I’m like a travel agent, only different

Today, I want to talk about… travel agents. Not exactly real-estate territory, you might think. But stay with me.

A funny thing has happened over the past few years: travel agents are making a serious comeback. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, the industry is booming again, particularly among experienced and affluent travelers taking longer, more meaningful trips. And honestly, I find that fascinating. Because on paper, travel agents should have disappeared years ago. We already have everything online: Google, Airbnb, Instagram, YouTube, AI trip planners, endless reviews and blogs. Infinite information. And yet, many people who could easily organize their own travel choose not to. Why?

Because once a journey becomes important enough, people realize that information is not the same thing as clarity. When I travel, I don’t want to spend fifteen hours trying to figure out whether a hotel is genuinely special or simply good at Instagram marketing. I want nuance. Atmosphere. Context. The right village, not just the famous one. The restaurant locals actually return to. Someone who already knows the terrain and can quietly remove friction from the experience.

And in many ways, that is exactly what I do for my clients buying property in France.

The internet already finds houses. There are thousands of listings online. The real challenge is interpretation. Understanding the difference between a village that feels magical for a weekend… and one where you’ll genuinely enjoy spending several months each year. Knowing which areas stay alive year-round, which renovations are realistic, which compromises make sense, and which homes look wonderful in photos but immediately feel wrong in person.

Especially for foreign buyers, France can be surprisingly difficult to decode. My role is not simply to “find properties.” It is to provide perspective, judgment, organization, and reassurance.

Because in today’s world, the real value is often no longer access to information.

It is trusted interpretation.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify

Find out more about my services here.