71. Encore of Working With a Travel Advisor to Improve Your Vacation

Navigating the vast world of travel options can quickly become overwhelming, that’s why finding the right travel advisor can make all the difference. While I'm taking this month off, enjoy this encore episode about the nuances between advisors and agents, why choosing the perfect one matters, and what you can do to maximize this invaluable relationship to elevate your next getaway.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Hello there, jetsetters. It is me, Michele Schwartz, the OG memory maker of Makin' Memories Travel and the base behind at jet setting with Michele on Instagram. And as always, Michele is spelled with one l. And, of course, that link is in the show notes as well. And, in fact, I would love for you to go and follow me because I have started a brand new series where every single day I am posting a travel tidbit of something I have learned in my many, many years in the hospitality and travel industry. It's less than 2 minutes, and there's a new tip every single day. Now you may have noticed that last week, there wasn't a new episode here on at jet setting with me. Well, I'm very sorry for that.

But after 18 months of releasing an episode every single week, the streak came to an end, and that's because I've been traveling a lot myself. I've been studying at 2 different conferences. I've been studying online and getting certified. For example, I just got a brand new certification in both Viking Ocean and Viking River and Viking Expedition. So I can help you with any of those brands. I'm starting a new one right now with Ponnat, and I'm renewing my certification with Oceania. So, as you can see, I've been really busy helping clients just like you. And in August, I am going to take some much needed R and R for myself with my family.

We are going to escape the heat of Texas, and you can definitely follow along on my Instagram and daily tidbits. And in the meantime, while I'm on hiatus, I've listed some of my favorite episodes of at jet setting with me and even some under my former name of let me adjust my ears for you here that you can listen to if you miss me, and I will be back in your podcast feeds come September 5th. Until then, I'll see you real soon.

Hello there, jetsetters. Welcome to episode 52 of jetsetting with me. I can't believe it. I just said episode number 52. That means that I have released an episode every single week for a year. So for those of you who have been there with me from the very beginning, mom, I'm looking at you. And for my new friends who are just listening to jet setting with me for the very first time, I thank you all from the very, very bottom of my heart. I hope you're enjoying this new direction with the pod.

And if so, I'd love for you to hit that follow button and share this pod with your friends. You can also leave a review on Apple Itunes or your favorite podcast listening app. All of those things really help grow my podcast and help others like you find it. And without further ado, I figured a good way for episode 52 to commence would be to talk a little bit about why you should use a travel advisor. What we bring to the table and how to get the most out of this relationship. Last week, I lost a client. A friend had reached out to me to help plan a 2 week vacation to Spain and Portugal. It was gonna be a complicated trip.

There were gonna be different people with her at different times of traveling. She had some different dates that she was flexible between, and she really wanted to do what we call FIT or fully independent travel. I'm very sad about how it all worked out. I should have told her from the very beginning that FIT in Europe isn't my focus of travel. And I have never even been to Portugal, Portugal, and I've only seen a very small portion of Spain. I should have given her recommendation to a colleague of mine who is an expert in both Spain and Portugal and plans a lot of travel there, especially FIT. Instead, I fumbled through the process, and I left both of us frustrated with the experience of working together. So first and foremost, not all travel agents are created equally.

For example, I'm a certified travel adviser. It's a subtle distinction, but one that advisers wear with pride. Advisors like me have to take courses through the travel university and get to put those initials, CTA, after their name, standing for certified travel adviser. We consider ourselves to be just that, advisors who share our wealth of knowledge with our clients, the same as a financial advisor would. I mentioned before, I don't know enough about Spain and Portugal to have done a good job with my friends trip. However, I have taken certification courses in all the types of travel and locations that I do specialize in. I'm an expert and I can give my clients exactly what they need in these specializations. For example, I have attended the river cruise expo that's hosted by the American Society of Travel Advisors.

I've taken courses offered by the major river cruise lines such as Ama, Avalon, and Riverside. For ocean cruises, I'm a gold level first mate with Virgin Voyages. I've taken the coursework for Oceania, my current favorite cruise line, Silversea luxury cruises, Liberty, and Disney. I myself have sailed on at least 6 different cruise lines and have Ruby level loyalty. I don't think I need to mention all of my theme park training. You can just listen to the first 40 plus episodes of this podcast to know I've got those insider tips. What about set jetting, you say? Well, I'm on the early curve of it. We haven't yet hit the tipping point, so that's good for me, and it's good for you because you're getting some stellar deals out of it.

But if you're getting the idea that the first part of working with a travel adviser is to check the verbiage she's using to refer to herself on the website, You are correct. Is your preferred agent an adviser or an agent? 2nd, ask the question. What are your specialties and what training do you have in those? And does your trip fit within the travel advisor specialty? And if not, that's okay. Maybe that travel advisor has colleagues that she can refer you to for trips that are not within her specialty. For example, I do have a friend who specializes in Spain and Portugal. I have friends that specialize in Hawaii or fun in the sun and all inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean. That just aren't things that I book very often. So I pass those off to my colleagues, and then my colleagues return the favor when they get a Disney that they don't know very much about, or a river cruise line that they've never been on, or an ocean cruiser that they've never been on, or a set jetting experience.

Secondly, does your travel advisor charge a fee? In my experience, you get what you pay for. Yes. There are travel agents. Notice I used the word agent who do not charge fees. Some of them even advertise to you based on their free services. In most cases, someone who is not charging fees isn't involved with ASTA, the American Society of Travel Advisors, our professional association, which does recommend all its members charge fees. Or maybe the person hasn't been in the business long enough to realize her value, or doesn't spend a lot of time investing and traveling herself. When my potential clients ask me about my travel fees and why I'm worth it.

I explain it's similar to getting a professional haircut. You can choose to go to a provider who is still in school and might not charge a fee because she is still in the learning process. But once she graduates from school and studies for her color or her curly hair specialization, she will begin to charge a fee for her services. And once she's experienced to be a senior stylist or own her own chair at a salon, her fees will increase proportionately. You can choose any level of service provider you want, but I happen to be at the highest level. I am a business owner and I am worth the fees that I charge. Okay. Now that we have these two issues using a travel advisor versus a travel agent and what the cost is of his services are out of the way, we can get to the fun part, planning your future memories.

Let me know straight up what your budget range is and if your dates are flexible, And what are your biggest priorities? Are you excited about the zipline? Or do you wanna go to the spa? Do you wanna taste all of the food? Do you want to add a local community building component to your trip? Do you want to be as carbon neutral as possible? I can make any of these dreams come true as long as I know about them in advance of the research and planning phase. One of the biggest values that travel advisors bring to the table is our personal connections. I like to call it my secret sauce is my rolodex. Within our specialties and our organizations, we have relationships that we can use to make sure that you receive the best deals, know about the hidden gems, and take care of all of the details so you can enjoy your vacation. I'll give you a few examples. When it comes to selecting a VIP tour guide for a tour at Walt Disney World, I know exactly who to request for you because of my personal relationships with VIP tour guides. They're in my rolodex. In fact, one of them has even been on my podcast before.

One reason I was not the right adviser for a trip to Spain and Portugal is not only have I not traveled extensively within that region, but also I don't have any personal connections which could have helped me put together a fabulous itinerary. I was using a DMC, a destination management company. One that I didn't know and that I didn't have an established relationship with. 1 that couldn't educate me on what I didn't know I didn't know. And even worse, I forgot to ask the questions of my colleagues who could have pointed me in the right direction to a DMC that she had worked with. So back to my lost client. Although I didn't communicate clearly with her my limitations, she also wasn't clear on the steps and advisor needs to take to plan a successful memory filled vacation. In this case, she knew she wanted to visit Spain and Portugal, and how much time she wanted to spend in each country.

But then she only wanted a list of potential sites to visit. And for me to suggest any activities which might have been highlights for her, I felt like I first needed to nail down her budget and what city she wanted to visit in which order. Activities or excursions as you might call them might not be available on certain dates. There could be transportation involved to get you to and from the hotel you're staying at to that cooking class or the zipline or the spa. Or prices could be subject to surge pricing and be different based on the season and the date. I follow a checklist while planning with my clients. I first plan where you want to be on which date, and then we can look at how we fill your time while you're there with what your number one priorities are. So be sure that there are open lines of communication.

Your travel investment is a lot of money. And while we're here, allow me to scroll for just a moment. You want to be sure to insure it, so ask your travel adviser about travel insurance. Of course, those of us who are advisers are going to make sure to point it out to you how to make sure that your investment is insured. Squirrel. I'm back. Because your travel investment is a lot of money, be sure to trust the process. And, of course, feedback is always a gift, and it only helps us to work with you on creating your trip even better.

So jet setters, to sum it all up, working with a travel designer is like having an interior designer. Yes. I realize I've gone from getting your haircut to interior designer, but we are gonna design your vacation dreams very similar to how an interior designer is going to design inside of your dream home. You wanna vet us. Make sure we can design in your style. Are you an adults only trip, a family trip, romantic travel, cruises, river cruises? You get my drift. And that we, the travel adviser you're gonna work with, are trained in that type of vacation. For example, I have no clue, none whatsoever, where the family potties are at Walt Disney World.

And you know what? I don't wanna learn. So if you want someone who is specialized in accessible travel at Disney or family travel at Disney, I might not be your girl. But if you want adults only, romantic travel, cruises, or river cruises, or set setting. Hey, I will give you the 411. Help us to help you by sharing your priorities, your budget, and hash tag travel goals right at the outset. If we can't help you, trust us to provide you with the advice and referrals that we have, and we will access our personal relationships to help you. That's what you're paying us for. So be honest with your feedback.

Positive and negative, we're going to learn from working with you. So jetsetters, if you found an invaluable lesson or learned an expert tip on today's pod, what was the most valuable one for you? Definitely direct message me on Instagram. The link of course is in the show notes. It's at jetsetting with Michelle, and Michelle is still spelled with one l. And tell me which invaluable lesson or expert tip I shared today that was perhaps the most valuable for you to ensure smooth vacation planning and memorable journeys ahead.