Start with a brief that is useful on the ground
Before requesting a route, collect the travel dates, group size, arrival and departure points, total trip length, interests, preferred pace, and any fixed elements the client already has. If flights are known, send the actual arrival and departure times rather than only the dates.
Useful context also includes accommodation responsibility, room requirements, comfort expectations, mobility considerations, dietary needs, must-have experiences, and realistic budget context when the client has provided it. The point is not to create a long questionnaire. It is to remove the unknowns that materially change the route or service scope.
