Eight steps from a first note to a reservation with a Fort Lauderdale travel agent

Four things to put in a first note

The figure you are working from. The weeks you could actually leave. How many people, and whether you are sharing rooms. Anything that changes what will suit, from a knee that will not take eight hours downhill to a strong preference for not moving hotel every night.

The eight steps

1. You write in, through the form or by email, naming the figure and the weeks. 2. A person here reads it and replies inside one business day, usually with one or two departures and a question or two. 3. You say which one to price. Nothing has been committed by anybody at this point. 4. This office puts your exact dates to the operating company and asks what it holds. 5. The operator comes back, normally in two to four working days, with availability and a figure against your dates. 6. That figure and the operator's terms come to you in writing, including what it wants at booking and when the balance falls due. 7. Say yes, and your name goes on the reservation at the operating company. 8. That company confirms directly to you and invoices you under its own name and terms.

Who issues the paperwork

This office issues nothing you pay against. Every invoice, receipt, voucher and ticket comes from the company running the trip. Its name is in the written confirmation you get at step six, before you have agreed to anything.

That is also the company whose cancellation terms bind you, whose liability cover applies to the services it provides, and whose office you would deal with if something went wrong on the ground.

Who pays this desk, and when

A commission from the operating company, out of its own margin, after you have travelled. You are not charged a fee here and no card details of yours reach this desk at any stage.