Points and miles get all the glory, but the unsung hero of smart travel planning is what happens when things go wrong - a cancelled flight, a lost bag, a sudden illness abroad.
There's a particular kind of magic in walking into a hotel room and finding a chilled bottle of champagne waiting, condensation beading on the ice bucket, a handwritten card with your name spelled correctly.
Planning a multigenerational family reunion is a logistical puzzle: grandparents want comfort and quiet, parents need connecting rooms and flexibility, and kids want a pool that never closes.