Leslie Nelson (Source: Leslie Nelson)
Travel Advisor Success Stories focus on veteran advisors and how they achieved success. Here’s a look at Leslie Nelson, owner of Les is More, an affiliate of Carlisle Travel Management.
How did you get your start as a travel advisor?
I got my start while working as a temp in Chicago. I hated working reception, but the temp agency I worked for begged me to take an urgent assignment because they needed someone good right away. They promised they would have me out of there by the end of the week, so I agreed.
It turned out to be a large travel agency. By the end of that week, I was hooked. Travel school followed soon after, and the life and career I was meant to have began.
How did you build your business over the years?
I started in corporate travel, which turned out to be the best training ground I could have asked for. It taught me geography, airline routes ,and how to work quickly and accurately with air, hotel and car arrangements. More importantly, it taught me how to build real rapport with frequent travelers.
I built my business by treating clients like people I genuinely cared about. I have never hidden behind stiff corporate speak. My style has always been warm, conversational and approachable, and clients responded to that. When people feel at ease with you, it becomes natural for them to return when they are ready for their next vacation. They were not just booking a trip. They were coming back to their travel person.
As I moved from agency to agency over the years, many of my clients followed me, sometimes making a real effort to track me down. I have always appreciated that because it showed me the relationships I built were not transactional. They were genuine connections built on trust, consistency and care.
What characteristics make you a successful advisor?
I believe my biggest strength is that I truly love designing the right vacation for each client. I enjoy getting to know people well enough to offer the option that fits them, often something they may never have thought of on their own. That process gives me great joy.
At the core, I am successful because I love the craft of vacation planning. I often feel like part journalist and part family therapist when I am interviewing a new client. I want to understand who they are, how they travel, what they care about and where their passions lie. That curiosity fuels everything I do.
The discovery process is one of my favorite parts of the job. When I can take what I have learned about a client and present an option they never would have imagined for themselves, that is when I am at my best.
I also bring joy to the process. I make planning feel fun, collaborative and personal. That is why clients come back and refer their friends. They know I am as invested in their trip as they are.
What have been your greatest challenges?
One of my biggest challenges has been managing the very thing that makes me good at this work: my friendliness. I build relationships easily, and clients often feel like friends. Over the years, I have had to learn where the professional boundaries are and how to maintain them without losing the warmth that defines my style.
Another challenge has been working within rigid corporate structures. I do my best work when I have room to be flexible, creative and responsive to my clients. Corporate systems never quite fit the way I naturally operate, and I often felt boxed in. Eventually, I realized the answer was to go out on my own. Once I did, everything clicked. I could finally serve clients the way I knew they deserved.
Like many advisors, I have also felt pressure to know all things about all things. Travelers today are very smart, and I have always pushed myself to stay one step ahead. That has made me sharper and more resourceful and kept me on my toes. Over time, I have learned that being an expert does not mean having every answer memorized. I joke that I do not need to know everything. I just need to know who does.
What are your greatest accomplishments?
One of my proudest accomplishments was earning my CTC. Even though most clients do not know what those letters mean, I include them in my signature because I know what they represent: the time, training and commitment to being the best advisor I can be. It is a quiet reminder of the work I have put into my craft.
I am also incredibly proud of the business I have built with Les Is More. When I launched my agency, I set a sales goal for that first year, and I reached it by mid-June. That moment was such a surprise and delight for me. It showed me that the relationships I had built over the years were real and that clients trusted me enough to follow me into this new chapter.
In 2026, I raised that goal and reached it in May. That milestone made me realize something important: I may need to start thinking bigger about what I am capable of. Each year has shown me that my ceiling is higher than I thought, and that has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
What tips can you provide to advisors new to the industry?
This list could be very long, but a few things stand out.
First, be involved in your community. Your network is everything. The people you meet locally often become your earliest supporters, your referral sources and sometimes your first clients. Community connections build travel relationships.
Second, travel as much as you can. Say yes to every fam trip you can reasonably take. Nothing replaces firsthand experience. The more you see, the more confident you become when matching clients with the right destination or product.
Third, be kind to your sales reps and reservations agents. When you send an email request to a vendor, do your best to include every detail they need. If you can minimize the back-and-forth, they will appreciate it.
Those strong relationships matter. They can help when you need an extra favor, a little more time to create a special moment for a client or support in solving a crisis. Friendships count. I have even had vendors refer clients to me. How is that for easy money?
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