Travel Agent Chatter | Friday 15
We’ve got two listening delights for you on this channel, folks! 😲 Season 1 is Travel Agent Chatter (TAC), a spotlight interview of a wide variety of travel advisors that we publish every quarter. Season 2 is our shorter, but more frequent Friday 15 series, where every Friday we answer your travel industry questions for — you guessed it — 15 minutes! Travel Agent Chatter -- a Host Agency Reviews audio series -- inspires you with in-depth interviews featuring successful travel agents. We dig into what they do that makes their agencies flourish and how they did it. Transcripts, videos and TAC show notes can be found at...
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$2M in Sales. No Team. No Marketing Budget. Meet Amy!
<p>****** Transcript + Show Notes: https://har.news/vol35</p><p>Special thanks to today’s sponsor: Uniglobe Travel Center</p><p>Today’s guest took a life-changing leap, selling her home, putting everything in storage, and moving her family to Japan. What started as a bold personal decision quickly turned into something much bigger.</p><p>Since becoming a travel advisor in 2019, Amy has grown her business to over $2 million in annual sales, all as a solo advisor.</p><p>What makes Amy’s journey particularly powerful is how it’s rooted in lived experience. From fully immersing her family in life...
Closing a lead? Payment Practices? Trust?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Betsy from Uniglobe Travel Center! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>I just started as a travel agent this past September. And I do have quite a few sales, more than I expected. However, There’s been a few instances lately, where people have reached out to me and seemed eager to work together, and I’ll respond back to them to try and set up a quick phone call or video chat to get a vision for their trip, and before I...
Leads? Payment Gateways? Hierarchies?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Erwing from Oasis Travel Network! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>New advisor here, just starting out-I’m wondering if it’s possible to be successful in getting leads through online marketing only, and not tap into friends and family or local community?I am a new home-based travel agent and I am curious as to which online payment gateway host you recommend? I will be using this payment gateway only for my fee. All other payments go directly to the vendors...
CRMs? Tech Tools? Unnecessary tech?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Katie from Tern! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>I’m just getting started and trying to wrap my head around using a CRM, but I’m honestly not sure what I should actually be tracking in it day-to-day. Right now, I have client emails, trip details, and notes kind of scattered across different places. What are the most important things a travel advisor should be tracking in a CRM to stay organized and not let things fall through the cracks?There ar...
Client IDs? Net vs Gross? Selling Yourself?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Samantha from Jus Adventures! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us!</p>I continue to see it recommended that we get copies of our client's ID's. However, I am unsure of a process to do this that is secure? Or does it need to be secure? Can they just text or email me a photo? I'd love your perspective on this. - ErinCan you talk about the practice of DMCs presenting quotes in gross vs net commission, and is it preferred or acceptable to r...
Corporate to Leisure? DMC Services? Destination Weddings?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Jennifer from Dugan’s Travels! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>I love your podcasts and have been a loyal listener for over 3 years. In 2023, I trained and started working as a Corporate Travel Advisor for a small agency, remotely. I took the job because thought I needed training in GDS platforms but my true desire is to run my own leisure travel agency. I work full time, have great benefits and have mastered two platforms. My question is, is there a conf...
Checklists? Responsible Travel? Website?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Fora! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>I am working on creating more automated processes and was wondering if there is a general "checklist" of things an agent should do before each trip? I feel like I am forgetting something and just want to be able to check things off (virtually). Things like "gather personal info", "make airline booking" "make hotel/resort booking" "confirm car rental" "email hotel 2 weeks prior to confirm reservation was received" "deposit due" "final payment due" "call hote...
Niche from beginning? Website? FIT?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming GTN! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>Hi! I am looking forward to starting this next great adventure. I have a background as a paralegal that I think will serve me well in the administrative side of things as well as problem solving. I am thinking of specializing in accessible travel. Is this a good idea at the start or would it be better to get to know the business before specializing? - PattiAre you allowed to have your own landing page...
Commission on Fees? Certifications? Facebook?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Dugan’s Travels! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us! </p>How common is it for a Host Agency to take a commission on the planning/consulting/concierge/other fees I charge my clients? Is it even okay to charge commission on my planning fee given that I am an IC? For this question, I'm not asking about a payment processing fee if you use the Host payment processor. Rather, I'm talking about applying the same commission split to both sales and any fees I...
CC Auths? Charging Fees? Switching Hosts?
<p>This week’s Friday 15, we're welcoming Uniglobe Travel Center! Let’s have some fun, plus some questions to discuss this Friday at 12 pm CST. Join us!</p>I have several corporate clients that pay with the same card throughout the year. Can I have them sign a cc authorization form at the beginning of the year and how often do you suggest I renew it? They are extremely busy people and I cannot ask them to complete the form for each and every flight they need.I would love continued conversations about how to execute charging fees when different trip...
