Tisha Spencer’s career started when she was in college. After serving in the U.S. Army, Spencer attended Johnson & Wales University in South Carolina, with a major in hospitality and a minor in event planning, two majors that would eventually lend themselves very well to her future career. While on campus, she joined a sorority (Zeta Phi Beta), which had a fraternity fraternity.
“I’m a planner by nature,” she said. So when the sorority was planning events, including shows and conferences, they took the lead. She started with small local trips and eventually graduated to booking entire hotels for conferences. It gave her an introduction to the things she would need to be successful as a travel consultant.
When she got out of school, she discovered that booking a trip was a “way to earn extra money for things I was going to do anyway”, helping her friends and family in the region to book regional trips. Mostly, she said, these were weekend cruises from Florida with friends or family she had within driving distance, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Since then, Spencer has spent two decades as a travel consultant. His agency, Platinum Life Travels in San Antonio, a subsidiary of InteleTravel, specializes in groups and cruises. She recently spoke to TMR about her career and the trends she sees in the industry. Here is just part of what she said:
1. Find your niche on social media It’s not for everyone, but Spencer is one of the travel consultants who have been able to build a business through social media. She estimates that 40% of her bookings come through social media in some way.
“I don’t use it as advertising space,” she said, “Instead, I post information. I want them to know that I’m very well educated in the areas I deal with. “With COVID, customers wanted someone they knew to be informed of any changes.”
“I make sure to introduce myself to them as a person,” she added.
This includes her travel groups, which she also encourages other agents to do. Creating a closed group, a space where customers only see each other, allows people to be more comfortable both sharing information and being themselves.
Social media is also a place where she can get leads to add to her more traditional marketing lists.
“All I need is your name and email address and I’ll put you in my CRM and you’ll receive communications from me,” she said.
Social media, especially Facebook, is an easy place to start because building a presence there doesn’t require the kind of time, effort, or in some cases, money that building a professional website does. might require.
For those who want to go beyond that, Spencer suggests using a marketing landing page, like Linktree, which can put everything in one place (contact information, social media accounts, etc.) for advisors to refer potential clients.
2. Stay OrganizedSpencer’s career as a travel consultant has blossomed into two roles – in addition to selling travel, she’s also the first certified ambassador and elite trainer with InteleTravel, the host agency she works with. work. Through her role as a trainer, she is able to communicate the lessons she has learned throughout her career, including what she considers most important: staying organized.
“When I started it wasn’t something I did. But once I joined InteleTravel and was with a hospitality agency that was serious about booking travel, I thought about it,” she said.
“I had to organize myself with how I communicated, how I sent invoices, how I tracked commissions and income, because
She mentioned watching a virtual training and seeing the agent running the webinar struggling to find an email for 20 minutes as one of those a-ha moments. For her, one of the keys is Travel Joy, the CRM she uses, which takes care of a ton of these tasks.
“Once I have their email, I put them in my CRM,” she told TMR, and everything from marketing to sales to customer interactions stays up to date there.
“When I started getting organized, my whole business changed,” she said. “I didn’t realize how many clients I actually had until I organized or sold or the fact that I was sending people to the same places because I could capture it all keeping track “, she said.
She also uses Google Calendars, which are tied to her clients, to track trips, payment dates, and more. And, to make marketing and communicating with her clients as easy and transparent as possible, she stores all documents in separate folders. , by supplier, on his desk.
“I can just go on file and get what I need and do what I do,” she said.
Ultimately, Spencer sees a keen sense of organization as key not only to her business, but also to other travel consultants who are just starting their careers.
“With so many home-based agents, especially some newbies who also have full-time jobs or are full-time parents, we need to learn how to organize ourselves and our time to be effective,” he said. she stated.
3. Think about your job differently than just booking travel The travel industry is something that “has always been around me,” Spencer said.
“We have to get out of our neighborhood and visit someone else in order to expand our minds,” she said, adding that some of her earliest memories revolve around vacations she took with her family growing up.
Thinking about those memories, those experiences that stick with you or your family or friends, helps define the job of a counselor – to help people, whether they are families, couples, groups or solo travellers, creating memories.
Part of that is fitting your customer into the right destination and the right supplier, but another part is adding the touches they wouldn’t get by booking online.
“I love surprising our guests, I really love doing that,” she said, mentioning that she arranged for a recent guest, on their honeymoon, to not only get a moon cake honeymoon halfway through their trip, but also their decorated resort room upon arrival.
Spencer added that more and more of the advisors she knows are making it a necessary part of their job, not only serving clients, but also connecting with them on a personal level through these little touches. It proves how much they love what they do.
“I love the industry and where it’s going — there are a lot of agents who are really passionate about doing it,” she said.
What are the disadvantages of using a travel agent?
8 good reasons not to use a travel agency See the article : What is a real estate broker?.
- You know how to book your own trips. …
- You have time to research and book your own trip. …
- You know exactly what you want. …
- You love non-traditional travel components. …
- You can find better travel deals. …
- Quirky or complicated travel planning scenarios.
What are the disadvantages of a travel agency? Pricing: The Cost of Travel Agent Pro: Often you no longer pay to use an agent as most travel agents charge a referral fee or commission for booking your trip. Disadvantage: But sometimes you pay more! Airlines, for example, don’t pay commissions, so you might be charged by a travel agent who books your flight.
Is it worth it to use a travel agent?
A travel agent can keep things organized, negotiate with services, and personally resolve any complications that may arise. Rather than trying to book rooms in the same hotels and seats on the same flights with multiple credit cards and names, let a travel agent do the dirty work.
What is the advantage of using a travel agent?
Travel agents simplify the travel planning process by booking flights, cruises, rental cars and hotels, as well as stays and events at resorts. See the article : Cheap travel this summer? Tips to protect your budget as a cost surge. They offer vacation and accommodation suggestions based on their experience and research, as well as work within a set monetary budget, if desired.
How much does it cost to become a travel agent?
Almost 40% (87 of 218) said it would cost less than $5,000 and almost 29% said it would cost between $5,000 and $10,000. To see also : Compass Comes back to Earth. The only other answer above 10% was $10,000 to $20,000.
How quickly can I become a travel agent? In terms of the training time you need to put in before becoming a full-fledged travel agent, it depends. You could start your career right out of high school, or it could take one to four years to earn a certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree in tourism.
How much do a travel agents get for flights?
Most travel agents who earn commissions on airline booking tickets earn 5% on domestic flights and 10-20% on international flights. Commission rates are similar for booking hotels.
Is it hard to be a travel agent?
Being a travel agent allows you to earn a living while pursuing your passion. You’ll spend more time researching and planning tours, helping others create lasting memories. What is that? Although the job can be difficult and demanding, seeing the smiles on customers’ faces is joy enough for some people.
Can a travel agent get me a better deal on a cruise?
Travel agents can get better deals on cruises. Their service is usually free, although some may charge a small fee to new customers. It’s worth it. In addition to sharing their expertise, the agent may have negotiated group space at lower rates with the cruise line, which may save you money on the cruise fare.
How much does a travel agency cost to book a cruise? Travel agents receive a commission from the cruise line, which comes from the bottom line of the cruise line and is not billed to you. When you book a cruise, make changes, re-evaluate and cancel a cruise, these are all activities the agency offers free of charge.
Can you get a better deal with a travel agent?
They get much of their information from the same sources as the booking sites we use. In addition, they receive daily offers by e-mail and fax which cannot always be found on the Internet. Travel agents can also make phone calls and communicate directly with resorts and hotels to negotiate better deals.
Do travel agents get big discounts?
The second reason to become a travel agent is the discounts you get on travel for you and your family. As a travel agent, you can save up to 75% on travel including hotels, resorts, car rentals, cruises, theme parks and vacation packages…
