Tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been in the industry?
I consider myself a well-travelled agent with coming up to 30 years of experience in an industry that has seen many changes and twists. I live in Guelph, Ontario with my 13-year-old Standard Poodle Jake and three somewhat grown-up kids, on and off.
Old school is a great catchphrase, but it means a lot to people that have been in their chosen careers through thick and thin with advances both technically and philosophically. I mean we started out handwriting tickets and I’m not gonna lie, we learned the tricks quickly also as one does when working with a demanding clientele and industry. My original training stays with me to this day. We learned about value and accountability, both of which must be in the mix to be a full-service travel agent. Like many other agents we all said in our interviews “I love travel” mostly to snickers and laughter from said interviewer as, of course, it isn’t all about us travelling!
The behind-the-scenes aspects of being a travel agent, especially with group travel, which found me about 20 years ago (mostly because no one else in the office wanted it) can be overwhelming and I don’t think the average consumer knows what we do for them accordingly behind the scenes.
What did you specialize in and why?
When the industry started to change, going sell off, cheap websites and lower commissions overall, we had a speaker come in during an agency takeover who said, “find your niche.” It resonated with me, and I spent 20 years as a pioneer in the Destination Wedding Specialist field.
Full service to me means from starting concepts to finished returns home. I’ve been on the phone at 2 a.m. with clients, calmed many fears and fixed as many issues from start to finish. I have the reputation from tour operators of not taking no for an answer. My personal motto is if it can be done, let’s do it!
I recently read a study that women above the age of 50 will drive $746 billion in travel spending by 2035 – coming in right after millennials. Does that align with your clientele?
My current clientele fits well into my own age bracket 55 plus. I started Blues South my personal brand 15 years ago taking music groups south and performing and finding new clientele to fit the bill. I see women travelling over the age of 60 plus much more than men, whether the women are single or in a relationship, I think some women possibly already did the home life and now are looking to experience more in the world, at least this generation that I came through myself.
Group travel represents safety not only in the numbers but also in meeting new like minded friends and travel partners. I take great pride in the work I’ve done with groups matching roommates who have stayed good friends long after the travel dates.
Are you noticing any interesting trends from the bookings you have? Are your clients still travelling to the U.S. with the ongoing tariffs?
We tend to work with the Caribbean mostly for the groups as the obvious connection to leaving the cold represents a large part of Canadian travel. I don’t work with a lot of US companies although we do meet many US citizens at destinations. Mostly I find we get along and understand each others’ need for a holiday! I have worked with Disney properties but haven’t done an awful lot of it over the past few years.
I think travelling in Canada will become the next big thing, although it has been for years, I’m listening to people telling me that they want to see coast-to-coast in their bucket lists.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for travel advisors right now?
Service is a concept that seems to come and go, be popular one year and not the next. Learning and listening to my clients is probably my best feature and my best advice… knowing when they might not like an area they have researched and being honest and open about it, even when in the end they choose it, to me educates the client into more insight.
I’m bothered when I go to complaining sites and travel and meet people that booked online and are disappointed with so many things that a full-service agent would have told them. We must read the prompts that crop up when we book and must pass that on and yet be aware that we cannot “recommend” products but yet within the confines of what we “know” about our clientele we can make suggestions and observations. Carefully.
Service is now back in style! Personalized groups with families and friends and themed events are the mainstay of my playbook.
I learned so much from my own colleagues, bosses and suppliers… Some days I wish we were more on the same page as our suppliers as the old saying goes “we are only as good as our suppliers!” It holds with every aspect. Some days I fight more than others and some days I rest on my laurels!
Tell us a little bit about a booking that stands out – whether it’s the most expensive, the longest, the most adventurous, etc.
One of my wedding couples a few years back booked Roatan as their wedding island. The night before they and their 30 plus family members were to leave, on a 6:00 a.m. flight to be exact, she lost her passport. She called me sobbing and I told her to take all her ID and go with the group and see what can be done at the airport. Unfortunately, Roatan has very strict passport rules. She called me at 3:00 a.m. from the airport and I instructed her to get her family on the flight as well as her husband. We found out together that she could go into Toronto city and basically get a new instant passport. So I stayed on the phone with her from 5-10:00 a.m., she held the phone up to her while running and crying and never giving up! I booked her on a flight to Honduras and then a connector over to Roatan which fortunately left at 10:30 a.m. on that same day, and only that day. I called the airline rep at the airport and got him in on the mission. He was great, the flight had been delayed for an hour but she made it with flying colours for the 9.30 a.m. gate cutoff for the original flight. She flew all the way to Roatan. I’m sure asleep for most of it. Memorable you could say that.
What are your thoughts on FAM trips? Are they valuable? Why? Do they help you sell more? How can they be improved?
There are many secrets to success … fam trips are essential for all agents, learning first hand especially with the tourist board FAMs as they tend to be more inclusive of products, attending seminars and presentations, reading brochures or online information, education is always welcome and necessary in this biz.
What’s the biggest challenge you are facing in the travel industry right now? What do you think can be done to help it?
I truly wish that the travel industry like airlines, tour operators, hotels etc. would reach out to travel agents who have dedicated their lives to their craft and who know firsthand, as we are the front lines, what people want, what they need and what would help! During covid times I think we could have been more productive and welcoming of employment and consultations.
I’m solution oriented, so when faced with an issue, I have to find an answer before going to our valuable client, with options, instead of putting them through unnecessary stress.
Do you have anything to add?
I hope you caught the “our” in clients, because that’s my message to the industry, we are in this together for the same bottom client… the travel client.
Nominator:
“I am nominating Dawn Fairbanks as this year she has stood out with our over 150 travel professionals at Northstar Travel. Annually Dawn organizes and hosts blues music groups to several Caribbean Islands each year. This year was no exception as she hosted 80 plus attendees and musicians to Panama. During the heavy snows and airplane mishap at Pearson, Dawn and her group were in Panama an extra three days. Not only did Dawn keep her clients well informed, she had many, many other people from the resort asking her for her assistance. This gesture shows the quality of a person Dawn Fairbanks is and it is no wonder she has such loyal clients who have stuck with her during her lengthy travel career.”
