. A journey through Japan that asked her to slow down, navigate language barriers, and engage deeply with culture, food, and tradition in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Each option fit her timeframe and budget. What differed was how the challenge would show up and what kind of growth it might invite.
Want to read more about Karla’s journey and see which option she ultimately chose? You can read the full story written by Karla Walsh for DSM Magazine here.
Why Use a Travel Advisor If You Want Inspiration, Not Just Bookings
If you’re looking for someone to help execute a trip you’ve already planned, many travel advisors can do that well. But if you want unique, personalized ideas you wouldn’t have arrived at on your own, that’s where I do my best work.
When you get on a discovery call with me, expect me to lead with questions, not destinations. I’ll want to understand the purpose of your trip, how you like to travel, and what you’re hoping this experience will give you – not just when and where you want to go.
Schedule a discovery call with me to gain clarity about your future travels before decisions start stacking up.I’ll help guide you toward options that feel intentional and aligned, no matter the destination.
FAQ: Booking a Luxury Hotel
What are the pros and cons of working with a luxury travel agency?
Pros: Working with a luxury travel advisor means your trip is thoughtfully designed, not just booked. Beyond handling logistics like hotels and reservations, a travel advisor helps you think thoughtfully about your trip, from undiscovered local restaurants to meaningful experiences that might not be obvious at first glance. Instead of planning around what’s popular or highly reviewed, you plan around the purpose of your trip and how you actually like to travel.
Cons: If you wait to reach out to a travel agency after you’ve made all the major trip decisions, the experience becomes execution-driven. You may limit the opportunity to shape the trip around the reason you’re traveling in the first place.
Why should I use a travel advisor?
You should use a travel advisor if you want clarity and thoughtful guidance, not just with logistics (although they support details like those as well!)
Search engines and AI tools generate options, but they don’t offer nuanced guidance for planning a trip that truly supports your desires. A travel advisor helps you design a trip that feels intentional and aligned from the start.
How does one actually find a travel advisor to work with?
You can find travel advisors on social media, blogs like this, Reddit suggestions, and Virtuoso’s directory of travel advisors.
What is the cost structure of using a travel advisor?
For most trips, I charge a Research & Design fee on a per trip basis. Everything else you pay is the trip itself. I don’t mark up prices, and am always on the lookout for better prices than when you book direct. If you simply want me to book you a specific hotel and know the dates, I don’t charge a fee. You will only pay the cost of the booking.
What are the top luxury destinations to visit?
Rather than basing a trip around the destination, think about the reason you want to travel or take the trip and prioritize your interests and travel pace. Then, we can look at destinations that support that. In the past year, I have sent clients on luxury-driven trips to Southeast Asia, southern Spain, and various US American states, amongst many other destinations. Luxury is in the intention behind the planning.
Whitney Shindelar
Undiscovered Sunsets was a long time in the making, even if I myself didn’t realize it. During my time at the University of Northern Iowa, I studied abroad in New Zealand. Upon graduating, I bought a one-way ticket to France, lived with a French family and studied with classmates from Turkey, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, and everywhere in between. In 2010 I began teaching English as a foreign language. This job quickly took me to China, where English teachers were in high demand and within three years, I began working in a 5-star hotel, speaking Mandarin throughout most of my day. In total, I lived abroad for 7 years.
I consider Undiscovered Sunsets to be the perfect mélange of my personal experience traveling the world and my professional experience working in the hospitality industry.
I look forward to designing your next adventure!
