Hidden Iceland has forged many great relationships with travel agents, media and online resellers over the years. These relationships are key to growing our brand world-wide and connecting with customers who may not have discovered us otherwise. This page provides a little insight into how we work together.
Kirkjufell in Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Snaefellsnes. Hidden Iceland By Simon Svensson Photography (101)-51
Do you work with Travel Agents, Media and other third parties?
Yes we do.
Whether you are a travel agent, blogger, OTA, reseller, local hotel, ‘travel with me’ influencer, journalist, media or a direct customer, we are open for business and can be very flexible with how we work together.
For ease of writing, I will now refer to all types of third parties as ‘Agents’ for the purposes of this page.
Do you offer Press / FAM Trips?
Yes we do.
We have a limited budget for providing fully serviced Press / FAM trips, so what we offer (when possible) will depend on the size of your company, the expected future customer levels, or the readership expected from media coverage. We can either offer a collection of small group tours for you to join, or a private tour. In the case of the latter, this counts as a large financial commitment for Hidden Iceland, so we will often partner with other Icelandic organisations to create a full experience for you.
We run Press / FAM trips at all times of the year on a case by case basis. For requests for Press / FAM Trips, reach out to our Marketing Manager, Ryan Connolly at ryan@hiddeniceland.is. Or sign up to our Newsletter below.
Do you have a Newsletter where I can get useful info?
Absolutely. Sign up below and make sure to put that you are a Travel Agent / Media / Reseller to only get relevant info. A lot of the content can be shared directly with your clients, or be used as inspiration for content.
Do you have content that I can get access to right away?
Absolutely.
We can provide you with example itineraries in the form of a booklet. We also have a large bank of images that we can share with you and have uncountable blog posts on our website to inspire travellers.
Hidden Iceland also run educational presentations that can be adjusted to train your team or as a presentation for conferences, events or online seminars. These cover a wide variety of topics from Northern Lights, volcanic eruptions, ice caves, geothermal hot pools, glaciers, science, geology, many locations in Iceland, and useful tips on how to plan the perfect vacation to Iceland.
TRAVEL AGENT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
How much of the full vacation can Hidden Iceland book?
Everything, except for international flights and travel insurance.
Hidden Iceland has a dedicated trip planning and operations team who will be able to plan the entire trip for you and your guests (with your input). This covers everything from arrival to departure, excluding international flights and travel insurance. We have a DMC level of knowledge and resources at Hidden Iceland.
We will plan all Hidden Iceland operated tours that meet your customers requests and partner with local trusted operators that we have personally vetted and approved. All hotels that we put our customers in have been personally tried and tested by our team. We even provide restaurant recommendations and things to do in your free time. Effectively, everything that you or your client is likely to imagine is incorporated into your package.
Do you run your own tours?
Yes we do.
Our private tours are run with our own passionate guides, every time. We do not contract out guides from other companies. All of our scheduled tours have a maximum capacity of 12 people and use the same passionate guides.
All of the tours mentioned in our initial email are operated by Hidden Iceland with the exception of some trusted partners who offer specialist activities such as snowmobiling or snorkelling. Any tour not run by Hidden Iceland are tested, vetted and approved by Hidden Iceland. We only ever work with companies that share our ethos for quality and safety.
What if I want to book everything myself except for Hidden Iceland tours?
This is allowed but not encouraged.
We prefer to be in control of all bookings while your guest is in Iceland, especially once your clients leave the safety of the capital city of Reykjavík. Aside from us being able to assure quality throughout the tour it also means that we are able to quickly react and move things on the tour if weather for example gets in the way. If you, the agent, have some things booked and not others then it ties us to those bookings which may not have the same cancellation policy or flexibility afforded with Hidden Iceland.
For self drive itineraries, we always book the entire trip from start to finish with no exceptions. This is due to the fact that the guest has limited communication with local experts if they are driving themselves, so we need as much visibility as possible.
For private & package tours, we always book the entire trip outside of Reykjavík with no exceptions. You can book hotels in Reykjavík if you have preferred hotels that you have used in the past, though we can still do this too of course.
For pre-scheduled small group and partner tours, we will book these for you but it is up to you if you would like us to book other aspects like accommodation too. This is less defined since all our scheduled tours start and end in Reykjavík.
How quickly can I get a quote?
We aim to get back to you within 3 business days, excluding weekends, BUT it depends on the complexity of the request too and the time of year.
Aside, from our scheduled small group tours, we do not offer ‘off the shelf’ packages with static prices. This is because our bespoke pricing depends on a large number of factors including the number of people, length of stay, hotel types, time of year and activities chosen etc. Therefore, we only provide a unique price upon request when we get all the details necessary for planning the perfect experience. This means each quote takes time.
We always aim to get a response to you within 3 business days but sadly during the busier periods this isn’t always feasible.
How customisable is your package tour options?
Fully, within reason.
We take into account all the information you provide us and come up with the best possible package within your set budget.
Bare in mind that you will be working closely with an expert trip planner. This means they will be able to advise against certain activities and locations based on various factors. So we will not necessarily say yes to every request if we don’t think it is the right option for the client. We will never sell a tour we wouldn’t be proud to send our family and friends on.
It’s also quite likely that your clients will have their own thoughts and amendments after we provide the first quote. This is great and we can further tweak the package option based on you and their feedback.
Can I change parts of the tour last minute or while in the country?
This is sometimes possible but not encouraged.
The Hidden Iceland team may need to change things last minute. This is mostly because of a bad weather. But as a whole the itinerary that is created prior to the clients arrival should remain the same as planned. Changing hotels, activities and dates is not something that is feasible most of the time, without cancellation fees and availability issues, especially in summer. It’s important that your clients are aware of this and are happy with the finalised itinerary prior to travel.
With that said, it’s common for a client to want to add things in last minute when they are inspired. This is great and if we can accommodate we will happily do so.
Do you provide commission for Agents?
Yes we do.
This is a discussion with each individual agent privately regarding the amount and how it affects the overall price of a tour. Different rates are discussed depending on the type of tour. As a rule, commission is only paid out after the successful completion of a tour.
Does the Agent pay Hidden Iceland or can the client pay directly?
Either is fine.
As noted below, we can be flexible with how we take payment.
Do you offer NET rates or GROSS rates for Agents?
Both options are available.
If you are an Agent who takes payment directly from your client then we can offer NET rates. If you prefer your clients make payment directly to Hidden Iceland then we can provide a GROSS rate with your commission/ fees embedded in the price. In both scenarios, the costs associated with a Hidden Iceland trip will remain the same.
What are the first steps to creating a relationship?
Check out the types of tours we run then submit a form.
Before you reach out, the best way to get the ball rolling is for you to peruse our private & package tours, self drive itineraries and small group tours. Each package tour page has a handy form that you can fill out with your client details. At the bottom of the form there’s a message box where you can mention that you are an Agent. Our Travel Experts will then amend their response accordingly. In our first email to you we’ll share the Agent Terms & Conditions, which automatically supercede our general T & Cs.
If you’d prefer to just pop us an email to introduce yourself instead, that’s fine too. Just email info@hiddeniceland.is.
What if I don’t have potential clients but want to learn more about Hidden Iceland?
Not a problem.
Some of our agents and resellers like to fact find, usually with existing sample itineraries as a blue print for planning future trips, before they reach out to their customer base. We can preemptively provide a bespoke quote for you, depending on the type of request and timescales. This can be done via the forms on our sample itinerary pages too. Simply pick the trip that most closely aligns with your future trip idea and give us as much information as you can.
Alternatively, send an email with as much detail as you can. You can email info@hiddeniceland.is. Or sign up to our Newsletter (scroll up).
Does Hidden Iceland help with ‘group trips’ planned by Agents?
Yes we do, though with caveats.
If you, the agent, intend to promote online and sell a trip to your customers (who don’t necessarily know each other) then we can work together in creating a bespoke itinerary. If you don’t necessarily know how much interest your promoted tour will muster up then we can provide tiered pricing e.g. per person price for 6, 8, 10, 12 etc.
It’s important to note that Hidden Iceland has fixed costs such as guides, vehicles, fuel, taxes and other ancillary costs, so the per person price will undoubtedly change quite a lot between 6 and 12 customers for example. This is because the fixed costs are spread between more people, bringing the per person price down. This is something you will need to keep in mind when promoting prices online to your clients.
We cannot guarantee that the price of the trip and availability is 100% secured until we have confirmed guest numbers from you. If you require us to speculatively hold rooms for you then a 10% non-refundable deposit is required after 4 weeks.
The cut off for final numbers varies for group size but 3 months tends to be the latest to avoid cancellation fees for larger groups.
Do you have an Agent portal that I can use?
No, unless you are an Agent that is already connected with the Bókun sales platform.
Bókun is our sales platform that allows customers, agents and resellers to book a trip directly on our website. This generally only pertains to our small group tours though. Not for our private or self drive itineraries.
We’ve found that a separate Agent page or portal does not add any value to you since all the information we have on tours is filtered through our website and subsequently via our Trip Planning team when you start to converse with us directly.
Do I need to sign an Agent Agreement / Contract?
Once you have revealed that you are an agent, it is Hidden Iceland’s responsibility to share our Agent Terms & Conditions with you. Once shared, these will supersede our normal Terms & Conditions. It includes our terms and conditions, cancellation policies, payment options and operational expectations. It is important that you read through it to understand how we operate.
Let’s get started!
We find that the Private & Package page is a great starting point to be inspired and learn about some of the sample itineraries Hidden Iceland offers. Scroll to the bottom and fill out the form. Just make sure to mention you are an agent and we’ll amend our response to fit your business need. Or just drop us an email if you aren’t a fan of form filling. Email us at info@hiddeniceland.is.
