A fair quote can be broken into lines, and each line can be explained. If the quote is one number, ask for the parts. Price each part separately, then add them up and compare with the total.
This test sits in our budget topic, and it works on any quote, from any seller, including ours.
What does the itemisation test look like?
It has five steps. You can run them in an evening.
- Ask for the quote split into lines: room, meals, transfers, activities, extras, taxes.
- Price each line on your own: the room from the hotel’s site, the transfer from a taxi estimate, the meals from the menu.
- Add your own figures and compare with the quote.
- Circle any line where the gap is large and unexplained.
- Ask about each circled line.
You will not match every line, and that is fine. You are looking for gaps that the seller cannot explain.
Which lines hide the most padding?
Extras and bundles are the usual place. A line like “romance package” or “special experience” can hold a bundle of items at one price.
Use this table to see what to ask.
| Line | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Romance package | What exactly is included? Can I see each item? |
| Transfers | Private or shared? What happens on a late flight? |
| Meals | Which meals, which restaurant, halal status? |
| Activities | Duration, group size, what is excluded? |
| Taxes and fees | Are they inside the total or added later? |
Which phrases should make us pause?
Vague wording is a signal to ask more. These phrases are worth a question, not a refusal.
- “Selected items” or “subject to availability”.
- “Exclusive” with no description.
- “Plus plus” with no figure for the plus.
- “Special price today” with no date for the offer.
- A single line named “extras” with no list.
Our note on extras that pad the price names the common ones. A price that looks suspiciously low also needs checking, as in packages that are too cheap.
How do we compare it with booking separately?
Add up the same items booked yourself: stay, flights, transfers and one or two activities. If the gap is small, the package may be worth the convenience. If the gap is large, ask what the difference pays for.
See package versus DIY cost for a worked way to compare. Our list of what a honeymoon package really includes helps with the first step.
Which tools help?
Two tools speed this up. The package comparer lines up two quotes side by side. The quote brief builder helps you ask for itemised prices in the first place.
Use them before you pay a deposit, not after.
What should we do next?
- Ask the seller to itemise the quote.
- Price the main lines yourself.
- Circle gaps and ask about each.
- Send us the quote, and we will do the same check with the hotel and give you a total for two.