For Overseas Agencies: How to Brief a China DMC Properly
A Brief Is Not a Request for a Price
The quickest way to slow a China quotation down is a message reading "five days in China, four people, please quote". An undefined shape cannot be priced, so the honest reply is a question list. Agencies that send the same set of fields in their first email get a structure back, not a request for clarification.
Dates and the Fixed Points
Start with the two dates that cannot move: arrival and departure. Then add anything already committed, whether an international flight, a conference or a ticketed train. "Around the second week of October" is workable. "Flexible" is not, because every cost in China is dated: rail windows, hotel rate calendars and timed-entry allocations key off specific days.
Cities, Order and Nights
List the cities in the order you want them, with a night count beside each, then mark which are fixed and which are open. Two cities and four cities are different products, not longer versions of each other; transfers, internal flights and guiding days all move. When the order is left open, we propose one and explain the trade-off, as set out in the 48-hour planning process.
Headcount, Composition and Rooming
Give the number of travellers, then the composition. Adults, children with ages, single travellers and couples price differently. Rooming matters as much as headcount: twenty travellers in single rooms and twenty in doubles are not the same hotel cost. If the group is not closed, send the current number and your ceiling.
Budget Band and What It Buys
State a band per person, land only or including international flights, and the currency it is quoted in. A band is not a commitment; it tells an operator which vehicle class, hotel tier and restaurant level to open with. If you would rather not name a figure, say which tier you sell and let the operator map it.
Dietary, Access and Medical Notes
These arrive too late more often than any other field. Halal, vegetarian, allergies and mobility requirements are arranged supplier by supplier, and several carry lead times measured in weeks rather than days. Put them in the first email, even for one traveller; a single unarranged meal can reshape a day's routing.
Risk Notes and Decision Rights
Close with who decides, who pays, and how late a change can still be absorbed. Naming one decision-maker at the agency and one contact on the traveller side removes the usual cause of delay. For a standing partnership, not a single file, the models sit on our cooperation page, and the written terms belong in a contract before any ticket is held.
Our Details, for You to Check
ChinaTravelPlus is delivered by Shenzhen Baochun International Tourism Group, established 18 January 1996 and registered in Futian District, Shenzhen, with ground teams in Hunan (Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang, Changsha), Yunnan, Zhejiang and Guangdong. The travel agency licence is L-GD-CJ00234, approved under Lv Fa [2013] No. 180 and issued by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on 30 March 2022, covering domestic, outbound and inbound tourism. The business licence carries credit code 91440300192407197A and names Cao Shaolin as legal representative. Our licence page carries the same details, so nothing here has to be taken on trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if we do not know the final headcount yet?
Send the current number and the maximum. Quotes are built on the ceiling and adjusted when the passenger list closes.
Do you work with agencies that keep their own branding?
Yes. Delivering ground arrangements under an agency's own identity is routine, and the traveller-facing documents can carry your name rather than ours. See the cooperation page.
How much notice do dietary and access requirements need?
Two to three weeks is comfortable in most cities. Halal kitchens and accessible vehicles in smaller destinations need longer, so flag them early.
Recommended China Travel Tours
Pair your planning with a hand-picked itinerary from our real tour collection:
- Shenzhen Tech Giants Innovation Mission — 5 Days — A corporate-style itinerary that agencies can resell to business and technology groups.
- Guangdong Intangible Heritage Trail — 3 Days — A compact cultural product built around UNESCO-listed diaolou architecture.
About the Author — Luppy · Senior Group Travel Consultant
Luppy plans group trips, corporate missions and family gatherings of ten or more, handling logistics, transfers and day-to-day arrangements across China.
Ready to Plan Your China Trip?
Email Sam for custom itineraries built around your dates.
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