I’m one of the dinosaurs still standing in the travel industry. I started in 1996, back when we were writing tickets by hand, and had no computer systems in place!
My sense of adventure, interest in other cultures and my love for planning seemed a natural fit to start a career in travel while my children were small. I won’t lie, it was difficult at first, learning how to juggle family life, as well as a fast-paced career. But I’m glad I started when I did.
I love having that first discovery call with clients to listen to their dreams about what they’re looking for in a vacation. It’s always a fun call because they’re talking about something they’re really looking forward to. And I especially love the response I get from them when I find something that totally checks off all their boxes. It’s really rewarding. And when they refer their friends to me, that’s the icing on the cake.
The ever-expanding list of regulations and legalities that we have to adhere to. People will say to me, you must have the most fun job in the world. That might be true to a certain extent, but there’s a lot of mundane tasks that we do as well.
1) Know your worth. Even if you’re just starting out, you bring tremendous value to your clients. I think it was Michele Romanow who coined the phrase “the 70% factor.” Too often, people think everything needs to be perfect before they launch their business, but Romanow says that if you feel 70% ready, then you’re ready. You don’t have to know every travel supplier’s product in order to be a successful travel advisor. You don’t have to know everything about every destination. You are still an expert! Be willing to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out for you” — and then work hard to find the answer.
2) Surround yourself with positive, successful people from our industry. Find someone who will mentor/coach you, especially if you are an independent travel advisor. I have an amazing tribe at Wired for Travel. We help one another, we encourage one another, we have weekly team calls that challenge and inspire us, and I learn something new from them every day.
3) Stop giving away free travel information to your clients. If you’re not charging a planning fee, now is the time to start.
Most of my clients after the pandemic decided to do their “bucket list” trips. The destinations that were higher end and higher priced, rose to the top of their lists. A couple who recently booked a customized luxury tour of Italy willingly upped their budget by an additional $4,000 with the rationale: “Life is short. Eat the gelato.”
For me, travel means learning to appreciate different cultures. I cringe when I’m in the same room as a person who is complaining that there’s no bacon on the breakfast buffet or whining because “that’s not the way we do it at home.” To me, that person is being a “tourist.” When I escort a group anywhere, I have a little talk with them prior to departure about the difference between a tourist and a traveller. A tourist is there to “do” a city/country and check it off a list. A traveller is there to experience as much as possible in that destination. A tourist gets upset when their schedule is disrupted, but a traveller is flexible and welcomes surprises. A tourist wants everything to be the way it is at home. A traveller is happy to encounter new experiences that reflect the culture that they are visiting. A tourist tries to educate people in the foreign countries about the “North American Way.” A traveller engages the people they meet in a foreign country and wants to learn about the way they live. We could have a whole separate conversation about this. The bottom line is that after having this talk with my groups, it puts them in a better mindset, and helps them to respect and appreciate the culture they are in.
There were a couple of positives for us that came out of the pandemic and one of them is that most people feel less confident in booking their own travel — even when it comes to all-inclusives. And for people travelling to Europe or exotic destinations, they want the peace of mind of knowing all the details are looked after. And that’s why we are perfectly positioned to offer our expert services. When my furnace stops running, it costs me $100 for a technician to come out and just look at it. And I have no qualms in paying that. So why would I expect that clients would not see the value in paying for my services? I’ve found that there are still many travel advisors who are sitting on the fence when it comes to charging professional fees. And it really boils down to a lack of confidence. Even someone who is a relatively new travel advisor can confidently name their fee because although they may not (yet) be an expert, they’ve done extensive training, and they know where to find the information. And I really believe that this is another reason we need to surround ourselves with positive and successful people. When I started charging planning fees, I actually read from a script so that I wouldn’t falter when explaining the value that I add. This is really easy to do when you’re having a zoom call — another positive that came out of the pandemic! After a while it became second nature. I base my fees on the estimated time it will take me to research and arrange all the services. I’ve only had a very small percentage of potential clients decline because of the fee, and I see that as a benefit, because if they’re only shopping around, or if they don’t see my value, then I probably don’t want them as a client anyway.
