Becoming a Luxury Travel Advisor is an Entrepreneurial Endeavor

February 1, 2018

Mark McCowan, CTIE

“Americans will spend $475 billion dollars on travel in 2016”, says Travel Pulse Magazine in an article. The average American family spends almost $3000.00 a year on their annual holidays. In contrast, America’s high net worth individuals (those with over $1 million in investible assets) spends a total of $13,249.00 a year on leisure travel alone, says Business Insider in an article published in 2015. Luxury Travel Advisors today make an average of $32,000 per year in the United States. But studies have shown that for the first time in three years travel advisors did not make the list for, “Worst Jobs for the Future”. In fact, becoming a travel advisor is considered a hot job today, particularly as a career change. Lawyers, accountants, mortgage brokers, pharmaceutical sales reps, real estate agents, journalists and even hotel and airline executives are becoming travel advisors, buying agencies, and taking up senior positions with agency groups. A survey by Virtuoso showed that 36 percent of “top producers” earn over $100,000 annually. According to an article in Forbes Magazine published in May 2016, demand for travel advisors is being driven by a myriad of factors. Complicated pricing and a myriad of arcane rules and regulations make booking travel online a risky proposition, even for relatively easy trips.

In today’s busy complicated world there is a need for the travel advisor in everyone’s life. The world has become a smaller place and you can travel half way around the world in less than 12 hours. But that is just the beginning of your journey. Using a travel professional is of the highest importance when planning multi-generational travel. Families do not live in close proximity as in days gone by, most people live at least 3-5 hours from their families. Booking air travel, hotel reservations, tours and transfers so everyone is in the same place at the same time can be a challenge for those individuals who are juggling a full time career and 2.5 children. Adding to this the exhausting thought of having to arrange all of this from your laptop at midnight after everyone is tucked in and asleep, this is why everyone needs a true travel professional.

Hence, a career as a travel advisor is so attractive to more and more working professionals. With the advances and increased social media presence in today’s technological world, as a travel advisor you are not at your desk staring at your computer screen all day, waiting for clients to come see you. You can let them see your world through your social media posts.

Why is becoming a travel advisor an entrepreneurial endeavor? What does entrepreneur mean? How do I become a successful travel advisor? These are questions that are always asked when someone is interested in the profession of travel advisor.

• Entrepreneurship is commonly defined as the process of identifying and starting a new business venture, sourcing and organizing the required resources, while taking both the risks and rewards associated with the venture. … It’s that energy that is entrepreneurial endeavor.
• Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

This brings a whole new meaning to the profession of travel advisor. Words like dependability, passion, insightfulness, authenticity, drive, expert communicator and relationship building are words that come to mind when you think of a trusted travel advisor. If these are words that describe you then you are on the right track. Being an advisor is building a relationship with your client, you are someone who gives advice, an expert in the field of travel.

Most individuals who enter the world of travel advisor abandon their jobs within the first 6 months, this is due to a lack of a structured training program and leadership from the agency or organization. It is very important as a new travel advisor that you do the research required to ensure you are a good fit for the agency. Look at the company’s website and consortium affiliation. Even though you are the “entrepreneur” and will be creating your own business, each agency will have a set of standards and processes, as you are working under the umbrella of that particular agency and consortium.

Training is paramount in your new endeavor, ask lots of questions in regards to your training agenda. You, as the new travel professional, will need a mentor or training manager during your first 6 months of your initial onboarding. The leadership of your new organization will outline your training curriculum. Be sure as a potential new employee of the organization that you have a schedule of the training processes before accepting the job offer you will hopefully receive.

During your initial interview with the company you are applying with, have a list of questions for your interviewer. Ask open ended questions like these:

1. What are some of the challenges or road blocks one might come up against in my role as a travel professional?
2. Why did you decide on a career in the travel industry?
3. What are some characteristics of your top performing travel advisor?

Your interview was successful, you are officially an “entrepreneur”, now what!

First and foremost the word “agent” has not been mentioned until now. According to an article in USA Today Online, the word is almost completely obsolete in the travel industry. Advisors or professionals is the new normal in the travel industry. Some industry insiders will even coin the term “advocate”. One of your new positions most important attributes is the level of service you provide your clients. A term coined in the luxury retail market and cosmetics industry is “clienteling”.

Clienteling is a technique used by retail sales associates to establish long-term relationships with key customers based on data about their preferences, behaviors and purchases.

How is this relative to your new position as a travel professional? Can we use the term clienteling in the travel industry, of course we can. It is servicing your clients by establishing long-term relationships with key customers, based on data about their preferences, behaviors and purchases. We can do this by keeping good notes on our client’s preference, behaviors and purchases based on their travel history. A source point to track this kind of data is software called Client Base developed in conjunction with Sabre.

Clienteling is also related to the term “book of business”, the travel industry in general is a very social world. You are constantly meeting hotel vendors, on sites, tour operators and business development managers from travel suppliers. Finding ways to keep up with your collection of business cards can be a daunting task in unto itself. Keep them organized and handy at all times. You will refer to these almost daily curating itineraries for your clientele. They are the secret weapon in your arsenal of advantages that you can provide for your clients.

A phrase, long held true in the Southern part of the United States is “It is not who you are, it is who you know” were never more true in the value of these contacts. This group of individuals will pass through the doors of your offices with lightning speed. As a new “entrepreneur” if possible always try to be in front of and introduce yourself to these professionals. Your audience is your clientele, your business development manager is your audience. It is to your benefit to understand the product they promote and become a champion of the products and services they offer. Education is your most valuable Item in your tool kit. Understanding the different products will help you close the sale to your “book of business”.

A book of business or a client list is a valuable way to increase your personal sales and increase your presence in the travel industry marketplace. In a perfect world you already have a book of potential clients and are producing 250K in your first six months, while a great thought, and if you are fortunate enough to have this when you start in the business good for you, you are well on your way! The harsh reality is not everyone has this, so you have to start from scratch.

Here are a few outlets for you to begin to create your book of business in the early stages of your career as a travel professional.

• Pick a focus or a niche market to narrow your focus when you first begin in the travel industry. A good example is to narrow your focus to areas you have traveled to before or have one focus. Learn everything you can about being the best in all-inclusive travel, as an example
• Reach out to family and friends. They are more apt to book with you in the first place as they know you and your work ethics.
• Ask for referrals, and ask for referrals. The biggest confidence booster is a referral from a happy client.
• Request feedback, always call your clients after they have returned from a trip. Ask for specific feedback about their recent vacation. Foster an open nurturing environment, that is inclusive of good feedback and things that can be improved upon.
• Surround yourself with like-minded people. Your friends in your social network and members of clubs and organizations that you belong to are a good source for potential new clients. You all have the same things in common, so a vacation collaboration should be a fun experience.

Your Entrepreneurial Endeavor to become a travel advisor is well under way. You have secured your employment, completed your initial training, and you are beginning to build great relationships with vendors and suppliers. The book of business is coming along and you have a few curated itineraries under your belt. It is time to begin your quest to create your own brand. A good best practice or next step is to create your vision, mission and values statements. Successful Vision, Mission and Values statements help align your brand and guide decision making, says the Travel Institute in their CTIE online training program. The vision statement is a broad overview so ask yourself big picture questions.

• Why does your organization exist!
• Who does the organization services
• The value of the organization to others

Using your organizations vision statement is a good jumping off point to begin your quest for the mission statement that best utilizes your foresight for your entrepreneurial endeavor. Ask the why, what, who and how so you will be successful in your new endeavor. The final step is your value statement. Which is the culture you would like to create, be realistic in your values and avoid the pitfall of unattainable goals and expectation. The beauty of the vision, mission and values exercise, it is a living and breathing document that is always evolving. When writing these three statements keep these pointers in mind. Avoid the statements length, keep it simple, focus on the right issues, don’t add generic items and avoid misused phrases.

The last and most important component of your new business model is continuing to build your brand. Creating a brand in our technological world can be overwhelming to someone new to any new venture. In an online article from Tnooz.com 20 Things Every Travel Agent Should do Right Now Online and Offline. There are several effective points to highlight. Part of being a great leader in the industry owners and training managers number one priority is to seek out young talented professionals, they should partner with them, coach them to help increase their productivity.

The number one goal is to mentor your team utilizing your expertise and years of experience, and align yourself and your team with your consortiums goals and objectives. A few of the top suggestions are to, specialize in a few destinations or activities and become the expert. The complexities of the trip is what clients are looking for, they are looking for unique and limited access itineraries that focus on cultural immersion, this is what will differentiate you from your competition. Focus on clients with more money than time, these individuals will value a travel agents expertise and ability to handle every aspect of the trip. Master your pitch, what are the top three things that set you apart from other travel advisors, it is best to practice and memorize these pitches. Network with vendors and suppliers and create relationships for better access to amenities that only you can provide for your clientele. Engage with social media, create your own website and post through social media websites to increase your footprint as an expert in your profession. Don’t sell ideas, sell expertise and finally be a lifelong student of change. The travel industry is always evolving and things are more grey than black and white.

In closing, you may ask yourself what does this have to do with leadership? In order to be successful as business owner, business development manager, on-site or supplier you have to possess an inherent skill to build these leaders and invest the time to create a solid foundation for new travel advisors to truly become “entrepreneurs” for the industry to flourish and grow. In following these outlined steps you will foster a learning environment in your chosen travel industry field. To drive success through your leadership skill set, it will take continuous mentoring and leading your team through the ever changing world of leisure travel.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It