How we work
How we work, and exactly what we charge.
Travel is an industry with a lot of hidden numbers in it. Ours are on this page. Read it before you send us anything.
The promise underneath everything
Nothing is offered until it is verified, and nothing is confirmed until a person has checked it.
That is not a slogan, it is the operating rule. We do not quote from a website, a brochure or last season's rate sheet. Before a price reaches you, an advisor has spoken to the actual property, airline, operator or vendor and confirmed availability on your exact dates, the all-in cost including taxes and service, what is included, the deposit schedule, the cancellation terms, and that the person selling it is authorised to sell it.
We also never say “our château” or “our jet”. We say “a property we can source”, because that is the truth, and overstating a relationship is how travel companies lose people.
The four steps
- The desk welcomes you. One of the seven concierge desks takes your dates, your party, the places, the occasion and your budget band. It never asks for card or bank details, and it never confirms or prices anything.
- Your file is prepared and placed with a Royal Advisor, usually the same day.
- Your advisor verifies — the calls described above, written down.
- You approve. Two or three real options, all-in prices, what is and is not included, and the cancellation terms in writing. Only then does anything get reserved or charged.
Response standard: every request is acknowledged within four business hours. Weddings within two. Always — even when the honest answer is “I have this, and I will come back Thursday with options.”
What we charge
We earn in two ways, and you will always be told which applies to you: a planning fee you pay us, and supplier commission the supplier pays us. We do not take both on the same component without telling you.
Planning fees
| Kind of trip | Planning fee | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| A holiday, villa or cruise under $15,000 | $150–$450 | Research, verification calls, the itinerary, and us on the end of the phone while you travel. |
| A trip of $15,000–$100,000 | From $750 | The above, plus multi-supplier coordination, transfers, and a written day-by-day. |
| Weddings & celebrations | See Royal Occasions | Three packages, from $4,500. Set out in full on that page. |
The planning fee is due at signing and is non-refundable, because it buys work we do immediately. If you go ahead and book through us, it is credited against what you owe.
Fee bands on arranged spend
Where we are contracting suppliers on your behalf — a wedding week, a multi-property itinerary, a chartered vessel — our fee is a percentage of the supplier spend we arrange, and it falls as the budget rises.
| Supplier spend we arrange | Our fee |
|---|---|
| $50,000 – $150,000 | 15% |
| $150,000 – $400,000 | 12.5% |
| Above $400,000 | 10% |
Under $50,000 of arranged spend we work to the planning fees above instead, because a percentage of a small number does not pay for the work and we would rather charge you honestly than pad the supplier prices.
How your money is held
For anything we contract on your behalf, you pay us and we pay the suppliers. One schedule, one company answerable to you, instead of nine deposits to nine strangers in four currencies.
- Client funds sit in a separate client account. They are not our operating money and are not spent, borrowed against or moved for any other purpose.
- Every disbursement is recorded — who, how much, when, for what — and you may ask to see it.
- No supplier is paid before your funds for that payment have cleared.
- Payments of $10,000 and above go by wire or ACH. Card details are held by our payment processor, never by us.
- A change of anyone's bank details is verified by voice call to a number we already hold, never from an email. No urgency overrides that rule.
We will never ask you for
Card or bank details in a chat, a form or an email · a deposit before you have terms in writing · a payment to any account other than the company's own. If anyone asks you for those in our name, stop and call +1 (727) 266-1264.
Deposits and cancellation
Supplier terms vary and we pass on exactly what the supplier imposes — never more. Our own cancellation terms for planned trips and events are:
| You cancel | Our fee |
|---|---|
| More than 6 months before travel | Planning fee retained; nothing further |
| 6 to 3 months before | 50% of our fee |
| Inside 90 days | 100% of our fee |
Supplier deposits already committed follow that supplier's own terms. This is exactly why we recommend travel and event-cancellation insurance to every client, in writing — it is the only thing that protects you from a hurricane, an illness or a supplier's collapse. If you decline it, we record that you declined.
Every budget, the same care
Royal treatment is a standard of service, not a price point. A family with $2,500 for a week in Portugal gets the same attention as a couple with $200,000 for Tuscany — different options, identical care. You will never hear “our clients typically spend more than that” from anyone here.
What we are, legally
We act as an agent for the properties, carriers, operators and vendors we book. They deliver the service; we arrange, verify and coordinate it, and we are answerable to you for how we do that. Full terms are on the terms of service page.