Dear Travel Agent,

Let me paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, first to make this fun (I love his quotes), plus I think it is a nice way to explain my point:

“Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one carrying it for him, who is in charge?”

Sure, this is a joke, funny in my opinion. But let’s turn that example into a travel agent talking to a client who they think is in charge and who they believe is the decision maker for the trip.

You’ve put in hours of work, even charged a consulting fee, but after so many back and forths, you end up finding out that you are talking to a middle person who told you they were in charge.

How can you find out who is really in charge?

First lesson: listen to the answers after a couple of questions. The main question is, if I give you all you want, dates, price, and destination, are you ready to commit right now?

If the person says that they need to speak to their partner, son, daughter, friend: ask to have all the decision makers together on a conference call and then ask the same question.

If you get the answer that they need a meeting to decide: they are not ready. Take a deep breath, give yourself a chance, and move on!

If they are ready to make the decision, viola! You’ve got the client, and you’re working with the life form in charge! 😜

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Dear Travel Agent,

Let’s talk about a very sensitive matter: depression.

I am not an expert on the subject but I feel comfortable talking about it because I struggled with it for over 20 years while building my business. Shame was a big part of it, and a side effect of the medication I took made my hands shake – very difficult when trying to deal with being a successful businesswoman and “being normal.”

To many people I looked like I was on top of the world with a very successful business; but inside, the demons of depression spoke loudly, and I had to fight every day to believe I was going to be OK.

Honestly, traveling to other countries and taking medication helped me tremendously, together with therapy.  I “collect” countries, I think about them, I learn from different cultures and I better understand myself by meeting people all over the world.  Travel for me was not a cure, but helped me tremendously to be the person I am today.

I understand depression, I’ve walked in those shoes before, and unfortunately, I cannot guarantee I will never walk in them again, since some things can be a trigger. I am learning to cope with my life and giving back in all ways possible. I love to see travel agents succeed, I love to help and be a cheerleader. It helps me to be a better and happier person.

Life is not a competition. The grass looks greener on the other side, but we don’t know what the other person is going through. Let’s just be nice to each other, smile, and use your words to heal instead of hurt. Don’t forget to travel as much as you can to spread love and compassion to more people.

To life and to happiness!

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Dear Travel Agent,

There are many ways to continue learning about your business of travel. One good option is to attend webinars and classes – who am I to disagree with that!
I’d like to suggest other ideas, the things I have been doing over and over again for almost 30 years: learning from experience.
Let me give you some examples of this, so you can experience the same things, and take advantage of this learning opportunity.
Since I fly quite a lot, I try to experience different airlines and airports. I form my own opinion, plus being a chatterbox, I talk to others on my flight and at the airport to also get their opinions. From that experience, I can tell travel agents about easier connections in the US, and friendlier and easier TSA screening, especially if you are in a hurry. This is not only my own opinion, but those of others who shared flights around the same time – both during holidays and at regular times of the year.

Something else I do is sample food. I order different special foods from different airlines, such as gluten free, vegan, kosher, etc. so I can give my travel agents an idea of which airlines serve the best tasting selections. Honestly, I was blown away by the gluten free option by Emirates: AWESOME!

Some things I have experienced and learned from:

Try to make a connection between domestic and international in Boston or San Francisco, what a nightmare, especially if the domestic flight gets delayed! AVOID THAT NIGHTMARE!

Also, friendliest arrival airports: I can give you a list of the best and worst ones in 77 countries (so far).

I am not the most knowledgeable of all, nor I want to be, but my brain is full of details that I know are priceless!

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Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

 

 

Dear Travel Agent,

Let me start by saying that Morocco is an awesome country, with beautiful and friendly people. You can find amazing bargains all over the country. We started our trip in Rabat, then onto Fez, Erfoud, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Casablanca and back to Rabat, to make our way home.

It was an incredible itinerary.

A mistake we made was to travel there during Ramadan. Long drives were not fair to our driver/tour guide. It takes a lot of energy to drive on those precarious roads. One day, because the river was too high driving from Ouarzazate to Marrakech, we sat in the car for an extra 2 1/2 hours. Not pleasant for our tour guide who almost missed his Ftour (breakfast).

For lunch, there were no open restaurants EXCEPT for in Marrakech. Pay attention to that. If you find any restaurants open for lunch in other cities, the food is definitely leftover, with hard bread, small portions, and they are expensive.  Avoid them.

For dinner, all restaurants, even the most fancy ones, are smoker-friendly, so be prepared to breathe second hand smoke.

I am not discouraging people to travel to Morocco – actually I am looking forward to going again. But, not during Ramadan, and I will look for open restaurants where the cigarette smoke will not bother my sensitive nose and throat.

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Dear Travel Agent,

When people ask me, “When is a good time to travel?” I always answer, “When it is a good time for you travel!”

Well, I continue to think this way, but when traveling during Ramadan in Muslim countries, keep some important facts in mind:

• Your driver/ tour guide is Muslim and he/she will not eat or drink all day, until about 8pm (sundown). Driving makes people extremely tired and long-distance travel is not a good idea.

   

• AVOID eating lunch in restaurants open for tourists, they are pricey, and will probably serve leftovers and smaller portions.

   

• Businesses open after 10am and close earlier, before 4pm. By afternoon, salespeople are more tired and less accommodating when bargaining (for those who enjoy a good deal).

   

• Because hotels are less occupied, services slow down.

   

• Many tour guides are counting on taking a break during Ramadan, and spending time with their family.

   

 

• My advice for lunch and snacks is to buy food at a market and/or pack some extra from breakfast. Eat and drink discreetly, respecting those who are fasting during Ramadan.

Just slow down, take it easy, sleep a little later and come back to the hotel earlier. Have a big breakfast and sumptuous dinner. Avoid long distances by car, no matter who is driving. Be kind and try to put yourself in their shoes: fasting all day while trying to smile and keep a good mood.

Travel always, whenever it is easier or better for you, and be the best you can be!

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Dear Travel Agent,

Let’s talk about dealing with different kinds of people/clients.  Actually, I have divided people in general into three big, categories where I can place them most of the time:

1- the ones who see the half glass as half full

2- the ones who see the half glass as half empty

3- and the ones who see the glass broken with pieces of glass infecting their bare feet!

Unfortunately, we will usually find out what category new clients have classified themselves as AFTER they travel.

The glass half full person could come back with some comments (complaints), but will always try to emphasize the positive and tell you how great everything went despite some little things that could have been improved. Listen to them, appreciate their input, and tell them you will make sure to consider their valuable input.

When the glass half empty person comes back with complaints, remember, that from their type there will be only complaints and no positive feedback. First and foremost, DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY!  Then, listen, let them vent. Remember that they think they are RIGHT! If they raise their voice, make sure you speak lower and more softly than they do, but not so much lower that they can’t hear, or misunderstand you. Keep in mind it takes two people to fight, and by keeping your voice lower, you are not giving them that chance.

Empathy is the key to success. You can even apologize for the way your client felt, but NOT FOR WHAT HAPPENED, IF YOU DON’T AGREE TO ANY WRONG DOING!

Ask if you can make sure that you understand what happened by repeating what the has client told you, many times. Once they hear you repeat their complaint, they may realize how small or silly the situation was. Ask questions without passing any judgement, such as asking why they didn’t reach out to you on the first or second day? Or why didn’t they complain to the tour guide if he/she was late on the first day, and so on.

For the glass is broken and pieces of glass are infecting bare feet people – use most of the advice above, but remember, NOTHING will work. They are unhappy, and the best solution is to write a note to yourself with their names in big capital letters, then let them move on and be someone else problem! Life is too short to be surrounded by negativity!

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Twitter @travelRosana
blogs @ www.travelwithrosana.com

 

Dear Travel Agents,  

Can you believe it is already May? Where did the New Year go? It seems like only a few days ago we were talking about whether or not we should make a list of New Year’s resolutions. I said I was always against this practice, and the biggest reason is that once we turn around, it will be May. Then, before we know it, we’ll be preparing Thanksgiving in November, and being hard on ourselves regretting all resolutions we didn’t follow through with, and forgetting to celebrate all the resolutions we have accomplished.

Why?

People in general are hard on themselves based on their own self-expectations. We forget to consider that life gets in the way and sometimes, we need to redirect our goals, rethink our actions and most importantly, be caring, nicer and more forgiving of ourselves.

Yes, it is May, and almost half of 2018 has passed. We are still standing and fighting hard, despite all that life throws at us, people who push our buttons, and “nice” friends who ask from us more than we signed up to give. We are stronger than we could ever have imagined, even though our competition is getting under our skin and getting some of our best clients, and some of those projects and promises we were counting on haven’t happened so far.

Let’s celebrate us! Be happy May has arrived, and be optimistic!  We will be humble and thankful for all our blessings by Thanksgiving.

To each and every one of you, cheers!

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Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

 

 

Dear Travel Agent,

Those of you who know I had a tour operator business for over 23 years, also know I worked mostly with travel agents. I became friends with my clients and travel agents and they loved to ask me what months of the year I made more bookings. In which months our company was busier.

Honestly months didn’t vary. Luckily, business steadily increased, but we didn’t notice any big variation in which months this happened.

My school background is in business administration, with a minor in psychology. I learned at school and in life that most people purchase on an impulse in the spur of the moment. Most people are visual, others act by impulse when they hear, taste or smell something.

With travel, when someone watches a movie or sees pictures of a place, they want to go there. If they listen to a story, hear news about a place, or eat food from a different country, they crave seeing and being there. Impulsiveness is the name of the game, and when they are ready to book, you need to be their next thought, and a phone call away.

How can you be sure that every time a person who knows you thinks about traveling, they will think of you?

Keep showing up! On all social media, with weekly emails, bi-weekly texts, be present and remind them that life is short and sweet, and that no one should waste life by standing still, by not experiencing new places or different cultures. Travel until the whole world becomes one big well-known place, worth living in and being explored.

Let everyone knows that acting impulsively is normal and good and that you are there to make it all worthwhile.

Live, love, and travel like there is no tomorrow, and your world will be a better place!

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Blogs @ http://www.travelwithrosana.com

 

Dear Travel Agent,

How many of you have had one of “those days,” when from the time you woke up everything goes wrong, no matter what you do? How frustrated that makes you feel! You try to think hard and believe that if a door is being closed, it is because another one is going to be opened. But how to not to take it personally and feel like you, and only you, are having a bad day and the sun is shining on everyone else except you?

They say to take a deep breath and try to calm down. I tried this, but I relax better when I scream at the top of my lungs, and ask God what is his plan.  Unfortunately, God doesn’t answer, so I keep screaming until my throat hurts or a neighbor complains (first come, first served!)

Yes, I want to feel sorry for myself, but no matter how bad the things that have happened seem, we need to step back, forgive ourselves and move forward. It is 5pm somewhere in the world, and if you have good wine, come on, go ahead and have a glass. Put your feet up (with or without a glass) and make your peace with God.

Tomorrow is another day. Write down how you feel, write down things you felt you had control over, and the ones you did not. Think about what you could have done to change, and if today was one of “those days” – out of your control, and nothing you could have done would have worked. Just be nice to yourself, and as a good friend would tell you, tomorrow will be a better day!

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Blog @www.travelwithrosana.com

 

 

Dear Travel Agent,

How many times have we all been approached by people surprised that travel agents “still” exist, despite living in the internet Google/Expedia world?

This is a rhetorical question. But the answer is very simple. How much do you value your privacy?

For those who 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. Travel Agents will not sell or “lend” private information to any other party, and 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, if you could make money that way, you could sell any airfare, hotel or even tour for below the quoted price. Your “profit” would be made on their information, and that could be priceless.

There is nothing is this world for free.
Everything has a price tag attached to it.

Remind them that the next time they go shopping online and send their information, others are also getting their priceless personal data. All the security installed in their computer is being compromised by their own action.

The privacy between client and travel agent is priceless AND working with a travel agent doesn’t cost more when you compare apples with apples.  Remind them that buying through 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 be enough for them to understand your real value!

Feel free to contact me and follow me at:
Facebook @travelwithrosana
Instagram @travelwithrosana
Twitter @travelRosana
Blogs @ http://www.TravelWithRosana