Dear Travel Agents/ Advisors,

As my followers already know, I like to compare travel agents to doctors. Some doctors specialize in an area of medicine, and others prefer to be general practitioners.

There are advantages to being a travel agent with a specialty. Chances are, you know the destination better than other agents do.  With that knowledge, you may be able to offer a better value for the price you quote. Once they travel, your clients will be more likely to recommend you.  A specialization also makes it easier to target your network with a better focus in your advertising.  To top it all off, your specialty is something you are personally passionate about. 

However, if you decide to specialize in a very narrow aspect of travel, you will have a smaller audience. For example, a travel agent who specializes in doing wine tasting only in Mendoza, Argentina would not have as broad of a specialty as one who specializes in wine tasting around the world. You could broaden your specialty to an even larger audience by offering tours for wine and different spirits in different countries, with classes and blind taste tests.

A nice way to promote certain destinations to an undecided group interested in travel that includes wine and/or other spirits, is to have an event and offer different bottles of wine/spirits from different countries. Do a blind taste  where people in the group give points for taste. The winner could decide the country or destination the group will visit. Creativity is the name of the game!

Feel free to pick my brain for other ideas for becoming a specialist in an aspect of travel, and how to promote your specialty to groups.

Cheers!

Rosana Chermisqui – Your Mentor

Follow me at:
Facebook @travelwithrosana
Instagram @travelwithrosana
Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

 

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors, 

I hope you are enjoying the start of the summer season! 

The end of June starts the summer in the northern hemisphere, and winter in the southern hemisphere. Spring started in April in the northern hemisphere of the planet, at the same time as the southern hemisphere started to experience the beautiful changing of colors of the autumn, or fall.  

Countries closest to the equator experience very little change in terms of temperature: Ecuador, Uganda, Kenya and other countries. (Please see a world map for more.) As most of Ecuador is in the southern hemisphere, June to September is considered to be winter, and winter is generally the dry season in warm climates. Spring, summer, and fall are generally the “wet seasons” while winter is the dry (with the exception of the first month of fall being dry).

Why am I telling you all of this? There are two big factors that can influence a prospective client’s decision to visit different countries: 

 With climate change, even though it may be spring season, in many countries or parts of those countries it is still raining and cold. So, make sure you don’t promise sunny weather in June when you have no control of delivering on that promise. 

 The seasons and weather (rainy or dry) determine if it is high, low, or shoulder season for travel. Prices change completely. When it is very inexpensive to visit a country, make sure your prospective client is aware of the weather he/she will be experiencing. For example, while offering a beach lover Australia in August just because the price is right, you will be looking for lots of complaints.

You can never guarantee good weather during the time of travel, but some homework from the travel agent is required to make sure the client will enjoy the vacation based on his/her expectations and the value of the tour package.

Feel free to pick my brain for more ideas on how to provide the best information to your prospective clients.

Cheers,

Rosana Chermisqui – Your Mentor

Follow me at:
Facebook @travelwithrosana
Instagram @travelwithrosana
Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

Dear Travel Agents/ Advisors, 

How many times have you been approached by someone surprised that travel agents still exist, now that we live in the Internet/Google/Expedia world?

You can reply to these comments with a question, “How much do you value your privacy?”

If you follow my blogs, you know that I compare the profession of travel agent to that of a doctor. As a doctor, privacy is more than expected. The same goes for Travel Agents, who will not sell or “lend” private information to any other party. All conversations take place via email, phone calls and/or text messages, and are private and not disclosed to anyone.

Remind prospective clients and clients that if you were to “sell” their information to other parties and make money that way, you could sell airfare, hotels and even a tour for below the quoted price. Your “profit” could be made by selling their information, which could be very valuable.

Nothing in this world is free, and everything has a price tag attached to it.

Remind them that the next time they go shopping online and provide their information, others are receiving their priceless personal data. Even the security installed in their computer is being compromised by their own actions.

The privacy between clients and travel agents is priceless. Working with a travel agent doesn’t cost more when you compare apples with apples.  Remind them that buying travel over the internet doesn’t give them the empathy, answers, or even offer the excitement that working with a competent Travel Agent offers.

I hope you are dealing with smart travelers, and forwarding them this blog will show them your real value!

Cheers!

Rosana Chermisqui – Your Mentor

Follow me at:
Facebook @travelwithrosana
Instagram @travelwithrosana
Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com