Are You Scared to Commit?

Adventure is a State of Mind

Sometimes the hardest step in a journey is the first one, and entering your credit card information is the first step of turning your dreams into something real. It isn’t surprising then that finalizing plans, especially when committing money to secure reservations, creates so much anxiety for many of us. There are ways to approach this part of the planning, however, that can help reduce the stress.

Flights

If you are making flight reservations, it is imperative that you check and double-check dates of birth and the spelling of names (and whether middle names or initials are used) to make sure names match passports. For me, this is one of the scariest parts of finalizing the plans.

I sometimes have one of my travel companions sit with me and double-cheek what I’ve typed to make sure that everything is correct. It is so easy to misspell a name by one letter, and I have heard cautionary tales of airlines forcing someone to cancel and rebook a flight (for a fee, of course) because the name on their ticket did not exactly match the name on their passport. This is an easily avoidable but expensive mistake that you don’t want to make.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao Tzu

Another reason to have one or more travel companions with you while booking your plane tickets is that sometimes the flights you chose are no longer available or have morphed into a nightmare combination of multiple stops or layovers that are too brief (unless you’re an Olympic sprinter) or too long — I honestly think I once visited every single store in SEA-TAC out of sheer boredom during an excessively long layover. As the planner, you probably don’t want to shoulder the entire burden of decision making about alternative flights. At least I know I don’t!

If All Else Fails

Sometimes you’ve booked flights and realize you did make a mistake. Other times you might be concerned about whether everyone in your travel party will agree with the executive decisions you had to make. In cases like these, remember that most airlines will allow you to cancel your reservation within the first 24 hours of booking it. Obviously rebooking is a waste of your time and effort as you have to start over. There is also a risk of flights being snatched up and booked by others or going up in price. It is an emergency option, however, if a mistake has been made that is too much to tolerate.

Lodging

Making reservations for where you want to stay is usually a little less stressful than buying plane tickets–there is more likely to be cancelation/refund options and usually only one name and contact information is needed for the reservation without the pressure of it needing to match the passport. (Some countries or cities will require passport information for all of the guests, but this is more the exception than the rule.)

Early in the process of planning, it is fun to share lodging possibilities with your travel companions and to fantasize about where you would like to stay. Later in the process, however, the planner for the group may feel increasing pressure to find and reserve the perfect place to stay.

To help offset this, I usually give my travel companions three or four options of lodging at each location and ask them to rank them. When the top choice is unanimous, the choice is easy. When there is less agreement, you may need to vote and let the majority rule. If there really isn’t a clear majority, the planner may need to make the final decision. At this point, I feel it is fair as the planner to tell everyone that you’re doing your best so they are not allowed to criticize your choice given the amount of effort you put into the planning!

The Decision-Making Process

When you’re searching for lodging options, the internet is your friend, but sometimes there are so many options that it can be overwhelming. As discussed previously, I use reviews to gather some information about places we might want to stay. I also scrutinize photos to gain more information, keeping in mind that photographers can work magic with angles and Photoshop. Photos can also be outdated on a website, but a careful reading of the reviews will sometimes give you information as to whether people who stayed there felt the place matched their expectations.

In a previous post, I also discussed how you can use Google Streetview to virtually visit an area as part of the decision making process. Taking a virtual walk in the neighborhood can give you a sense of whether the lodging is in a quiet residential neighborhood or in a busy commercial area. It also can give you a sense of whether there are markets, restaurants, or parks within walking distance of where you are considering staying.

Another consideration when making reservations for lodging is how far in advance you need to make them. In a highly touristed area during the high season, you may need to make the reservations a year in advance. In a less touristed area or during shoulder or low season, you may be able to make reservations a few weeks or months ahead of your departure date. Or maybe just find a place when you arrive…although I’m less likely to do that now than I was when I was younger and didn’t really care as much about where I ended up. Hotels, bed and breakfasts, and hostels are likely to take reservations further in advance than are home rental companies, such as Airbnb or VRBO, although that all can vary depending on the area.

For all of your reservations, whether flights or lodging, make sure to pay attention to the “fine print” regarding the details like check-in times and cancelations. I usually make notes about these in both my itinerary and in my calendar. This helps so that I don’t miss the deadline to cancel and receive a full refund if we change our plans.

Final Thoughts

As a final reassurance when I’m feeling nervous about locking myself into plans, I remind myself that it is that very act of committing to the plan that makes the plan happen. I’m the sort of person who almost constantly has a head full of fantasies about future trips. I also love talking with my travel-loving friends about where we might want to go next. Until I have made the reservation, the adventure is still a dream. Once I’ve made a financial commitment, however, I know that the trip is a reality and is going to happen…and that’s exciting!

Does it make you nervous to commit to expensive reservations like flights and hotels? Does sharing the decision making with your travel companions help or add to the pressure? How can you do things differently to reduce the difficulties in the process?