Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

Every time I write a blog or I post something on Facebook or Instagram, I remember an old cartoon of two men, side by side, digging deep in the ground. The man on the left finds a small diamond. The man on the right sees the man on the left with the diamond, so he stops digging on his side, and moves to the left where the other man stood. We can see that if the man on the right continued digging on his side, he would have found a much bigger diamond, but he gave up, thinking that all the diamonds were all on the other side.

How many times have we heard stories like the Coca Cola one: Today, more than 1.4 billion servings of Coca Cola products are enjoyed every day — nearly a million servings every minute. But in the first year, 1886, they sold an average of 9 drinks a day. Today, Coca–Cola is available in more than 200 countries around the world.

We can talk about the stories of Disney, Oprah and so many others. The greatest secret is focus and persuasion.

These stories sound so wonderful BUT what if I am following the wrong path?

What if this is not the right thing for me?

What if my neighbor has a better idea?

So many thoughts like these come to me in the middle of the night when I can almost feel my bedroom being “invaded” – it almost feels crowded!

It feel like there are so many people that just want to find their place under the sun. To be famous and respected, to have their opinions cited and quoted by many – to find the diamond when they are digging.

To those people and to myself I say: Continue digging! Don’t move to another place – follow your heart and do it with love. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have now, how many sales you are booking at this moment. Just focus and persist. At this moment you are creating! No one can do it for you, and in few years from now, only you will remember how good it was.

Cheers!

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Blogs @www. travelwithrosana.com

 

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

Happy Birthday! May you be blessed with many travels and celebrations!

Yes, this time I am wishing this to myself!

I really make a big deal about birthdays. I love to wish everyone I know, even my FB friends, a meaningful and happy birthday.  I love to celebrate life, and each and every one who believes the same makes this world a better place. (Intentions count LOL!)

People who know me know that I have been through a lot in my life. Despite all, I keep a big smile on my face. I am not trying to compare myself to those who have been through more, and it is not my intention to disregard anyone who is suffering, or has suffered so much in the past.  My attitude is to keep focusing on the positive. I work hard against my demons and keep smiling to remind myself that I can do it.

Celebrating my birthday by traveling is an honor. It is a gift – as is being surrounded by loving friends and family. I am making my wishes come true and hoping that I will be able to reach 120 countries – when I have already been to 86!

Cheers!

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Instagram @ travelwithrosana
Blogs @www. travelwithrosana.com

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

How many times have you heard the phrase, “Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn”?

I like to believe that this is the way we should live our lives, learning from our mistakes, instead of torturing ourselves or getting down about our losses.

Life is full of ups and downs. I wish there was a secret formula, or a medication, or something else that could put us in a place where we could always think rationally and without so much emotion. We’d be better able to process everything, always learning from life instead of just moving forward (or even staying in the same place, or even moving backwards!)

Winning, and feeling the happiness of that moment is intoxicating and we want that feeling to last forever.

On the other hand, how can we learn when the feeling of “loss” is so hurtful, sometimes humiliating, and many times, unexpected? Especially when we feel that we do not deserve it!

Separating rational thoughts from feelings is very difficult, and much easier said than done. Seeing ourselves and pinpointing our flaws without being too harsh or too soft, but being a true friend. Some people are lucky enough to have true friends who can be honest and help them to succeed, or to take a “loss” and learn from that experience. Others can use the help of a great therapist or coach.

In the grand scheme of things, it makes sense to say and live by “sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” when the feeling that come along with the “learning” is manageable and tolerable and you have a support system that can help you.

I love to help you to learn about your business. Feel free to reach out.

To win and to learn!

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Blogs @www. travelwithrosana.com

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

People are always asking when is the perfect time to travel. There’s no such thing as the perfect time to take a vacation, so the best time is always ASAP!

Should we list the reasons? Why not?

Not in any specific order of priority:

• Life happens
• Celebrating an event
• Rewarding yourself
• Being kind when something sad happens
• To learn about other cultures
• Meeting new people
• Seeing the world
• Appreciating what we have
• To learn more about ourselves
• Giving thanks
• Love, live and laugh
• Treat family and friends to a nice vacation
• Just because…

You could probably add even more reasons why people should travel now and not wait. Planning ahead for new trips keeps us young at heart and hopeful for better days ahead. It is a healthy and very positive mindset to bet on good health, happiness and to expect only reasons for celebration.

Actually, it works like a good anti-depressant medication without any side effects! It is a great stimulant without addiction (actually, traveling can be addicting but it is a good addiction!) and gives us plenty of topics for fun and interesting conversations.

Having a Bucket List is very empowering and gives the traveler great reasons to make their lives more beautiful by creating fun expectations ahead.

Share this post or rewrite it with your own words, but make sure you spread the word that there is no such thing as the perfect time to take a vacation, so the best time is always ASAP!

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Blogs @www.travelwithrosana.com

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

I am targeting YOU, the travel agent, to talk about how customers can choose the best travel advisor for their needs.

Could that work against you? I bet it will not. Actually, my hope is for you to share this post with your clients and prospective clients if you feel comfortable having them read about your best strengths.

I want to compare a great travel agent to a great physical trainer. I use a trainer to make me feel stronger, to help my self-esteem, and to keep me excited about exercising. I’ve tried quite a few trainers. I’ve experienced some that made exercise so boring that I dreaded going, one who found a problem with my neck, back and even my capacity for understanding (?). I’ve found some who like to talk about how good and experienced they are, yet did nothing for me. Then, I found the right one! One who clicked and made me excited to go. When my private classes are over, I am sad.

Finding the right travel agent is the same. It doesn’t matter how famous or busy the person is, how many degrees they have, or the number of countries he/she has visited. It matters how this travel agent makes the client or prospective client feel. How interested they are, and how much they care.

Sure, many new prospective clients have unrealistic expectations, but travel agents can provide a reality check in a straight forward way and with caring words. How? By just being themselves and showing the client how much they care. Kindness goes a long way.

Being a caring and kind person and giving 100% of your attention, shows that many degrees and years of experience are not worth much when they are not in use. Just because a travel agent is famous or has years of experience doesn’t guarantee that his/her work will be fool proof. Everyone can make a mistake but the agents who are 100% present and attentive to their clients will certainly make fewer.

Be the best version of yourself and then you’ll certainly be the kind of travel agent/advisor that clients will be proud to recommend.

Cheers!

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Blogs @www.travelwithrosana.com

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

Do you feel compelled to find the “perfect” trip or vacation for your clients?

What do they mean by “perfect?” Can you control the weather? The conditions of the roads? A delay or cancellation on a commercial airline?

Yes, you can advise them about pickpockets in some cities or areas and tell them not to have valuable items with them, and to use extreme caution.

You can tell them about rainy season and dry season. You can even describe conditions of the roads in small villages. You can advise them to buy a round-trip airline ticket from the point of origin to the destination instead of using different carriers for each segment of the trip which can save money but doesn’t guarantee a cancellation if any segment is delayed.  You can highly suggest that they purchase trip insurance but can’t make them purchase it. And despite all of your efforts, sometimes things go wrong, and your client might blame you for a not so “perfect” trip or vacation.

First of all, most travelers will not blame themselves – just because it is more convenient to blame someone else, and they’re trying to get an apology and/or reimbursement.

My suggestion is to send all advice in writing via email and ask for a reply. Make sure you strongly recommend travel insurance and that the client makes sure all paperwork is done for the country where he/she is traveling. Do not assume that if the client speaks English with no accent that he/she is American; many could be holding only a green card and have a foreign passport that requires a special visa to visit the country.

Personally, I used to assume that no one was American. I would always ask which passport they would be traveling with and checked if they needed a visa, special vaccines or other paperwork for the destination they wanted to visit.

Remind yourself and your client that “perfect” is a subjective term and depends on each individual’s experience. A travel agent/advisor cannot get into someone else’s mind and know their expectations and desires.

Communication is the key to avoid misunderstanding, combined with the knowledge that no one is perfect and life itself is not perfect.

Not even the best travel agent knows it all. Luckily, we are always learning, that is the beauty of life.

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Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

By now, everyone has probably heard what happened to Thomas Cook, and how many clients got stranded in so many countries. That is scary, to say the least.

These are the things that travelers don’t think of everyday when they book travel online, or when they book themselves a vacation. Why should they?

Just last week I wrote about time and life not being refundable; I guess my timing was just perfectly on-time!

Would travel insurance be the answer in this case? Unfortunately, not really. In the case that a person buys travel insurance with the tour company, and that company goes bankrupt, everything is lost. And, basic travel insurance policies do not cover interruptions or cancellations for bankruptcy of tour companies. Travel insurance policies with Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage offer cancellation within 2 days, or 48 hours prior to the trip, but it needs to be purchased and upgraded within 21 days from when the trip is purchased for the full amount, and not exactly 100% will be refunded.

In this case, a better bet would be a strong credit card – one that offers coverage in the event a trip is canceled or delayed, or if an airline becomes insolvent. Some of these cards may also cover the cost of a booking a hotel room when a traveler is stranded. Please make sure you read the small print of the credit card agreement and ask questions before you sign up and use them for payment of your travel.

Now, what are the chances of reputable tour operator going out of business? It is not a big enough number that one should worry about it.

My advice: always feel protected, buy the trip with a credit card that gives you enough points AND protects your trip, but also purchase the travel insurance policy that makes you comfortable. Some prefer to buy through the tour company with the price included in the tour package (always cheaper), many buy through an independent travel insurance company, and some people with any history of any illness prefer the insurance with coverage for pre-existing medical history.

Life happens, and it makes us think about better ways to protect our happy dreams coming true.

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Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

 

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

How many times have you heard a traveler ask if a trip is refundable, or if an airline ticket (always the most economical, of course) is refundable, and so on.

I always told the travel agents I worked with that life and time are non-refundable; the weeks pass whether we like them or not, and we cannot get a do over just because we were not happy with them, or we were sick, or any other reason.

It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating New Year’s 2019 – and now the stores are already promoting Halloween! How could time have gone so quickly? I really feel like I want a refund for the first almost 10 months of 2019.

Seriously, we all know that we will work hard to make these last months of this year our best. Hopefully, many of us are on the right path, even if only making small steps towards the realization of a big dream.   Hopefully the setbacks of this year are making us stronger and teaching us to become more positive about who we really are.

So, the next time your clients ask about their trips being refundable, just remember this blog about time and life, and offer something that many don’t think of purchasing in REAL LIFE – like Trip Insurance.

Trip Insurance can only give back the money spent on a trip, not the memories or the experience itself – but definitely the material things like money.

Go ahead, continue making their dreams come true! So many people need an expert to take care of their vacations, holidays and trips. And before they realize that real life can happen, make sure they have insurance.

To life, to beautiful memories, and to unforgettable experiences.

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

 

Dear Travel Agents/Advisors,

Let’s talk about REAL ID for travelers. I want to hear your opinions on this issue and check to see if your clients have been asking you about it.

I have heard from many friends here in Los Angeles that they wasted about 4 hours of their precious time getting their REAL ID. Hearing that, I got a knot on my stomach because patience is not one of my virtues and waiting in big lines causes me anxiety. I asked them if they had appointments and they told me that they certainly did, and despite that, they spent about 4 hours there.

My driver’s license needs to be renewed in November of this year.  I’ve been debating with me, myself and I (the three of us, LOL!) if I should get my REAL ID, or just renew by mail and bring along my passport when I travel inside the US.

I also have another issue with my driver’s license. In 2005 I had a LASIK surgery done on my eyes because I was nearsighted, and in 2012 (when I was 50 years old) I started to need eyeglasses because I became farsighted, so I had PRK surgery. Since then, I don’t need eyeglasses anymore. My vision in both eyes is 20/20 but one eye sees far and the other is sees close. Because of this, I can’t pass the DMV eye test; I need a letter from my doctor explaining the procedure. Not everyone at the DMV understands this.

Well, despite the knowledge of my friends’ experience, my inability to deal with lines, waiting, and anxiety, all topped off with concern over my eyesight blessings (?), I decided to try to get my REAL ID, and made an appointment for 09/11 at 9am at the Hollywood DMV.

On Wednesdays they open at 9am. I arrived there at 8:15am (yes, I like to be early) and the line was already around the corner. But, there is a special line for those with appointments. Thanks to my husband for being so detail oriented – he noticed this small, little sign close to the door while I went to get into line.

About 45 minutes later, I was number ONE in line for appointments (did I say thanks to my husband?) and in 20 MINUTES I was out.

I had brought all the required paperwork, I sent in my form online prior to my appointment, and I had everything ready to show them.

Were they friendly? Well, I asked very politely to see how my picture looked and the agent said, “There are others waiting in line!”  At least I can say they were very professional!

When it came to the eye test, I provided my eye doctor’s paperwork (which I got from their website) and the person knew exactly what it was all about!

Maybe if I wasn’t number 1 in line, I could have saved 45 minutes from my waiting time and been there on time at 9am, or only 10 minutes prior.  I could have done all in 30 minutes with no wait. Lesson learned!

I highly recommend getting the REAL ID, especially if you need to renew your driver’s license soon. Please make an appointment, organize your paperwork, and if possible, get acquainted with the DMV you will be visiting prior to the appointment so you don’t wait in the big line together with the “walk-ins.”

Let me know your experience with REAL ID has been!  I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

Follow me at:
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Blogs @www.travelwithrosana.com