For advisors and DMCs
What a DMC RFP is, and how to run one well
A DMC RFP is a request for proposal sent by a travel advisor or corporate buyer to several destination management companies, specifying the trip in enough detail that their responses can be compared like for like. It covers dates, party composition, scope, service level, budget band, terms and the decision timeline.
What separates an RFP from an enquiry
An enquiry asks whether a DMC can help. An RFP specifies the trip precisely enough that several DMCs can answer the same question, and their answers can be laid side by side.
The distinction is practical rather than formal. If two DMCs could reasonably interpret your request differently, you have sent an enquiry - and you will get proposals that cannot be compared.
What to include
An RFP has two halves: what the trip is, and how you will decide. Most omit the second, which is why DMCs cannot judge how much effort to invest.
- Exact dates or a window with stated flexibility
- Party composition, including children’s ages at time of travel
- Arrival and departure points, and whether internal transport is in scope
- Service level in concrete terms - property tier, vehicle class, guiding standard
- Explicit inclusions and exclusions
- Budget band, stated honestly, and whether per person or total
- Required commercial terms - net or commissionable, payment schedule
- The decision timeline and how many DMCs are being approached
Running it fairly
Send the identical brief to every DMC, give them all the same deadline, and answer clarifying questions to the whole group rather than privately - otherwise you are comparing proposals written with different information.
Tell DMCs how many are being approached. It is not a weakness to disclose; it lets a supplier decide whether to invest in a full proposal, and a DMC who knows it is one of three will usually produce something sharper than one who suspects it is one of twelve.
Responding to one, as a DMC
Speed matters, but completeness matters more: the fastest way to lose is to return a proposal that answers a generic version of the brief.
Answer the RFP’s structure directly, state clearly where you are proposing something different from what was asked and why, be explicit about what is provisional, and say what is not achievable at the stated budget rather than silently downgrading it. Advisors remember the DMC who told them the truth early.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DMC RFP?
A request for proposal sent to several destination management companies for the same trip, specified in enough detail - dates, party, scope, service level, budget band and terms - that the returned proposals can be compared fairly.
How is a DMC RFP different from a trip enquiry?
An enquiry asks whether a DMC can help and leaves the details open. An RFP fixes the variables so that every DMC answers the same question, which is what makes the responses comparable. If two suppliers could interpret your request differently, it is an enquiry.
How many DMCs should I send an RFP to?
Two or three is usually right for a single client trip. Fewer gives you no comparison; more produces diminishing returns and reduces the effort each DMC invests, since suppliers can tell when they are one of many.
How can a DMC respond to travel agent RFPs faster?
Most delay comes from incomplete briefs and from rebuilding each proposal from scratch. Structured intake removes the clarification rounds, and reusable itinerary components remove the rebuilding. Together they move the first response from a question to a proposal.
Should an RFP state the budget?
Yes, as a band. Withholding budget does not produce better pricing - it produces proposals aimed at the wrong tier that then need a full revision cycle. A stated band lets each DMC show what is genuinely achievable at that level.