The Referral Who Wants to Skip the Deposit
A long-standing client refers her brother, who wants a $14,500 multi-generational trip for eight people to Hawaii over spring break. He is enthusiastic on the phone, asks good questions, and says he will "send a check next week." The advisor's agency policy requires a 20% deposit to hold group space, and the resort has only three rooms left in the requested category with a hold expiring in five days. The referring client has spent over $60,000 with the agency across six years and has never missed a payment. The brother has not signed the agency's service agreement. He also wants the advisor to hold the rooms "as a favor" while he polls the family on dates, which may shift by a week.
1. Should the advisor waive or delay the deposit because of the referral relationship?
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No. The referral relationship is a reason to communicate warmly and promptly, not a reason to extend unsecured credit on a $14,500 booking. The agency policy exists because group space and resort inventory carry real risk: if the brother's check never arrives, the advisor has tied up rooms, possibly paid a supplier deposit, and burned the relationship with the resort. The correct move is to explain the policy once, clearly, and offer a workable path: the deposit is due by a specific date to hold the three rooms, and the advisor will send the service agreement and payment link today. If the brother genuinely cannot pay within five days, the advisor should say plainly that the rooms may be released and offer to re-shop availability once dates are firm. Treating a referral with the same process as any client is respectful, not cold.
2. The brother wants rooms held while the family debates dates that may shift a week. How should the advisor handle this?
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Separate the two questions: whether to hold inventory, and whether the dates are settled. Holding three rooms for a week of date uncertainty is not a hold the advisor can honor; spring break inventory moves, and a shifted week may mean no rooms at all. The advisor should explain that the three rooms can be held only against a deposit for specific dates, and that a one-week shift changes the availability picture entirely. Offer a concrete alternative: the advisor will check availability for both candidate weeks now, present the price and availability differences, and let the family choose one set of dates before any deposit. That gives the family real information to decide with, protects the advisor from holding phantom inventory, and sets the expectation that dates are a decision, not a placeholder.
3. What should the advisor do about the unsigned service agreement?
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The service agreement must be signed before any deposit is taken or any supplier commitment is made. The advisor should send it with a short note explaining the key terms in plain language: deposit and cancellation schedule, the advisor's role and limits, the agency's fees, and how changes are handled. For a multi-generational group of eight, the agreement should also address who is the authorized decision-maker and how changes from other family members will be handled, since eight people will otherwise call with eight opinions. The advisor should not accept a check against an unsigned agreement, even from a referral. If the brother hesitates, that is useful information about how the booking will go, and better learned now than after the deposit.