PHOTO: Tim Orlowski and Steve Solomon, Travel by Tim and Steve.

Coming off a highly successful 2014, agents say they’ve created 2015 business strategies that will build on the achievements of this year to make next year one for the record books.

“We’re very optimistic – and due to a number of factors,” says Steve Solomon, co-owner of Travel by Tim and Steve in Playa Del Ray, Calif., an independent agency affiliated with Avoya Travel. “The price of gas has been coming down, unemployment is down and the stock market has skyrocketed up” he says.

On the destination front, agents say they plan to continue to sell more of what consumers are demanding: far-flung, experiential itineraries; river cruises; family and multigenerational travel; and honeymoons and destination weddings.

Several agents say they plan to further solidify their marketing efforts on social media, which they believe is an essential part of any business strategy going forward – and one that enables them to forge more personal ties with their customers. “Social media is where customers are going, and while some agents may not like it and not want to be a part of it, I think it’s a necessity now,” says Julie Caldo of Wyckoff, N.J.-based Concierge Travel and Cruise Consultants, an affiliate of Travel Experts. “The closer you can get to letting the customer know the kind of person you are is a very good thing,” she says, adding that social media is an ideal medium for doing just that.

Just as it did in 2014, Travel by Tim and Steve will target premium and luxury travelers who are looking for remote and exotic destinations and cruise itineraries, says Tim Orlowski, who co-owns the agency with Solomon. “Everybody wants to go to the hot new place, so hopefully we’ll see more of that,” he says. “We see a lot of interest in Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Galapagos, Patagonia and Antarctica,” says Orlowski.

The agency has definitely seen an uptick in sales for immersion-type itineraries within the past three years, he says. “We believe that a lot of the clients who are asking for these trips have traveled far and wide, and are looking for new and exotic itineraries.”

Orlowski and Solomon say capturing a larger share of the river cruise business is another important component in their 2015 business plan. “We’re seeing big, big requests for river cruising with people booking six months to a year out,” says Solomon, with some clients even going into 2016. “We have to educate clients that there’s a limited riverboat inventory and if they don’t move quickly the sailings will be gone. More and people are booking way out in advance, which is great.”

The agency’s goal is to increase its 2015 sales on a month-to-month basis over the same individual months in 2014. “If it’s $1,000 dollars a month great, if it’s $10,000 even better, and if it’s $100,000 event better yet,” says Orlowski.

They also plan to qualify for the President’s Circle, the elite designation for Avoya’s independent agencies that produce more than $2 million annually. “We were close to it in 2014,” says Solomon, adding that both he and Orlowski are determined to produce the requisite sales that will ensure them membership in the President’s Circle.

At Concierge Travel and Cruise Consultants, promoting and selling multigenerational vacations to affluent travelers is one of the agency’s key 2015 strategies. “The baby boomers are now grandparents, they’ve got the money to spend now and they’re sharing it with their extended families on unique vacation experiences,” says Caldo.

She says she also expects that her consortium, Virtuoso, will continue to provide her with a competitive edge in capturing even larger shares of the multigenerational market, among a wide array of other markets. “The public is now aware of what Virtuoso is and the amenities and special treatment its agents offer,” she says. “It only takes one trip traveling as a VIP and they’re really hooked.

Next year, Caldo’s commitment to offering her clients highly personalized service will continue unabated. “We tell people that if they like to travel as VIPs they’ll love working with us, because we make everything so personalized,” she says. “We collaborate with clients and qualify them on what they’re looking for – we don’t just recommend things without knowing them.”

From an advertising perspective, Caldo says she plans to again launch a campaign with her local newspaper. “We did more of that last year and saw the benefits of it,” she says. “While people research online, they come to us for that personalization, and I believe that the human contact is more important than anything.”

The agency’s print advertising campaign will be supplemented by Caldo’s social media efforts, which, in large part, are designed to further personalize her image with the traveling public. “I’m finding a lot of people are following me personally to not only get my ideas about travel, but also things like what cosmetics I use, quotes I like – that kind of thing,” she says, adding that travelers are interested in really getting a 360-view of who their travel agent is as a person.

Social media is also a key element of Nexion agent Sarah Krafty’s 2015 business plan. “I don’t sell on social media,” says Krafty of Krafty Travel in Perrysville, Ohio. “I’m reaching out as one person to help another person,” something that she believes cements relationships with both prospective and existing clients.

Next year, Krafty will continue to regularly post information from fam trips and other industry events in an effort to build her credibility as a travel expert. “I have a personal page and a business page that are well linked together,” she says, “and I promote from one page to the other almost equally.” The goal, says Krafty, is for travelers using social media to view her not only as their travel agent but a friend as well.

Krafty, who opened her agency in March 2012, will continue to build upon her initial strategy of catering to younger travelers. “I want to get them young so I can court them throughout their lives and service them as their needs grow into other travel products.” As part of her efforts to woo younger travelers, Krafty is targeting the destination weddings and honeymoon markets, and recently began listing herself with The Knot and the WeddingWire. She also plans to attend several bridal shows next year.

As an agent fairly new to the business, Krafty says a pivotal 2015 strategy is to continue to educate herself. Having already earned her ACC with CLIA and her CTA with The Travel Institute, Krafty says she plans to take advantage of Nexion’s Strategic Sales Coaching program, which enables agents to work one-on-one with seasoned Nexion staff members who review travel consultants’ businesses and make recommendations on how they can be improved upon. “I don’t come from a sales background, so I’m always looking to improve on that, and I think this will be a huge help,” says Krafty.

All things considered, Krafty is extremely optimistic about her 2015 business growth. “My current 2014 production represents a 56 percent increase over last year,” she says. “While I realize that much of that is due to business growth of a young company, and I expect that to level out some in the next several years, my current activity shows no signs of decreasing in 2015.

Corporate agent Lucia Ruffolo, who caters to garment industry clients who travel primarily to Asia and Europe, said she will continue to focus on those destinations going forward into the New Year. “The Asia and Europe markets are pretty much where my projection in sales growth will be, since manufacturing is increasing in those two parts of the world,” says Ruffolo, an independent contractor with Tzell Travel Group in Ringwood, N.J.

For 2015, Ruffolo is hoping to expand into the leisure side of the business by hiring an agent with a strong leisure background. “I’m looking to hire that right person to help me grow in that market as well,” she says, adding that whomever she hires will also play a role in helping Ruffolo cater to the needs of her corporate customers. “That person will have to be able to deal with my clients the way I do, because I spoil them and treat them a certain way,” she says. “He or she will also have that leisure background so we can grow in that market as well.”

Echoing the sentiments of other agents polled, Ruffolo believes that 2015 will prove to be superlative year for the travel industry. “My outlook for 2015 is that it’s going to be an exceptional year,” she says. “My business has been growing year after year, and I’m confident that 2015 will not be any different.”