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At AllFly, we offer two distinct ways to book airfare: our self-service booking portal (Quest) and our White Glove Service — where our team of experienced travel agents emails personalized flight options directly to your travelers.
White Glove Service is a great fit for teams that prefer a high-touch experience. It’s ideal for VIPs, team members who don’t want to search for flights themselves, or groups traveling to complex destinations. But it’s also important to understand how to set your travelers up for success — and what challenges to look out for if you choose this route.
In this post, we’ll share best practices for running a smooth White Glove experience and call out some common pitfalls we’ve seen, based on real-world data from hundreds of bookings.
Best Practices for Running White Glove Travel 💼
If your company is electing White Glove Service ($50 per traveler), we highly recommend a few simple steps before launching your program. These will ensure a smoother experience and fewer headaches for your travel coordinator, your travelers, and our team.
1. Let Travelers Know an Email Is Coming
Before kicking off your travel window, send a quick heads-up to your attendees:
This small step dramatically improves response rates and reduces confusion. When travelers expect the email, they’re more likely to engage with it quickly — and not assume it’s unsolicited or spam.
2. Ask Travelers to Respond Within 12 Hours
Flight prices change fast. We’re only able to hold fares for 24 hours, and in practice, that window is even tighter due to airline fluctuations.
To avoid expired fares, lost seats, or having to rework the entire search, instruct travelers to respond within 12 hours of receiving our email.
This keeps the booking process moving forward and helps travelers secure better options.
3. Share Clear Travel Policies Upfront
Don’t wait for the back-and-forth. If your company has a preferred cabin class, airline rules, or budget limits, let us know in advance — and ideally, communicate that to your travelers too.
The more aligned everyone is on the front end, the fewer approval loops and escalations you’ll have on the back end.
Common Pitfalls & Turbulent Moments ⚠️
While White Glove Service sounds seamless in theory, our data tells a different story when it’s not paired with the best practices above.
Most Travelers Still Search on Their Own
We recently conducted an internal study of over 600 White Glove travelers and found that 93% of them still searched for flights on their own — even after receiving personalized options from our team.
This raises an important question: If most travelers are running their own search, why not use our self-service tool, Quest, from the start?
Quest offers the same airline content, built-in travel policies, and fare visibility — without the delays or communication breakdowns that can occur via email.
The 2.5-Day Response Delay
On average, travelers take 2.5 days to respond to our first email. By that time, the fare we initially sent is usually no longer available.
This creates friction:
- We have to re-run the search.
- The traveler may be disappointed by the new price or route.
- The process becomes more drawn out — sometimes taking two or three rounds of emails just to finalize one booking.
Manual Reporting Adds Lag
Unlike Quest, which has real-time dashboards, White Glove reporting is manual. It can take 24–48 hours to reflect updates, which may delay internal reporting or reconciliation on your end.
Final Thoughts ✈️
White Glove Service can be a great fit for certain teams — but only when it’s run thoughtfully, with clear communication and timely traveler responses.
If your travelers are tech-savvy and prefer to run their own search anyway, we strongly encourage using Quest. It’s faster, more flexible, and keeps everyone on the same page from start to finish.
But if you do choose White Glove, a few simple prep steps can go a long way in making the experience smooth, efficient, and frustration-free for everyone involved.
Have questions or need help deciding which booking method is right for your team?
Reach out to us at salesmanagers@allfly.io — we’d be happy to help.
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