Frequently asked questions
Quick answers for travelers and travel agencies. Can’t find yours? Contact us.
Quick answers for travelers and travel agencies. Can’t find yours? Contact us.
No. Travelers pay nothing to WanderBids; agencies set their own prices. You pay the agency for the trip you choose, and you don’t have to accept any proposal. WanderBids is paid by agencies, not travelers: our planned agency plans include a success fee on bookings won through WanderBids.
Independent travel agencies that are licensed or accredited where they operate and that we’ve vetted. We check their licence or accreditation, business registration and references, and send them a test brief. We match each trip with agencies that know the destination and the kind of trip you’re planning, and we’ll tell you which agencies received your brief. You can ask us which body licenses or accredits any agency matched to your trip.
Up to three. Matched agencies aim to send tailored proposals within 48 hours of receiving your brief. We can’t promise that any agency, or three agencies, will send a proposal, or that proposals will arrive within 48 hours. If an agency can’t plan your trip well, it can decline, and we’d rather it did.
You don’t have to accept any of them, and you pay nothing to WanderBids either way. You can ask the agencies questions, tell us what’s missing, or simply decide not to go ahead.
Yes, with your matched agencies only, so they can tailor their proposals. We share your brief, including your budget, only if you tick the box that lets us, and we never publish it or show it to other travelers.
This website doesn’t take payments or deposits. If you decide to book, you pay the agency you choose directly, including any deposit, under its terms. Each agency sets its own deposit, payment schedule and cancellation and refund rules, so read its proposal and booking terms before you book. We’ll update this answer before WanderBids handles any deposits. More on our Trust & safety page.
Trips with a lot of moving parts, where an experienced agency makes the difference:
We’re not the best fit for a simple flight-and-hotel booking.
Our pilot is planned to open in November 2026 on two routes: Manila to Japan (private groups and family reunions) and Singapore to Korea (private groups). Both are planned to open fully in January 2027. Next, we’re planning Auckland to Bali (honeymoon and luxury) in April 2027 and Toronto to Philippines (family and diaspora trips) in June 2027.
Planning something else? When trip briefs open, send yours anyway. If your route isn’t covered yet, we may match you with one agency, add your request to a waitlist, or let you know we can’t help this time.
We use Claude, an AI model made by Anthropic. It organizes your answers into a clear brief and flags anything missing, suggests agencies that might fit, helps agencies draft proposals and drafts a side-by-side comparison. People choose the agencies and check every brief and comparison, and agencies sign off every price, so no AI-generated price reaches you without the agency’s sign-off. We don’t send the AI your name, email, phone number or accessibility needs, and never passport or card details. More in How we use AI.
Yes. When trip briefs open, paste it into the “Must-haves and wishes” box on the trip brief, and we’ll organize it into a brief agencies can quote from. Please take out any passport, card or medical details first.
No. You don’t make offers or name a price, and you’re not competing with anyone. You share your brief, agencies send tailored proposals, and you choose one, or none.
With the agency. WanderBids doesn’t sell, book or provide travel, and we’re not a party to your booking. The agency you choose sells you the trip, takes your payment and is responsible for delivering it; it’s the merchant of record. WanderBids introduces you, matches your brief with up to three agencies and compares their proposals.
Yes. When trip briefs open, list every departure city and tell us who’s coming from where, so agencies can plan around it.
WanderBids is a product of {{ ACE: }}. Meet the team on our About page.
No. We never ask for passport numbers, card or bank details, or medical records on this website, so please don’t type them into any form or message. If a visa question matters for your trip, a team member may ask which passports your group holds.
Yes. Ask us to handle your request without AI. During the pilot we’ll do this where we can, and tell you if it will take longer.
It depends on your plan. We plan to launch these plans in 2027, and all prices are in US dollars.
Agency OS subscriptions will be billed monthly. The full terms, including how fees are invoiced and any taxes, are in the agency terms you’ll see before you join.
Not on our planned Network Partner plan: no subscription and no lead fees. You’d pay a success fee only when you win a booking. There’s no fee to apply.
At most three. You never compete with more than two other agencies, and every proposal gets a fair look.
We check your licence or accreditation where you operate (for example DOT accreditation in the Philippines, an STB licence in Singapore, provincial registration such as TICO in Ontario, or TAANZ membership, preferred in New Zealand), your business registration and your references. We may check your licence or accreditation with the issuing body. Then, if you’re a fit, we send you a test brief to see your response time and the quality of your proposal.
Yes, with no penalty. If a trip isn’t right for you, declining is better for everyone.
We share the reason whenever the traveler gives us one: price, hotels, speed or fit.
No. Your net rates and suppliers are never shown to other agencies.
You do. AI can help you draft (on Agency OS, planned for 2027, the AI Proposal Co-pilot will work from your own rate sheets and notes), but every price is yours, and no AI-generated price reaches a traveler without your sign-off.
Agency OS, planned for 2027, will include your own request page, where your existing clients use the same brief at a 0% success fee.
Manila to Japan and Singapore to Korea first (pilot planned from November 2026, full opening planned for January 2027), then Auckland to Bali (planned for April 2027) and Toronto to Philippines (planned for June 2027). Serve other routes? Apply anyway: applications help us decide where to open next.
You are. You sell the trip to the traveler, take their payment (including any deposit) under your own terms, confirm the bookings and deliver the trip. WanderBids introduces, matches and compares; it doesn’t sell, book or provide travel.
Our planned offer for the first 20 agencies in each market: Agency OS at no charge for 6 months, then US$99 a month locked for 12 months, the 2.5% success fee, a Founding Partner badge and a seat on our product council. Full terms come with our agency terms.
We’ll keep you posted at each step: documents, references, a test brief if you’re a fit, and our decision.