Planet Travel respects and protects customer privacy, as traveling is "a pleasure exclusively belonging to an individual or a family, which is something very personal", Liu said.

"We will not disclose your personal information without your permission. We and our third-party travel service providers may disclose your personal information only when it's necessary to facilitate your travel arrangements and bookings."

Planet Travel prides itself on its efficiency. "We promise to reply to the customer's first email in two hours, and give the price within the same day," Liu said.

Travel consultant Zhou Shuang received a call at night from a client, saying he did not find his checked luggage in Bangkok, and he had to catch the next day's flight to Phuket.

Zhou told him to have some rest at the hotel first, and contacted the carrier, Air China, to make sure that the luggage would arrive in Bangkok on a later flight and be sent to the hotel. Then she informed the customer.

The next day Zhou received a text message from the satisfied customer who said he was delighted to have boarded the plane to Phuket with his lost luggage coming in the morning.

Last year a customer emailed her travel consultant Kuang Jiangnan four days before scheduled departure for Malaysia, saying she was sorry to have to cancel the trip.

She explained that she noticed a term on the website of Malaysia Airlines, saying that non-Malaysian women who are pregnant beyond six months are not allowed to fly into the country. And she was pregnant for 24 weeks, which was very close to that limit.

Failing to contact Malaysia Airlines on the phone, Kuang went to the carrier's Beijing office herself, and consulted the Malaysian embassy in China. The conclusion was the customer could enter the country as long as she had medical clearance.

"We are a personal travel manager of our clients, customizing their travel plans with flexible arrangements and multiple ways of payment," Liu said. "What the customers need is what we will provide."

History Echoes in metropolis	Scenery of ancient townlet Heshun in China's Yunnan