Short answer: A good travel client questionnaire covers six areas: who is travelling, when and for how long, budget, the style and pace they like, must-haves and deal-breakers, and practical needs such as health, accessibility and diet. Send it as a short form before the discovery call, keep sensitive identity details for after acceptance, and quote the answers back in the proposal.
Updated October 2026.
Why the questionnaire decides the quality of the proposal
The most common reason a proposal misses is not the itinerary. It is that the agent never learned what the client really wanted. Clients rarely volunteer it. They say "somewhere warm, around a week" and expect you to guess. Good questions bring out the details that make a trip feel designed for them, and they also show the client you are paying attention.
The 30 questions
1. Who is travelling
- Who is travelling, and how are you related?
- What are the ages of anyone under 18, and of anyone over 70?
- Has anyone in the group travelled together before, and how did it go?
- Who is the main decision maker, and who else needs to approve?
2. When and how long
- What are your ideal travel dates, and how flexible are they?
- Is there a fixed date or event the trip must fit around?
- How many nights would you like to be away?
- Where will you start and finish the trip?
3. Budget
- What budget range feels comfortable for the whole trip?
- Does that include flights, or only what happens on the ground?
- Is it per person or total?
- Where would you happily spend more, and where would you save?
4. Purpose and occasion
- Is this trip for a special occasion, such as an anniversary, honeymoon or milestone birthday?
- What do you most want to feel or remember from this trip?
- Why this destination, and what made you consider it?
5. Style and pace
- Do you prefer a packed itinerary or lots of free time?
- How do you feel about changing hotels, and how often is too often?
- What kind of places do you like to stay: boutique, large resort, apartment, something else?
- Do you want private guides and transfers, or prefer to explore independently?
- What is your favourite trip you have taken, and what made it great?
- What was a trip or moment that disappointed you?
6. Must-haves and deal-breakers
- What absolutely must be part of this trip?
- What would you like to avoid completely?
- Any experiences you have already done and do not want repeated?
7. Practical needs
- Does anyone have mobility needs or health considerations we should plan around?
- Any dietary requirements or allergies?
- How do you feel about long drives, early starts or overnight journeys?
- Do you have airline, hotel or loyalty preferences we should know about?
- Are there visa or travel document questions you already know about?
- How would you like to communicate with me during the planning: email, phone or messages?
What not to ask yet
Do not ask for passport numbers, dates of birth or payment details at the enquiry stage. You do not need them to design a trip, and collecting sensitive identity data from someone who may never book creates risk for both of you. Ask for those once the client has accepted the proposal. In Story of a Trip, private traveller details are collected after acceptance by design.
How to collect the answers
- Send a short form first. Include the questions you cannot do without as required, and make the rest optional. A shareable form link works well, because the client can fill it in on their phone in their own time.
- Then hold a short call. Use it for the story behind the answers, not for typing them into your notes.
- Keep everything in one place. Form responses, call notes and messages should sit together so you never ask the same question twice. When a form response becomes a notebook entry and then the starting point of the proposal, you retype nothing.
How to use the answers to win the booking
- Open the proposal with their words. "You told me the last trip felt like packing every second morning, so this one has three bases in ten days and a full week where you do not move."
- Explain each choice. Link every hotel, route decision and pace to something they said.
- Resolve conflicts openly. If two travellers want different things, say how the plan balances them. If dates were mentioned two ways, confirm the right one before you price.
Then send the proposal quickly. See how to follow up on travel proposals for what happens next.
Designing the form so people finish it
- Lead with the easy questions. Names, dates and who is travelling feel effortless and build momentum.
- Mark only the essentials as required. Destination, dates, travellers and a contact method are usually enough. Everything else is optional.
- Group questions by topic. A form that feels like a conversation gets more complete answers than a wall of fields.
- Use dropdowns for budget ranges. People answer ranges more honestly than they answer an open "what is your budget?"
- Leave space for free text. The best insight often sits in a sentence the client writes in their own words.
- Test it on your phone. Most clients will open it there.
A message to send with the form
"Hi, thank you for getting in touch. To design something that fits you, I need to know a little about what you have in mind. This short form takes about ten minutes. Answer what you can and leave anything you are unsure of; we will talk it through on our call. Once I have it, I will start on your ideas."
Keep it warm and short. The goal is to make the form feel like the first step of the service, not paperwork.
Extra questions for specific kinds of trip
Honeymoons and anniversaries
- Is there a surprise element I should know about, or anything that must stay secret?
- Do you want a mix of romance and adventure, or mostly rest?
- Are there dates that matter, such as the wedding day or a birthday?
Family trips with children
- What do the children enjoy, and what bores them?
- Do you need connecting rooms, cots or child-friendly food?
- How early do bedtimes need to be?
Groups and multi-family trips
- Who is responsible for decisions and payment?
- Are budgets the same across households?
- Are there people with very different levels of fitness or interest?
See group travel proposals for multi-family trips.
Accessible travel
- What does a comfortable day look like in terms of walking, stairs and rest?
- Do you need step-free access, specific bathroom layouts or equipment?
- How do you prefer to handle airports and transfers?
Corporate and incentive travel
- Who approves the budget, and what is the approval process?
- What is the purpose of the trip, and how will success be judged?
- Are there policies about airlines, hotels or expenses?
See corporate travel proposals for MICE agents.
When the client does not complete the form
- Wait two days, then send a short nudge. "No rush, but when you have a moment, even a partly completed form helps me get started."
- Offer a call instead. Some people prefer to talk. Fill in the form for them during the call.
- Ask three questions. If the full form is too much, ask only dates, travellers and budget, and refine later.
- Do not start the full proposal without the basics. Guessing wastes your time and produces a proposal that misses.
Common questionnaire mistakes
- Asking for sensitive identity details too early.
- Making everything required.
- Asking questions you never use.
- Not reading the answers before the call.
- Retyping answers into another system instead of reusing them.
Key takeaways
- Cover six areas: travellers, dates, budget, purpose, style and pace, must-haves, and practical needs.
- Use a form before the call, then use the call for the story.
- Hold back sensitive identity details until acceptance.
- Quote the client's own words back in the proposal.