By submitting payment, the client acknowledges and agrees to the following:
1. Research and Planning Fee
Lyric’s Destinations Travel Group charges a nonrefundable research and planning fee of $150 for standard travel requests.
This fee compensates the agency for the professional time, expertise, destination research, supplier outreach, itinerary development, and proposal preparation required for the client’s travel request.
The fee is separate from and is not applied toward airfare, accommodations, transportation, activities, travel insurance, supplier deposits, or other travel arrangements unless otherwise stated in writing.
2. Standard Fee Coverage
The $150 research and planning fee applies to:
- A standard, single-destination itinerary
- Travel for up to 10 travelers
- Research and preparation of an initial travel proposal
- Recommendations based on the completed travel questionnaire
Payment does not guarantee pricing, availability, reservations, or confirmation of any travel arrangements.
3. Requests Requiring an Additional Fee
An additional research and planning fee may be required for:
- More than 10 travelers
- Multiple cities, countries, islands, or destinations
- Complex or highly customized itineraries
- Complicated flight routes or multiple departure cities
- Extensive coordination among multiple suppliers
- Destination weddings, group travel, or special events
- Significant changes to the destination, dates, budget, number of travelers, or overall trip requirements after research begins
- Additional research caused by material changes to the original request
- Expedited or unusually time-sensitive requests
If an additional fee is required, a travel advisor will notify the client in writing of the reason and amount before the additional research begins. No additional fee should be charged without the client’s authorization.
If the client declines the additional fee, the agency will not proceed with the additional or expanded research. The original $150 fee remains nonrefundable because it covers the initial review, assessment, and work already performed.
4. When Research Begins
Research begins only after:
- The initial travel request has been submitted.
- The $150 research and planning fee has been paid.
- The detailed travel questionnaire has been completed.
- Any requested additional information or required additional research fee has been received.
5. Proposal Timeframe
Unless additional information or an additional research and planning fee is required, the initial proposal will generally be provided within 48–72 business hours after all required steps have been completed.
If additional information or payment is required, the 48–72-business-hour timeframe begins after the requested information and any additional fee have been received.
This timeframe is an estimate and may be affected by supplier response times, destination complexity, weekends, holidays, or circumstances outside the agency’s control.
6. Pricing and Availability
All pricing and availability presented in a proposal are subject to change until the applicable supplier deposit has been paid and the reservation has been confirmed.
A proposal is not a confirmed reservation. Lyric’s Destinations Travel Group cannot guarantee that quoted pricing, accommodations, flights, room categories, or other travel services will remain available while the client reviews the proposal.
7. Client Information
The client is responsible for providing complete and accurate information, including traveler details, dates, destination preferences, budget, passport status, accessibility needs, and other relevant requirements.
Delays or additional work caused by missing, inaccurate, or changed information may affect the proposal timeframe and may require an additional research and planning fee.
8. Follow-Up Consultation
A consultation call is not automatically required. If the completed questionnaire provides sufficient information, the agency may proceed directly with researching and preparing the proposal.
If clarification is required, a travel advisor will contact the client to arrange a consultation through Picktime before research continues.
9. Nonrefundable Fee
The research and planning fee is nonrefundable once paid, including if the client:
- Decides not to proceed with the trip
- Books independently or through another agency
- Changes or cancels the request
- Does not complete the questionnaire
- Does not respond to requests for additional information
- Declines an applicable additional research and planning fee
The fee compensates the agency for professional services and administrative resources reserved or performed. It is not payment toward the purchase of travel products.
10. Acceptance
The client must affirmatively accept the terms before payment by checking an unchecked acknowledgment box stating:
“I have read and agree to the Research and Planning Fee Terms and Conditions. I understand that the $150 fee is nonrefundable, applies only to qualifying standard travel requests, and that an additional fee may be required for complex, multi-destination, or group travel requests.”