by Guest Author
Last updated: 5:20 PM ET, Thu October 15, 2020
This article was submitted by Travel Experts, a host agency.
The past careers of six relatively new travel advisors gave them hidden strengths to help navigate the difficult times as the COVID-19 crisis upended the global travel industry.
These travel advisors, all of which are affiliated with Travel Experts host agency, include a former Special Agent with Air Force Counterterrorism, head of public relations and marketing for a television network news division, an attorney and corporate securities officer, an executive officer with a Fortune 200 company, an electrical engineer and director of high-tech firms and an art gallery owner-operator.
Here are their stories and advice for prospective travel advisors planning on getting into the travel business.
Lauren Raps of Travel Prospect in Fairfield, Conn., is coping with everything going on in the industry but said: "In all honestly, it has not been easy. For many of us, this is our second career, and we were led to it due to our passion for travel. We genuinely love what we do. So not being able to travel and not be able to send our clients out into the world has been quite difficult. But I am using this time to improve my back-office functions, continue educating myself on the trade, and home-schooling my three sons."
Before her career in travel, Raps was an executive in the news media working for NBC News for 12 years and ABC News for three years before that. She handled the public relations for all of NBC News programs including "TODAY," "Nightly News," "Meet the Press" and "Dateline" and the on-camera talent for all of the shows. She ultimately was promoted to head of PR and marketing for the entire NBC News division.
She speaks about her almost reluctant transition into travel: "My mother was a travel agent, but I thought the industry was dead. After leaving NBC News and consulting at various media organizations I wanted my next chapter to be a passion project and found Virtuoso and learned that this industry is more vital and needed than ever."
Raps also found that her prior skills in public relations translated well into promoting and selling travel. She transitioned to Travel Experts as an independent affiliate after her first year as an advisor.
Raps was able to handle the COVID-19 crisis using her past expertise. "My prior experience running the public relations and marketing for a global news outlet - handling crisis communication and having to go into emergency mode with a moment's notice - allowed me to jump into action immediately. I knew what to do to calm those affected and keep all apprised of the situation and how I was advocating for them."
Christina Schlegel, CTA, of Bluetail Travel in Arlington, Va., has used the downtime during the COVID-19 crisis to focus on the behind-the-scenes aspects of her business and refine her marketing messaging. "I'm also focused on keeping in touch with my clients, and reaching new travelers for future travel," she said.
Prior to becoming a travel advisor, Schlegel earned a Ph.D. in German literature from the University of California, Irvine. She then worked in various international engagement and consulting roles supporting the U.S. government.
Early in her career she was a Special Agent with the Air Force and headed up a counterterrorism team in Germany during the time of the 9/11 attacks.
"We were hopping at all times and it was a very fluid situation," she said, adding: "So, I've weathered my share of crises and am keeping it calm over here now."
She chose to affiliate with Travel Experts as her host agency for many reasons, explaining: "First off, the affiliation with Virtuoso was very important to me as I build my luxury clientele. Secondly, Travel Experts truly supports the independent agent. From the air desk to the management team to the onboarding program, everything is in place to provide a foundation for independent success: you are independent, but never on your own with them. Lastly, the people at Travel Experts are just wonderful, so it feels good to be a part of that warm, professional environment."
Her exciting career as a Special Agent has come in handy this year. "My past life has taught me to be resilient in the face of adversity. Instead of passively waiting for travel's big comeback, I am choosing to be creative in how I can exceed travelers' changing expectations and needs," she said.
However, she tells prospective travel advisors that they "need to do their homework before beginning a business; it is quite an undertaking. As the COVID-19 situation is demonstrating, you need to be the calm amidst the storm for your clients, and you need to take your responsibility as a trusted professional very seriously. This business is not for someone who simply has an affinity for travel. You must sincerely care about your clients and their travel investment, take the time to continually educate yourself, and choose your industry partnerships with great care."
"I don't know that I am 'coping' with the downturn," said Claire Saunders of Where Next Adventures in Austin, Texas, adding: "Does drinking more wine count as a coping strategy? Seriously, once the work of rescheduling and canceling clients' existing trips was done, I felt a little lost with all the extra time on my hands. At first, I posted anything I could think of travel-related on social media just to have a presence like 'Happy World Wildlife Day!' and 'It's Save the Elephant Day.'" She also posted a photo of a giraffe eating out of her hands with the caption "Before social distancing was a thing."
Saunders has enjoyed a variety of occupations. She is an attorney by education and began her career as a corporate securities lawyer. From there, she started a custom printing business and oversaw all retail and internet operations. She sold that and landed in non-profit fundraising, most recently managing all fundraising initiatives for a K-8 school, successfully coordinating a $20 million capital campaign.
She launched her travel industry career when she planned a gorilla trekking trip and recruited potential clients to join her. She joined Travel Experts as an independent affiliate.
She added: "My professional past has helped me because I know how to reinvent myself and pivot when necessary."
Debbie Richmond of Ellicott City, Md., noted: "It's been a challenge keeping up with the large quantity of announcements of new suspensions, new cancellation policies, new safety procedures, etc."
She decided to keep a "Naughty and Nice" list of travel suppliers "relative to their support of my clients and of me. Those that are 'naughty' are not providing refunds or are extremely tardy in doing so, not providing full commission on trips that were canceled or suspended, not doing well financially and not supporting their employees."
Richmond has a college degree in electrical engineering. "For the past 35 years I have worked in hardware design, software development, computer sales, and business operations, mostly for large high-tech corporations, from engineer to director. In 2016, I 'rewired' as an independent contractor, working part-time primarily focused on project management, so that I could try out travel consulting.
"With my business background, I first thought of buying an agency. I then found someone similar to me - a successful professional in a very different field - who became a thriving travel advisor as their second career. I worked with him for a year as a way to ease into the field."
Her mentor was an Independent Contractor affiliated with Travel Experts, and she became an "additional user." She then signed up with a well-respected local agency, also affiliated with the Virtuoso consortium.
"Once my travel business reached the point where it made more financial sense, I chose Travel Experts because of their business model, industry reputation, and out of the respect I have for their management team," Richmond said. "It just so happens that team is all women, which as a woman engineer, makes me extra proud of the company."
"My engineering background for solving problems helped with the initial chaos of this pandemic. The organization and computer skills help me to keep track of all the moving parts which are constantly changing," she said. "After four years, I am not even making a quarter of what I used to make financially. But I'm enjoying what I do and the places I get to travel. My advice is to have patience, be very organized, and join a host agency like Travel Experts that nurtures travel advisors."
Laura and Michael Kaufman of Six Star World Travel in Dallas, note that: "The crisis has severely impacted our business with 99 percent of our 2020 FIT and cruise sales/bookings cancelled or postponed to a future date, and we have done our best to absorb the thousands of dollars in required client refunds."
Meanwhile, they have taken time to continue "ongoing training, revise many of our current business processes and attempted to educate ourselves about the numerous future uncertainties we face and the related impact to the structure of our client agreements regarding deposits, refunds, fees, insurance and cancellations."
Laura and her husband Michael previously owned an art gallery and a direct sales business, so having owned several businesses has certainly been a plus in dealing with the ups and downs of client relationships, cash flow, self-reliance, creativity and rapid adjustment to changing market/client demands.
Michael's corporate background in project management, risk management and technology has also provided tremendous value in dealing with so many of the current business or client-related situations and how to adapt/plan for the future. His corporate background also gave him a better understanding of the ins and outs of the government assistance programs.
Laura owned an art gallery and frame shop focusing on corporate and hospitality. "Funnily, many of the hotels that I use for clients today, I supplied the art for many years ago when they were being built or refurbished."
She went on to say: "Having spent so much of our business careers as independent business owners, becoming an independent travel advisor was the only travel model which made sense for us.
"We made the move (to Travel Experts) and increased our topline income by over 30 percent at the same time. We have always felt blessed by good fortune as well as mentorship from some of the most successful individuals in the industry."
Kaufman's mantra is: "Have a never-ending passion to provide legendary service to your clients - make it your hallmark. Be patient and never stop learning, as your knowledge and experience are key to your success."
Christie Soper, founder and CEO of Suncierge in Greensboro, N.C., is an independent affiliate of Travel Experts who has taken a step aside to review and renew her travel business in light of the economic impact of the pandemic.
Her priority from the onset of the coronavirus crisis was to protect both her clients and employees. "Initially, I slept at night because we stayed rooted in our core values of integrity, leadership, and collaboration and acted on the variables we could control, which amounted to ensuring that all our active clients, as well as our employees, were at the forefront of our decision-making throughout all the chaos.
"Once it became clear that COVID-19 would have a longer term impact on our business, I made the challenging decision to pause our operations indefinitely and step away on a sabbatical for a few months," Soper said.
"In order for me to create the 2.0 version of my business, I concluded that I would need to step away and focus on a new model and strategy as well as take some time for renewal," she said. "Also, I saw an opportunity with COVID to realize some of my own goals to travel more domestically and more deeply explore my specialty location, Hawaii."
Soper negotiated a transfer agreement with a fellow Travel Experts' advisor in which she took ownership of her planned/active book of business for a percentage stake in the commissions upon completion of travel. "This agreement ensures my clients have a go-to contact for their trip questions and needs during my absence, so it creates a win-win-win-win for the clients, the new advisor, Travel Experts who keeps the business in-house, and me," she said.
Soper spent 20 years in the financial services industry, which resulted in her becoming an officer at a Fortune 200 financial company before starting her travel business.
"When the pandemic began, we essentially re-honed skills in project delivery failure, how to rescue efforts when they miss targets, the criticality of honest, timely and direct communication with all stakeholders, and the importance of fair compromise in negotiation. In my opinion, a project management certification is the single best educational investment a travel advisor can make in his or her business."
She remains optimistic that the travel industry will make a strong comeback and so will she. "Only time will reveal how long it will take for our industry to return to normal, but we are part of an industry that remains essential to the happiness of millions of people around the world."
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