Discovery Calls That Convert: 15 Strategic Questions for DMCs to Ask Travelers

A discovery call isn’t just a step in the sales process, it’s a moment of truth.

For DMCs, it’s the best chance to understand not just where your travelers want to go, but why, when, and how they want to experience it.

At Odys (and Mexikoo, my own DMC), we’ve learned that successful trips, and successful sales, don’t come from pushing a destination.

They come from creating a connection.

That connection begins with asking the right questions.

Why Discovery Calls Matter in Travel Sales

It’s easy to fall into the trap of selling a country or a circuit. But what today’s travelers are really buying is an emotion, a rhythm, a sense of ease.

And as a travel expert or sales manager, your job on a discovery call is to decode what hasn’t been said yet.

• Are they exhausted and in need of rest?

• Are they craving adventure?

• Do they want quality time with their kids, or an escape from them? 😄

Every detail matters when building a tailor-made trip.

The Odys Approach: Ask Better, Sell Smarter

At Odys, we use discovery calls to:

• Personalize each proposal with precision

• Avoid dissatisfaction during the trip

• Increase our conversion rate, and save time by not creating irrelevant quotes

We created a simple framework of 15 discovery questions that help get to the heart of what really matters for your travelers. You can find them in your Odys interface, or scroll below for inspiration.

15 Smart Questions for Travel Discovery Calls

These aren’t just surface-level questions, they’re designed to reveal expectations, preferences, and red flags that could make or break a trip.

Here are some of our favorites from the carousel :

1. 🌅 Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?

To know if sunrise excursions or late dinners make sense.

2. 🛎️ What’s your ideal room like, bright and open or calm and dark?

Helps you book the right kind of accommodation, not just the best-rated one.

3. 👶🏻 What are your children into these days?

Great trips for families start with the kids. Hook them first, and the parents will follow.

4. 🚙 How do you feel about long drives?

Crucial for pacing the itinerary, especially in countries with long transfer times.

5. 💰 Do you already have a budget in mind?

The earlier, the better. Probing gently avoids wasted proposals and mismatched expectations.

Let’s be honest — this is often the most uncomfortable question to ask.

And yet, it’s probably the most important one.

💡 Here’s a small but powerful tip: If the client doesn’t want to share a budget, don’t stop there. Offer budget ranges instead.

Why? Because human psychology does the work for you.

When you suggest a range:

• If it’s below their real budget, they’ll naturally correct you upward.

• If it’s above what they’re willing to pay, they’ll immediately say so.

Either way, you get an answer.

The truth is: we all have a budget in mind, even if we don’t say it out loud at first.

Your role as a travel expert isn’t to guess it, it’s to help it surface.

A discovery call should never end without validating the budget. Otherwise, you risk spending hours building a proposal that will never convert.

As DMCs, our time is precious. Asking (and clarifying) the budget early is not being pushy, it’s being professional.

6. 🚣🏻‍♀️ Do you prefer active or contemplative excursions?

Kayak or catamaran? Hike or spa day? Don’t guess, ask.

7. 🥦 Any dietary preferences or restrictions?

Nothing ruins a trip faster than a forgotten food allergy or overlooked vegetarian.

8. 🐢 What pace of travel feels right, slow, balanced, or intense?

Let them define their tempo, not you.

9. 🥂 Any special occasion during the trip?

Birthdays, honeymoons, surprise proposals, they matter.

10. ✈️ Have you already booked your flights?

This tells you how committed they are.

11. 🏨 What kind of accommodation do you love?

Lodge, boutique hotel, glamping, ecolodge, it’s all in the nuance.

12. ⭐ What’s your idea of hotel comfort?

Mid-range and charming, or luxury and sleek?

13. 🧗🏻 What are your passions or hobbies?

Use this to personalize the trip with meaningful moments.

Okay, confession time: I added the climbing emoji simply because I’m a climber and couldn’t resist.

14. 🛏️ Do you have any bed preferences?

Twin? King? Kids in separate beds?

15. 💬 What languages do you speak?

To match with the right guide and avoid awkward miscommunications.

How Odys Helps You Capture This Information (and sell smarter)

At Odys, we designed our CRM specifically for DMC sales teams, not generic sales pipelines.

Every discovery call insight matters, and Odys helps you capture, structure, and reuse that information across your team.

With Odys, you can:

• Record budget ranges directly in the project file

• Use dedicated CRM fields tailored to DMC workflows (travel style, pace, accommodation level, family setup, etc.)

• Make sure no critical detail is lost between the discovery call and the quote

• Align sales, operations, and travel experts around the same client expectations

All these insights become actionable data:

• Better-qualified leads

• More relevant quotes

• Higher conversion rates

• Fewer misunderstandings during the trip

Odys isn’t just a CRM.

It’s a sales and qualification tool built for DMCs, designed to help you ask better questions, capture better answers, and ultimately design trips that truly fit your travelers.

Want to see it in action? Ask for a demo 👉 hello@odys.travel

Final Thought: It’s Not About the Destination, It’s About the Connection

A discovery call isn’t about closing a sale. It’s about opening a relationship.

When you ask the right questions, with empathy and curiosity, you create more than just a trip.

You create trust.

And that’s what turns curious leads into loyal travelers.

See you soon.

Alexia, Co founder Odys & Mexikoo